You may not have heard of Canadian actor Stephen Amell before; unless you're a fan of the The Vampire Diaries where he briefly appeared as the werewolf character Brady in the show's second season.
But come December 3, he is bound to become a household name as he joins the cast of the HBO series Hung.
The Golden Globe nominated series is topbilled by actor Thomas Jane who is famous for his roles in the films The Punisher and Deep Blue Sea.
In Hung, Jane plays the role of Ray Drecker, a financially distraught high school teacher/athletic coach who turned to prostitution for extra income.
For the past two seasons, the story revolved on how his character, along with his friend Tanya (played by actress Jane Adams), developed a lucrative business in the sex industry.
This coming season, however, Ray Drecker faces the challenge of a well-endowed younger competitor by the name of Jason, played by Amell.
In a phone conference with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) on November 29, the 30-year-old thespian from Ontario, Canada talked about how he landed the part.
"I was shooting a movie in New Orleans and I landed back in California on a Monday night.
"It was during pilot season in California, which was a really busy time, and thrown into the mix was an audition [schedule] for Hung.
"I knew this show, but I've never auditioned for an HBO show before.
"So I came in at what turned out to be the last day of auditions. They've been looking for [someone to play] the character of Jason for a while.
"I had a really nice reading with Colette [Burson] and Dmitry [Lipkin], the creators of the show.
"And then, they got me for a chemistry reading with Rebecca Creskoff, she plays Lenore, and that was it.
"I guess I got along really well with everyone in that room and the next thing I know, I was sitting at the cast table reading the brief for the show."
Stephen admitted that he did not have any awkward feeling towards the character, especially when he found out about Jason's occupation as a gigolo.
"Some of the other characters I've played in the past years were a sadistic werewolf, a murderer, and a rapist.
"In comparison to those, playing a busboy turned gigolo was actually pretty tame."
He also didn't feel shy or nervous about getting naked in front of the show's entire production staff on his first day of shooting.
"For the crew on Hung—a lot of them have been there since the beginning—doing sex scenes is something that they're very used to.
"It was easy [getting naked] because they were all extremely professional and they knew how to handle an actor who was doing this for the first time.
"Beyond that, the director for the first episode Colette Burson—who is one of the co-creators of the show—was very, very helpful.
"Rebecca Creskoff, who is my partner in the scene, was also extremely helpful and we hit it off very quickly and became friends.
"It doesn't really make it less awkward, but it makes it a little more bearable.
"So, once I got over the initial embarrassment of getting naked in front of a bunch of people that I didn't know that well, I was fine. Now I'm enjoying it."
He also admitted that he'd rather go full-on naked than having to bear shooting an entire scene wearing "the sock."
A sock is like a small nylon stocking that male actors use a costume to cover their genitals during filming.
It is usually held by a garter or hair tie to secure it in place.
It also serves as a numbing agent to prevent the actor from getting an erection during the scene (which is not necessarily a good thing when you're shooting a sex scene with a partner).
He said in a previous interview with the U.S. media that he'd rather go naked than wear the sock.
He explained to us why during our phone conversation, "There is nothing sexy about the sock.
"It's definitely there for function over fashion. But, you know, it's just a funny thing."
Luckily, he has already gotten the hang of working on a show that requires him to do a lot of delicate encouters.
Thanks to his very helpful co-actors and directors, he is now able to give his piece of advice to other players who are still quite unsure of what to do during an intimate scene.
"There's only one tip and that is to get together with the person that you're going to do it with.
"Try to laugh about what you're going to do because it's inherently awkward by nature.
"And there are different camera setups. They want you positioned very specifically.
"If you don't have a good relationship and you can't look at the person you're working with, and have a little bit of a laugh with them, and have a nice chemistry with them; then it'll just make the whole experience sort of mechanical.
"So find your scene partner and get to know them. Have a bit of a laugh with them and it'll make the whole experience easier."
See how Stephen fares as the gigolo Jason in the third season of Hung, which airs on HBO Asia beginning December 5, 2011.