Craig Blankenhorn/SHOWTIME Let's talk about sex, baby!
No, really, let's talk about it. Masters of Sex, one of the best new dramas of the fall, finally premieres on Sunday and tells the story of two real-life pioneers in the study of sex. Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan play William Masters and Virginia Johnson, whose research into human sexuality in the 1960s led to the sexual revolution. They worked together and they were married, but their relationship was far from uncomplicated.
At the Showtime series' premiere party, we chatted with Sheen and Caplan about what they've learned about sex since taking on the roles of Masters and Johnson. Plus, Caplan talks about the "responsibility" she felt playing Johnson, who passed away in July...
"I've learned all kinds of things, both practical and intellectual. But the weirdest thing is so much has changed in some ways and in other ways, so little has changed," Sheen tells us of what he's learned about sex from working on the series. "I think we're still mystified by how difficult it is to deal with the opposite sex, or the same sex, depending on your persuasion."
As for Caplan? "I knew everything about sex before I signed on," she jokes. "That's why I got the part."
While Caplan admits she hadn't heard of Masters and Johnson prior to reading the script, she says, "I feel a real responsibility to do a good job, especially since Virginia just passed away recently...I feel like a lot of people aren't aware of who they are even though they were groundbreaking and influence everything that we do in the modern world."
After working together for more than 10 years, Masters and Johnson married in 1971 and divorced in 1992, which is when their work together came to an end. Sheen tells us the series will explore the couple's complicated relationship.
"What's fascinating about that relationship is that even up to the very end when, Virginia only died fairly recently, and she was saying, 'There was never any love between us, it was always a business deal,'" he explains. "The fact that they got married, they were together for so long, it's really fascinating to know that there's so much mystery in that relationship and that's what we're going to explore."
Masters of Sex premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. on Showtime
—Reporting by James Chairman
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