Seth Rogen had the most bizarre reaction while filming Penelope Cruz sex scene

Seth Rogen has revealed that filming an intimate scene with Penélope Cruz didn’t exactly bring out his inner leading man.

The actor admitted he couldn’t stop thanking – and apologising to – the Oscar winner while shooting a romantically charged scene for new comedy The Invite, leaving director Olivia Wilde thoroughly confused.

Wilde quickly stepped in to ask what on earth he was doing. ‘She was just like, “Why? What are you doing? Why do you keep saying thank you?”‘

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Superbad star explained that he and Cruz had been encouraged to improvise during the sequence, where their characters appear on the verge of hooking up.

Unfortunately, his instincts took over.

‘There’s a scene where me and her are having a romantically charged moment, and it seems like we might hook up with one another, and I just kept saying, “Thank you,”‘ Rogen laughed.

Rogen confessed he had no explanation. ‘I don’t know. It’s just what’s coming out of my mouth.’

Asked why gratitude seemed the appropriate response to a sex scene, the 44-year-old joked that it was simply an honest reflection of how he’d behave in real life.

‘All I have is gratitude,’ he said. ‘I would be apologetic and thankful. I’m sorry.’

If that wasn’t awkward enough, Rogen admitted there was another person lingering in the back of his mind throughout filming: Cruz’s husband, fellow Oscar winner Javier Bardem.

‘So, you’re very worried about that,’ he joked, before adding: ‘I don’t think he views me as a legitimate threat in any way, shape or form.’

As it turns out, some of the film’s funniest moments weren’t even in the script.

Rogen revealed that Cruz was responsible for one memorable scene after suggesting her character serenade him with a Sade song.

‘It was Penélope Cruz’s idea,’ he said. ‘She was like, “What if I start singing Sade to you?” Which is sort of sexy, but also kind of hilarious at the same time.’

Not wanting to be outdone in the improvisation stakes, Rogen contributed an idea of his own. He suggested his character struggle to remove his trousers before spectacularly falling over. Everyone on set loved it.

His shoulder, however, did not. ‘I hurt my shoulder for seven months,’ he admitted.

The Invite stars Olivia Wilde and Rogen as married couple Angela and Joe, whose relationship is thrown into chaos when they’re propositioned by glamorous pair Pina and Hawk, played by Cruz and Edward Norton.

Wilde has already shared her own unforgettable behind-the-scenes moment from filming.

Speaking on the Table Manners podcast, she revealed Cruz unexpectedly kissed her during one scene, completely derailing her concentration.

‘I was so shocked,’ Wilde recalled. ‘I turned my head and looked directly into the lens.’

When a crew member called her name, the only word her brain could produce was: ‘Namaste.’

‘That’s the only thing that came to my mind,’ she laughed. ‘Everyone was like, “What?” I was like, “I don’t know.”‘

‘My mind went blank because I was so struck by this moment. I lost control. I was so madly in love with her.’

Between impromptu Sade serenades, surprise kisses, and Rogen politely thanking his way through a sex scene, it’s safe to say The Invite sounds as though it was just as entertaining to film as it promises to be to watch.