Jonathan Lipnicki has discussed the anxiety behind his full-frontal role in A24 film Primetime, in which he plays a predator caught during the making of the television programme To Catch a Predator.
The 35-year-old actor portrays a character using the username Crazyfrog73. In the scene, the character enters a house and immediately removes his trousers in front of Skyler Gisondo’s Dan, who is working as a decoy.
Jonathan Lipnicki on his full-frontal scene in Primetime
Lipnicki said he initially laughed when he learned he would have to strip for the role, but admitted the scene also caused him considerable anxiety.
“I laughed, but it also gave me a lot of anxiety. It’s a crazy thing to wrap your brain around,” he said.
The actor said performers often look for challenging material, but that the part forced him to consider whether he was prepared to take such a risk.
“As actors, we pray for dark material and for things we can really sink our teeth into. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, ‘Am I as courageous an artist as I say I am?’ I had to answer that question, and I was courageous enough to take the plunge,” he said.
Lipnicki has previously appeared fully nude in the play Lost Girls, which he said made the nudity itself less daunting. However, he described the combination of the character and the scene as intimidating.
“The pedophile element by itself is terrifying to tackle, and then you add the nudity. Not only are you a pedophile — you’re a naked, full-frontal pedophile,” he said.
He added that he continued to question the decision even after filming had finished, saying: “Even after I shot it, I thought, ‘I really hope I made the right decision.’ But I’ve tried to live by the idea that, when it comes to art, if something scares you, most likely you should do it.”
Primetime follows the making of To Catch a Predator and the final sting operation that led to the programme being cancelled.
Lipnicki’s earlier credits include Jerry Maguire, Dr Dolittle, Stuart Little, The Little Vampire and Like Mike. He also appeared in Sarah’s Oil in 2025.
