Emma Stone once had to really give her co-star a whacking while filming an intimate scene in one of her movies.

Stone has been in a lot of films, but no one has ever said anything about her on set to suggest that she’s some sort of method actor in the mould of Joaquin Phoenix or Daniel Day-Lewis.

So, it might come as a surprise to learn that one scene in a 2010 film was actually real, given the levels of violence involved in it.

OK, so it’s not real violence, but she really was giving her co-star a beating at the time.

Sony

This story comes from the film Easy A which saw Stone’s character Olive and her on-screen best friend Brandon – played by Dan Byrd – filming a staged ‘sex scene’.

The premise of the movie is that Olive develops a bit of a reputation after lying about losing her virginity, before attempting to help her friend Brandon, who is bullied for his sexuality, by pretending to have sex with him.

There’s obviously much more to it than that, but for the purposes of this, you just need to know about that.

During a scene where the two characters pretend to get it on, it required a bit of smacking and general simulated violence.

However, the director of the film explained that the violence wasn’t all completely fake.

Will Gluck remembered: “Emma smacked Dan many times, and initially, as I recall, Emma didn't want to smack him hard.

“And Dan is just such a trouper, telling her, 'You have to keep smacking me, you have to keep smacking me!'

“And if you watch the movie, those are real smacks…. But the only way that works is if they committed.

"And that was really fun.”

So, commit they did.

Upon rewatching the scene, it’s clear that both are enjoying themselves, so there’s no harm done with the real whacks that are being dealt out.

Sony

It’s also understandable that Stone – who must have been about 20 at the time of filming – would be a bit wary of getting properly torn into her co-star, even if he was totally fine with it and even egging her on.

The film itself was something of a success, boasting a good rating on Rotten Tomatoes and receiving numerous positive reviews from critics.

The general consensus on Rotten Tomatoes tells us: "It owes a huge debt to older (and better) teen comedies, but Easy A proves a smart, witty showcase for its irresistibly charming star, Emma Stone."