Updated

Updated · Fox News · Nov 13

David Henrie Rejects Nudity, Sex Scenes and Kissing at 37 to Protect His Marriage

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Nov 13

David Henrie Rejects Nudity, Sex Scenes and Kissing at 37 to Protect His Marriage

Q: Why does David Henrie believe on-screen intimacy crosses a line that on-screen violence does not?

David Henrie says on-screen intimacy crosses a line because, in his view, it involves a real physical act, while on-screen violence is simulated. He has said that if a character kills someone, no one is actually being killed, but in a kissing or sex scene, “you’re really doing that,” not merely pretending. That distinction is central to how he applies his Catholic faith and his understanding of marriage. Henrie said he will take roles as long as they do not violate his conscience or what he sees as his commitment to his wife, Maria Cahill. For him, the issue is not whether a character is morally flawed, but whether the actor himself is performing an act he believes would breach a marital boundary. He has also described intimate scenes as personally unsettling, saying they would make him feel “weird” and “shake” him, even if they were staged for a production. Cahill has said she trusts him and is less troubled by the idea than he is, but Henrie has maintained that he will not do kissing, nudity or sex scenes. The couple’s account of their children reacting badly to an old “Wizards of Waverly Place” kiss scene underscores how Henrie sees such moments as carrying real personal and family consequences, not just fictional ones.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 13

David Henrie, 37, said he will not take roles involving nudity, sex scenes or kissing because they would violate his marriage to Maria Cahill.
On "The Unplanned Podcast," Henrie said violent acts can be faked on screen but intimate scenes are "really doing that," making them incompatible with his conscience and personal values.
Cahill, whom he married in 2017, said she trusts him and that he is stricter about the boundary than she is; the couple also joked that their 4 children were upset seeing an old on-screen kiss.
Henrie, a devout Catholic, said earlier this year that his faith-based career limits cost him agents, roles, money and friendships before he rebuilt his life and later met his wife.