Christian Slater: ‘Nymphomaniac should not be banned, but my daughter won’t be seeing it’

Actor Christian Slater is baffled by Turkey’s ban on his new movie Nymphomaniac, but insists his own daughter will never see the controversial Lars Von Trier movie. The film, which features graphic sexual scenes, has been struck off release lists in Turkey as censors in many other countries wrestle with plans to put the movie on the big screen – but Slater has no idea what all the fuss is about.
Defending his film, he says, “It’s pretty crazy. We live in a society where violence is more acceptable than the act of lovemaking. It’s sort of a weird twist and feels at times certainly backwards. Some of the things that we see that do pass on our televisions and films – like gore and brutality… As long as we’re hurting each other, fine, but we actually show someone having sex or making love and it’s a much more taboo subject.
“It (film) certainly has a provocative title and gets people thinking about the movie in one particular direction, but when you actually sit there and watch it, you end up seeing a very emotional and passionate journey. I think there really is a lot of heart and soul in this.”
But, that said, Slater doesn’t want his daughter to see the film, adding, “My daughter will never see it. I was having a conversation with my agent in the car on speakerphone and my soon-to-be wife was sitting next to me and he said, ‘There is this movie, Nymphomaniac’, and my wife looked at me. I was like, ‘What am I getting involved with here?’
“Obviously I was not required to do the challenging things. I did not need a porn double.”