Penn Badgley Said That He Had To Put Wax “In Every Orifice” For The Water Scene In “You”

The much-anticipated fifth and final season of the Netflix series You finally hit our screens last month, and this means that we have been treated to a whole bunch of behind-the-scenes insight from the cast and crew in recent weeks.

This sequence marks the first time that viewers are explicitly shown just how terrifying and powerful Joe is, and we see him brutally attack Bronte — including violently punching her in the face, strangling her, and even attempting to drown her in a lake.

The drowning scene is perhaps one of the most harrowing parts of the episode, and in a recent installment of his podcast, Podcrushed, Penn detailed the less-than-glamorous reality of shooting the water scenes, which involved having to put wax over his rectum. Yes, you read that correctly.

“I did get into the water for the final bit, I had to be fully submerged by the water,” Penn recalled before sharing: “But the water was laced with E. coli. They did test it beforehand, and they said it was manageable, but what we all had to do, when we got in, we had to put in every orifice — I’m not kidding — wax. So, ears, nose… others…”

“It was a small, small man-made little pond,” Penn continued. “The grass was covered in goose shit. There were four of us who ended up having to get into that water, and we all had to cover every orifice. Seal it with, like, this wax pomade, in the noses, and then right after, when we got out, we had to spray our mouths and nose and ears with an antiseptic.”

Keen to reassure listeners, Lee then said: “I remember seeing all the water testing from safety and it was… It was not something you want to go and swim some laps in, but a lot of this is out of an abundance of caution.” But the director then admitted: “Granted, I was sitting up on the shore with a cappuccino in my hands.”

“Have you put wax in your rectum?” Penn then asked, sparking laughter. And this prompted Lee to recall the moment another crew member told Penn about the wax situation, sharing: “I remember, later that night, you telling me that Tony came up to you?”