  Canadian actress Anne Bedian (Supplied photo) |
Larry David, shy? When it comes to sex, yes.
Canadian actress Anne Bedian has a stimulating encounter with David in a new episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm titled Palestinian Chicken that airs Sunday, July 24, on HBO Canada. The fact that David -- who plays a (slightly) fictionalized version of himself on the series -- is Jewish and Bedian plays an anti-Semitic Palestinian named Shara is testament to David's unique brand of humour.
"Larry actually is very shy about these things," said Bedian, referring to the sex scene. "He's not comfortable around it. If it were up to him, we'd both be in sweats.
"So it was weird to sit on top of Larry, and be like, 'You ready?' And he has this cushion patch on his crotch, to prevent any, whatever, accidental contact, and his assistant is bringing him his breath spray.
"But the comedy is in the fact that he's disengaged somewhat, kind of commenting on it. I was like, 'Come on Larry, I'm doing all the work here, you're not doing anything.' And he said, 'That's what's going to make it funny.' "
Bedian, a former member of the Canadian Navy, has done tons of episodic TV work through the years, on shows such as Lost, NCIS, Lie to Me, The Closer and CSI. Also, Bedian currently has a recurring role as Major Hasti Samizay in Combat Hospital, the Toronto-shot Canadian-American co-production that airs Tuesdays on Global and ABC.
Despite a regular comedic role on the short-lived CBS series The Ex List in 2008, Bedian didn't have much comedy on her resume prior to Curb Your Enthusiasm.
"They agreed to see me, but they called first and said to my agent, 'Basically (Curb) is improv, how does she feel about that?' " Bedian recalled. "Improv is not an issue for me, it was just the comedic thing, which I had been working on.
"What they were more worried about was that I had to be OK with simulated sex scenes, and also that this character is not politically correct at all. And apparently my agent told them that I have no shame. I was like, 'Oh great, thank you.' "
Because David is so obsessed with getting natural reactions from his actors, all Bedian knew about the role going into it was, "Palestinian, anti-Semitic, politically incorrect, sex, that's it." As for the anti-Semitic element, Bedian -- who is of Armenian descent -- said there's big irony there.
"I am the furthest from an anti-Semite -- I study the Torah, I read Hebrew," Bedian said. "I am into Judaism a lot more than my Jewish friends. So it was an interesting process preparing for this role."
Part of Bedian's preparation was watching David in an old appearance on The Tonight Show when he basically said if he were attracted to an anti-Semitic woman, he would sleep with her anyway.
How and why and where the hook-up between Shara and Larry occurs is classic Curb Your Enthusiasm.
"This is my first 30-minute sitcom, and what a great one to be on," Bedian said. "I hit the jackpot."
