‘Outer Banks’: How Madelyn Cline Prepared for Her Sex Scene With Austin North
Madelyn Cline plays Sarah Cameron, a Kook with two love interests in season 1 of Outer Banks. Find out how Cline prepared for the intimate scene she had to film with on-screen boyfriend Topper (Austin North).
Sarah Cameron’s heart was torn in season 1 of ‘Outer Banks’
When we first meet Sarah Cameron, she was dating Topper Thornton — another Kook from the wealthy side of the island. Slowly but surely, Sarah started to realize that Topper didn’t love her, but the idea of her. He simply believed they should be together because society said they should.
Eventually, Sarah Cameron realized she wanted more.
He might have meant well, but Topper’s consistent pulse on Sarah’s whereabouts is eventually what drove her away and into the arms of John B. (Chase Stokes).
Before that happens, Sarah and Topper decided to take their relationship to the next level and be intimate with one another.
Sarah Cameron faced several intimate situations in season 1
After agreeing to take their relationship to the next step, Sarah and Topper shared an awkward moment. Sarah felt something was off about their interaction, which caused her to change her mind.
Ultimately, Sarah Cameron and Topper are never intimate with one another because she didn’t feel ready.
That all changed when she met John B.
After Sarah fell for John B., the two shared an intimate moment where it was evident she was comfortable and committed.
To showcase how vastly different Sarah’s emotions were in each of those intimate scenes, showrunners depicted them in different ways.
The intimate scene with John B. went a lot differently
When Topper and Sarah broke away to presumably sleep with each other, the camera captured everything. When Sarah decided to give herself to John B. in the bell tower, the camera faded to black.
“That was a choice that Valerie Weiss — our director for 7 and 8 — Chase, and myself made,” Cline explained to Cosmopolitan. “We wanted there to be a differentiation between the scene with Topper and the scene with John B.”
Cline continued:
In episode 3, I believe, you see Topper really driving that whole interaction with [Sarah]. You see him really pushing for this.
It’s obvious that he’s asked if she wants to go to third base, and it’s obvious that she’s said no in the past. He’s pushing the pen a bit. She says yes, and then all of a sudden, you see her have this moment panicking, and she’s like, ‘No, no, no, this is too much.’”
This choice gave viewers a clear picture of how Sarah’s relationship with John B differed from her previous relationship with Topper.
Madelyn Cline struggled to prepare for her intimate scenes in ‘Outer Banks’
Despite not having to film any actual sex scenes, Cline said she struggled the most in preparing for those intimate moments with North and Stokes.
“Before Outer Banks, I’d never really had any sex scenes, or implicated sex scenes I guess would be the more appropriate term,” she told Vogue.
“So I was really nervous about that. There’s nothing sexy about it, and it is a little bit awkward.”
Cline recalled the scene with North being shot first. “We didn’t really know each other that well at that point,” she said, adding: “[And] we hadn’t really spent too much time hanging out yet.” To break the ice, Cline did something bold.
“We were sitting in the green room, Austin and I, twiddling our thumbs and trying to make conversation. I could tell that he was nervous, and I knew he could tell I was nervous. So, I just farted in front of him.”
Laughter ensued, and the two eventually became close friends. As seen in Outer Banks Season 1, Cline’s “sex scene” with North was filmed without a problem.
