FILM · 2011 · UK
Shame
20 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
20 Interesting Facts About Shame
Interesting Facts (14)
- #001
Michael Fassbender first watched the film with his father, Josef. Both were relieved that his mother, Adele, could not attend the screening.
- #002
The sex scene in which Michael Fassbender and Amy Hargreaves are pressed against the glass of a window in a room at The Standard hotel in Manhattan was actually shot over the course of a day above a crowded street. Between takes, onlookers watched the two actors smile and wave to them naked from the hotel room above. Since The Standard Hotel opened in New York in 2009, it has gained a notorious reputation for guests engaging in public sexual activity in front of their room windows, sometimes to entertain onlookers on the street or in the High Line park below the building. This phenomenon has been documented in articles in New York Magazine, The New York Post and The Observer, among other publications. In June 2013 in China, a Chinese couple died after the window they were leaning against collapsed while performing a similar act.
- #003
The scene in which Brandon (Michael Fassbender) and Sissy (Carey Mulligan) argue on the couch while watching television runs for 6 minutes and 15 seconds without a cut.
- #004
Steve McQueen stated that although the nature of Brandon and Sissy's relationship is open to speculation, he saw nothing sexual in their casual nudity around each other, only that as brother and sister they were not shy about their bodies.
- #005
The film's Hungarian poster was banned on the grounds that the title was written in semen.
- #006
In a review of the film in the journal Art of Psychiatry, psychiatrist Dr. Abby Seltzer diagnosed Sissy with Borderline Personality Disorder. This was never confirmed by the film's actual writer.
- #007
The scene in which Brandon and Sissy are intimate on the couch took 60 takes.
- #008
Unusually for a film company, Fox Searchlight did not appeal the NC-17 rating. This is generally seen as a box-office disaster for any film, but in this case the company regarded it as a badge of honor.
- #009
Steve McQueen had planned to make the film in his hometown of London until he discovered that New Yorkers were far less inhibited about sexual abuse.
- #010
In an interview, Carey Mulligan stated that her nude scene was liberating.
- #011
Casting director Avy Kaufman found that, because of the level of nudity required, many actors were not interested in appearing in the film.
- #012
It is one of two films written by playwright Abi Morgan that were released in 2011. The other is The Iron Lady (2011).
- #013
In the final frame of the film, as Brandon looks at the woman on the subway, a subway advertisement for a church called The River NYC is clearly visible behind him. It is in fact the church Carey Mulligan attended during her time in New York.
- #014
The doctor seen next to the blonde woman in the purple hat in the brochure advertisement is her husband.
Production Story (1)
- #015
Despite the film's $6.5 million budget, Fox Searchlight Pictures paid only about $400,000 to acquire the United States distribution rights.
Behind the Scenes (1)
- #016
At the 2012 Newsweek Oscar roundtable, Michael Fassbender said that he actually urinated on camera during a scene in which his character is seen urinating (such bodily-function scenes are usually simulated during a film's production, not least because of the difficulty of reproducing them across multiple takes). George Clooney, who took part in the roundtable, asked Fassbender how many times he had to urinate, and Fassbender answered three.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #017
Michael Fassbender was the first and only person cast in the lead role.
- #018
Carey Mulligan said she was given the role of Sissy because director Steve McQueen suggested she get a seagull tattoo. In an interview she explained that someone had sent her the film's script and that she had liked it. While in London for the London Film Festival, and upon hearing that McQueen would be meeting actresses in the city for the film, she wanted to meet him and formally begged to audition. She told him she had read the script and thought it was exactly why she wanted to be an actress. She said that years earlier she had played Nina in Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull, and that there is a passage in which Nina, who wants to be an actress, says: "Now I know, I understand, it's not about fame, glory or the things I used to dream of. It's the ability to endure, the ability to carry your cross. I have faith. When I think of my profession, I am not afraid of life." Mulligan said she had thought of getting a seagull tattoo to always remind herself of this, because that was how she felt. McQueen thought it was a great idea and said that if she did it, she could take the role. So she did.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #019
During the running scene, Brandon is seen waiting at a traffic light, and an advertisement for the series Army Wives (2007) is visible in the background. Lucy Walters, who plays the woman on the subway train, also appears in Army Wives in the role of Amy Sandberg.
Deeper Meaning (1)
- #020
Carey Mulligan's hair was still in a recovery phase after being cut and dyed platinum blonde for Public Enemies (2009), so her pixie cut in this film resulted from that.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work