The Surprising Truth About Thora Birch's American Beauty Nude Scene

Thora Birch may have disappeared from Hollywood for a while, but her impact remained palpable in the years she spent away from the spotlight. As a child star, she had every promise in the world of succeeding and, for a time, she did. She played Harrison Ford's daughter in the 1994 film "Clear and Present Danger." She then landed a major role in 1999's "American Beauty," where she played Jane Burnham, the angsty teenage daughter of Kevin Spacey's character, Lester Burnham, and his wife, Carolyn, played by Annette Bening. As the critically acclaimed dark film exploded in popularity, it ultimately earned eight Oscar nominations and five Oscar wins.

Birch had an interesting family history that impacted her career in its own way. Her mother and father were porn actors who worked on "Deep Throat." In a prime example of a celebrity parent engaging in creepy behavior, Birch's father, Jack Birch, actually got very involved in her career and was on the set of the 2009 film "Winter of Frozen Dreams," where he demanded to be present for a sex scene in which Birch was set to act. While it was an awkward scenario, Birch's parents actually had to give their consent for a key moment in "American Beauty" that might have been a role that was too mature for her.

Thora Birch landed the remarkable role of Jane Burnham in the 1999 film "American Beauty," which had a dark script and required her character to do a nude scene. The big challenge? Birch was underage at the time and essentially joined the ranks of child actors who took on controversial roles. Birch was only 16 when she landed the role of Jane because of her "grungy, even self-effacing way," according to The Guardian — the perfect actor to play the disillusioned teenager. The issue was that Birch went topless in one scene and, since she was underage, her parents had to provide their consent.

"It was very, very difficult for me to come to terms with it in a personal way," Birch once said (per IMDb). "Creatively, I was solid. I understood the importance and significance of that scene and I had known in advance that it was going to happen. As you can imagine, I had spoken with the director, Sam Mendes, and we both agreed it was not a gratuitous scene, rather a very realistic moment in Jane and Ricky's relationship."

Birch told Craig Kilborn in 2002, when she appeared on his show, "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn," that her parents had to approve. After they read the script, they gave her their approval, especially since they felt the nude scene was vital to the character's development, per IMDb. At least everyone was on board for the scene!

Thora Birch made an entire career out of being a child star, but there was one role in particular that even she felt too young to play. Enter: "Interview with the Vampire." The story goes that Birch had many meetings with the director, but she still had some major reservations about portraying the role of young Claudia in the horror film. "At the time, I was still quite innocent in a lot of ways," Birch told People about the predicament she found herself in. "I grew up fast being a child actor, but there were still parts of that character and things that were required of her that I still felt were too adult, or I just didn't connect up with it. I had no frame of personal reference for those deeper, more complex emotions that that character had to embody. So, for me, it was just like, 'This is a little icky.'"

In the end, it was Kirsten Dunst who took on the role. Fortunately, it appears there was no bad blood on Birch's end. "I did love it. I'm a huge fan of the movie and the show as well," she said. As for Dunst, she didn't exactly enjoy kissing co-star Brad Pitt in the movie.