TV

Paloma Faith lost it over Dangerous Liaisons sex scene outfits: 'Unreal that anybody got laid in the 1700s'

The English pop star tells EW what it was like to film the steamy series while dressed as "the biggest meringue that's ever existed."

By

Joey Nolfi

Published on November 2, 2022 03:12PM EDT

You already know Dangerous Liaisons is all about sex. Hot, corseted, pre-Revolution Parisian sex. While that's titillating to British pop star Paloma Faith — who has a supporting role in Starz's prelude to the 1782 novel about seduction and social mobility — she was particularly enticed by the prospect of doing it all while decked out as a dessert.

"I've been longing to dress as a giant wedding cake, and for people to know the amount of effort it took to turn me into the biggest meringue that's ever existed," she says of the extravagant costumes worn by her savvy-yet-snobby character, Florence, a ferocious member of the French court entangled in a sexual power play with Pascal Valmont (Nicholas Denton).

"We view historical moments as so distant from us in the modern age, but she appeals to the gossip mongers in all of us," Faith adds. "She thinks of herself as a cut above, wealthy, pretending that she's well-to-do in society, but, really, she's just a gossipy bitch."

Kathryn Wilder and Paloma Faith on 'Dangerous Liaisons'. Dusan Martincek/Starz

She's also an "empowered lover," whom Valmont desires as an "alpha who challenges" the dominator in him. It's all part of the new series' update of the steamy, age-old tale of passion and deception among ex-lovers against the backdrop of French high society, which was previously brought to the big screen in 1988 by Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and director Stephen Frears.

Faith was impressed by the characters' strengths in the new iteration — particularly the women, who ring true and "relevant to the modern day" as they overcome "restrictions and restraints of society." Still, she was largely astounded by her own ability to turn up the heat after spending three hours wrapping up in French garb before each shoot.

"It's unreal that anybody got laid in the 1700s," she says of stripping off the layers. "A half-hour later, you lose your erection." Consider us excited to watch.

Dangerous Liaisons — also starring Alice Englert, Lesley Manville, and Game of Thrones alum Carice van Houten — debuts Sunday on Starz.

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