This article contains spoilers for the Watchmen series. Read at your own risk.
One thing that everyone knows about Watchmen is that there's this glowing blue guy who likes to hang about in the nude. It's also known for being very dark and gritty, but yeah, it's mostly the blue penis. The blenis, if you like.
As was recently revealed, the very powerful and blue Dr Manhattan was wasn't actually on Mars but hiding on Earth in human form. Just as the truth was laid bare, so was actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
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Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, the star talked about his "fun" nude scene, stating: "I was never really nervous about it, but I found that to be the most liberating aspect of the character, to play a character who doesn't have shame, who's not really concerned with other people's opinions of his body and things like that.
"That was actually a pretty liberating process for me. HBO made sure I was well taken care of, and that I was always comfortable, and had the choice to go nude or not – up until the moment, right before shooting. So I was always taken care of, and made to be comfortable.
"I think there was an empowerment and liberation of it all. With myself being an actor and going out there and not having shame and being made to feel safe and comfortable – and also, it is nice to not be objectified.
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"Because a lot of times, you put black men in a situation where they’re naked, and it is about the body. It is about being objectified. It’s not about the humanity.
"I'm really happy to be a part of something that was tasteful, and it wasn't about the nudity. It wasn't about being objectified. It was just about a human who was really above notions of shame."
He's not the only actor in this show to have a nude scene, as actor Tom Mison also got in the nuddy to play Dr Manhattan. Except he played the Dr in a play. And it wasn't actually his penis.
All episodes of Watchmen are available on Sky Catch Up and NOWTV
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
