How Meg Ryan Learned to ‘Fake It’ for “When Harry Met Sally”
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Photo by Alo Ceballos/GC Images(NEW YORK) — Anyone who’s seen When Harry Met Sally remembers the famous scene in which Meg Ryan fakes an orgasm.
According to director Rob Reiner, it took the actress a while to get comfortable shooting it.
“Meg was nervous. Obviously you’re in front of extras and all the crew members and everything. So the first few times we did it, she did it kind of weak. It was a little tepid,” Reiner told the Huffington Post. “And I said, ‘Look, let me show you what I want’ after a few takes that weren’t so good.”
With that, Reiner said he sat opposite Billy Crystal and began acting out what he wanted her to do. As he pounded on the table and screamed, “yes” over and over, he was mortified to realize that his mother, who uttered the line, “I’ll have what she’s having” in the film, had been watching the whole thing.
“But then Meg did it way better!” he said.
As the movie celebrates its 25th anniversary in a few weeks, Reiner said that fans can celebrate by visiting Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City, where the scene was filmed.
“There’s a sign that says, ‘This is where Harry met Sally,'” he said. “People go there and they act the scene out.”
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