Meg Ryan’s Fake Orgasm Scene in ‘When Harry Met Sally’ Still Troubles Her Kids: “A Very Unique Embarrassment”

If anyone has a reason not to visit the legendary Katz’s Delicatessen, it’s actress Meg Ryan’s kids.

Ryan recently sat down with the legend Carol Burnett for a conversation in Interview magazine this week to discuss her upcoming film, What Happens Later, as well as some of her more iconic movie moments throughout her career, some of which are a particular source of embarrassment to her kids, Daisy True Ryan and actor Jack Quaid.

One of those moments comes from the classic rom-com film, When Harry Met Sally, co-starring comedian Billy Crystal, where Ryan fakes an orgasm while sitting in a packed restaurant opposite Crystal. Though the scene is now considered rom-com gold, for her children it is an awkward, if unavoidable, part of being a child of one of the most famous screen icons of the 80s and 90s.

“My son just called me this morning and he’s in New York staying at a hotel that’s right across the street from Katz’s Deli,” Ryan shared in the interview. “They were like, ‘Mom, this is a very unique embarrassment.'” 

Quaid even told his mom, “You know you can go into that deli and there’s an arrow pointing down to the table where you shot that scene.”

Quaid has made his own name in Hollywood in recent years with memorable turns in The Hunger Games, the Amazon superhero series The Boys, and the relaunch installment of the Scream horror series in 2022.

What Happens Later, which premieres Oct. 13, follows two ex-lovers (played by Ryan and co-star David Duchovny) who are stranded at an airport overnight in a snowstorm. Based on Steven Dietz’ play Shooting Star, the film was co-written and directed by Ryan.

“The story started to revolve around this question of how we begin to forgive ourselves and one another,” Ryan also shared with Burnett. “It’s a rom-com, so a lot of times you have to ask those deeper questions in secret and hope that people can feel them underneath everything.”

Though Ryan is rom-com royalty, having starred in other hits such as You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, What Happens Later is her first film project in eight years, after her directorial debut, the 2015 film Ithaca, which also starred Quaid.

When Harry Met Sally is available to stream on Prime Video.