The film industry has a history of using young actors in controversial roles that involve nudity or sexual content.

Now, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, the stars of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, are taking legal action against Paramount Pictures for $500 million over a scene in which they both appeared partially naked.

The actors claim they were told by Zeffirelli that they had to perform the scene in the nude or the film would fail.

This raises questions about the treatment of young actors in the movie industry and the ethics of portraying them in sexually suggestive content.

Jodie Foster, at the age of 12, played a character forced into prostitution in Taxi Driver.

Jenny Agutter, who was 16 at the time, appeared naked in Walkabout.

While both actors consented to these roles and have not expressed regret, it raises the question of what age is considered appropriate for an actor to give such consent and if they should be able to change their minds later on.

The case of Nastassja Kinski is also noteworthy. At 13, she appeared topless in Wim Wenders’ Wrong Move.

At 14, she was depicted fully nude in To the Devil a Daughter and at 17, she starred in the sex comedy Stay As You Are.

Kinski later revealed that the nudity requirements of her roles were difficult for her, stating, “If I had had somebody to protect me or if I had felt more secure about myself, I would not have accepted certain things. N*dty things. And inside it was just tearing me apart.”

European cinema has often been criticized for exploiting young actors in sexually suggestive content, with many films from the 1970s and 80s still in circulation that appear to blur the line between “erotic drama” and child sexual abuse.

However, it’s not just a European issue, as Hollywood has also used young actors in sexually suggestive content.

For example, Brooke Shields was photographed naked for Sugar and Spice magazine when she was 10 and starred in a sexually suggestive ad campaign for Calvin Klein jeans at 14.

Shields also played a 12-year-old daughter of a sex worker in Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby, which raised questions about censorship and exploitation of minors.

Some called the film “child pornography”, while others argued that Shields was “mature beyond her years”.

Shields has never directly accused anyone of exploiting her as a minor and has stated that she was “protected in her naivety” during the Calvin Klein controversy.

There is no doubt that the film industry has changed since the 1970s and 80s, but the use of young actors in sexually suggestive content remains a controversial issue.

The lawsuit by Hussey and Whiting brings this issue back into the spotlight and raises important questions about the treatment of young actors in the industry.

With the growing awareness of child abuse and exploitation in various industries, it’s crucial for the movie industry to take a closer look at its own history and ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect young actors from exploitation.