Nia Long Opens Up About “Awkward” ‘Fatal Affair’ Sex Scene with Omar Epps

Nia Long and Omar Epps may play old friends embarking on a one-night affair in Netflix‘s new thriller, but it turns out that their relationship wasn’t as steamy as it looked onscreen. In fact, Long said it was outright cringey to film her Fatal Affair sex scene with Epps, Cinema Blend reports.

In an interview with Access Online, Long opened up about what was really going on in her head during filming. While she and Epps play college acquaintances who hook up on one fateful evening, Long said their real-life relationship made the Fatal Affair sex scene awkward.

“I started sweating, I was trying to play it off,” she explained. “The only thing that made that scene awkward is because Omar is like my brother. I had on like five pairs of underwear, three bras, five Spanx. Omar kept putting lotion on his hands to make sure they weren’t ashy and rough.”

“I try, I try,” Epps replied.

It’s no surprise that the two stars are as close as siblings since Long and Epps have known each other for years. They first acted together in 1999’s In Too Deep, a crime thriller in which they also played love interests, and later stared together in 2004’s Alfie. 

Epps told Oprah Magazine earlier this month that acting with Long in Fatal Affair is “like picking up where we left off.”

“I call Nia my ‘creative kindred,'” he said. “We just kind of understand each other, have our shorthand for a better experience… To get to play a guy who’s just playing by his own rules and just unpredictable, that was just really, really fun and freeing for me creatively.”

Fatal Affair follows two old friends who spark up a dangerous relationship. Ellie (Long), a powerful lawyer, has a one-night stand with David (Epps) after confiding in him about her marriage troubles while the two are having a casual night out. Soon enough, they’re embarking on a secretive affair, but Ellie wants to keep their situation in the past. David won’t let go, and he turns out to be much more threatening than Ellie ever imagined.

Where to watch Fatal Affair