Olivia Munn has opened up about how her cancer diagnosis impacted her confidence, especially while filming intimate scenes for her latest series alongside Jon Hamm. In a candid interview published by the Los Angeles Times, the actress revealed that her battle with breast cancer left her feeling insecure, particularly during s3x scenes.
“I was really nervous about doing any s3x scenes because I have a lot of scars,” Munn said. “Scars that can be seen in clothing and scars that you wouldn’t know unless I was completely nude.”
Munn, 44, was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023 and underwent a double mastectomy just 30 days later. She had four surgeries over the course of ten months while still filming the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, where she plays Samantha Levitt, the long-term mistress of Hamm’s character, Andrew Cooper.
“She wants something so much more from him than he’s willing to give and their only connection is through s3x,” Munn said of her character’s relationship. “I really wanted that to be portrayed. I wanted the s3x scenes to feel like s3x scenes — I wanted them to feel visceral and intense and not hold back at all.”
Munn credited working with an intimacy coordinator and personal soul searching for helping her manage the emotional weight of those performances.
“I did feel insecure, but each time I did it, I felt better,” she said. Despite everything, she expressed deep appreciation for her body. “I was so grateful for it because it got me through this.”
Munn shared photos from her recovery journey, including moments in a hospital bed and wearing a gown, revealing both visible and hidden scars that became part of her experience on and off screen.
Series creator Jonathan Tropper also spoke to the LA Times, expressing admiration for Munn’s openness and strength. “When someone tells you that, you just tell them that you hope they’re doing OK and their health is what’s most important,” he said. “We committed to doing what we had to do on the show to make sure she was resting when she needed to rest and that we could do what we could with her schedule to make sure she got the time she needed for her health.”
Tropper added, “It wasn’t a terribly difficult conversation at all, because she’s so amazingly candid about that — and about pretty much everything.”
Though Munn is now cancer-free, she admitted the journey has left lasting emotional weight. “I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life,” she said.
