Burt Reynolds in the 1970s film Deliverance. Photo / Supplied
Burt Reynolds in the 1970s film Deliverance. Photo / Supplied
Hollywood icon Burt Reynolds still regrets posing nude for a women's magazine in the 1970s as he fears the centrefold hurt his movie Deliverance's chances at the Academy Awards.
The actor caused a stir and became a sex symbol in 1972 after he stripped off and posed naked on abearskin rug for Cosmopolitan magazine.
The photo was so popular among female readers it reportedly spawned Playgirl magazine, but Reynolds is convinced the commotion it caused had a negative effect on his Deliverance co-stars.
He tells UK TV show Piers Morgan's Life Stories, "I really can't (look at it). I'm very embarrassed by it. I thought it cost some actors in Deliverance an Academy Award. It did distract from (Deliverance), it distracted from a lot of things. It cost the film a lot. I mean, the film deserved more. (Jon) Voight was incredible. I think it hurt Jon. I think it hurt Ned Beatty. He certainly deserved an Oscar nomination. I think it hurt me, too. It was just the wrong timing."
However, Reynolds is still proud of the 1972 thriller, insisting, "I'm not sure it's my greatest acting performance, (but) I think it's my best film. By far my best film."
