Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey reflect on their “most profoundly intimate love scene”

Spoiler alert – if you haven’t finished watching Fellow Travelers yet, the video embedded here contains major spoilers.

Fellow Travelers has now come to an end on Showtime. The historical miniseries follows a romance between two men, beginning in the McCarthy witch hunt era of the 1950s and ending in the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.

It stars Matt Bomer (as Hawkins Fuller) and Jonathan Bailey (Timothy Laughlin). It has earned wide praise and fans are already missing the arrival of new episodes.

The two leads recently sat down with TVLine to reflect on the final episode, including what Bomer called their “most profoundly intimate love scene.”

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The show contained several intimate scenes, but the segment he was referring to was one in which they slow-danced together while undressed.

“It was what it was. It was naked and face-to-face and connected and intimate and sweet,” says Bomer. “And a comfortability that you can’t fake between the characters. It’s earned at that point in their relationship.”

“They’re like otters at that point,” adds Bailey. “Just linked, floating in their pond.”

Otters famously float together holding each other’s paws while asleep in the water.

Bomer agrees with the analogy. Bailey goes on to point out how the characters, as two gay men, had to fight against a power dynamic to reach this moment of authenticity.

Bailey adds that it “was a really special moment to film. I remember going ‘me and Matt have come so far to be able to film this and to feel as relaxed as kind, it felt kind, a kind and joyful moment.”

You can watch the discussion from the 1.50 mark below, which includes a brief clip of the scene.

Bailey gets emotional

Bailey goes on to get emotional, reflecting on another scene. That’s when his character, Tim, sees Hawk’s newborn child in hospital. Tim realizes Hawk has fully committed to his wife and new family life.

All episodes of Fellow Travelers are streaming now on Paramount+. You can also catch Matt Bomer in the Leonard Bernstein biopic, Maestro, on Netflix. Bridgerton star Bailey will next be seen in the Wicked movies, alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

Related:

New Fellow Travelers clip perfectly captures the dangers of the McCarthy era

As Tim rushes to get dressed, he asks Hawkins, “When will I see you again?”

Film Adaptation of Wicked Finds Its Fiyero in Jonathan Bailey

He’ll be joining Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo and Grammy winner Ariana Grande, who’ll play Elphaba and Glinda respectively.