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Betty Gilpin spoke to PEOPLE about her role in the new romantic comedy "Office Romance"« with Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein.
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As Gilpin recalls, the scene of her character's "turbulent" birth, using a vaginal prosthesis, "caused her to have a bit of a panic.".
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Drawing on her own experience as a mother of two and filming the scene with Lopez, Gilpin was able to make it "inspiring, funny, and engaging.".
When Betty Gilpin describes the birth scene in her new film as "wild," it's putting it mildly.
In the new romantic comedy "Office Romance" »(now on Netflix) Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein play co-workers who embark on a secret affair, despite a strict company policy prohibiting romantic relationships. Gilpin, 39, plays Lopez's workaholic friend, Sydney, who spends most of the film in the final months of her pregnancy until (spoiler alert!) she suddenly goes into labor in the office and gives birth right on her desk.
«I’ve done birth scenes before,” says the former star of the series. GLOW "I'd never used a real vaginal prosthesis before," Gilpin told PEOPLE. "Before filming the scene, she was a little panicked.".
What helped her cope with it all? "When I walked onto set, I realized, 'Oh, I'm literally going to be holding the hand of one of our country's greatest working mothers, Jennifer Lopez,'" she jokes of her co-star, a mother of two.
Betty Gilpin. Photo: Christina Bumfrey/Variety via Getty
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Gilpin's own experience as a mother who didn't give birth in an office setting also influenced the fateful situation in Sydney. The actress and her husband, Cosmo Pfeil, welcomed two daughters, one in November 2020 and one in May 2024.
«"It was kind of like what it feels like to be a working parent sometimes," Gilpin says, "where you feel completely exposed, like you're screaming into the sun, and your insides are on display whether you want them to be or not.".
Betty Gilpin in "Office Romance" (Photo: Ana Carballosa/Netflix)
But the birth scene in the film «Office Romance» , she adds, "was also really inspiring, silly, and fun. And then it was time to put my real kids to bed! It's like, 'Oh, I guess this is my on-camera legacy forever. Well, time to make mac and cheese.'".
The romantic comedy, directed by Ol Parker, allowed Gilpin to live out a fantasy she never knew she needed: a glamorous pregnancy. "My first pregnancy was during the pandemic, and I wore all my husband's clothes. So faking pregnancy in stilettos and chic business attire, with full makeup, à la Kris Jenner, was a whole different ballgame.".
The film "Office Romance"« , written by Goldstein and Joe Kelly and starring Tony Hale, Amy Sedaris, and Edward James Olmos, is available on Netflix starting Friday, June 5.
Read the original article on People.