Michael Fassbender Plays Sex Addict in Shame

by Tara Block 2

We'd be lying if we said our interest wasn't piqued when we heard our celeb crush Michael Fassbender is starring in the upcoming movie Shame as a sex addict, complete with full-frontal nudity and numerous sexy time scenes. But this is no lighthearted romp in the sack. The film sets out to take a dark and realistic approach to the addiction, showing the emptiness and loneliness of being imprisoned by your carnal desires and living life from one sexcapade to the next.

Sex addiction has been in the public eye in recent years, thanks to big-name celebs like David Duchovny, Russell Brand, and Tiger Woods checking into sex rehab and opening up about their struggles with the controversial illness. So it's no surprise that sex addiction is making its way onto the big screen in Shame and another upcoming film Thanks For Sharing, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, about a group of sex addicts in a 12-step recovery group. While these flicks aren't the first to tackle the issue, they both appear to take a more serious tone than comedies like Choke and A Dirty Shame that make light of sex addiction.

Ironically, Hollywood seems to have its own sex addiction of late, with the history of the vibrator explored in Hysteria, steamy spanking scenes in A Dangerous Method, and a man-candy-filled movie about male strippers on the horizon. Are you interested to see some films seriously deal with sex addiction?