When Harry Met Sally: Meg Ryan’s Kids Consider the Orgasm Scene “Very Unique Embarrassment”

Carol Burnett thinks Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sallycan’t be topped.

In a conversation for Interview magazine conducted before the actors strike, Carol Burnett and Meg Ryan opened up about their decades-long careers, discussing The Carol Burnett Show, Ryan’s rom-com What Happened Later.

The comedian wanted to thank the actress for “so many wonderful moments” in her movies, specifically praising the famous fake orgasm scene that takes place at Katz’s Deli in the iconic 1989 film.

“We probably did that over and over and over again,” Ryan said of filming the scene. “It’s funny, my son [fellow actor Jack Quaid] just called me this morning, and he’s in New York staying at a hotel that’s right across the street from Katz’s Deli. My daughter was here, and everybody was on speaker, and they were like, ‘Mom, this is a very unique embarrassment.’”

The actress noted her son also told her that if she were to go into the deli, she would see an arrow pointing at the table where that scene was shot — and she wondered if it was the right one.

Burnett loves the moments Ryan had with Billy Crystal and with David Duchovny in her newest film, What Happens Later, which only had a $3 million budget.

“We had to do it really quickly,” the Sleepless in Seattle star said. “A lot of those extras weren’t even ours, they were real people. We went back in post and made everybody the same palette. There’s lot of stuff you can do digitally now, thank God.”

What Happens Later marks Ryan’s first return to the director’s chair and screen since 2015’s Ithaca. 

She also co-wrote the project with Steven Dietz and Kirk Lynn.

The film follows ex-lovers Willa (Ryan) and Bill (Duchovny), who reunite when they are both stranded in an airport overnight and find themselves revisiting their past, wondering what could have been.

Burnett also asked the You’ve Got Mail actress if she has a preference between being in front of the camera or behind it.

“The easiest part was acting in it,” Ryan said of the upcoming film. “I want to direct again just so I can sit in the chair because I’m sure there’s a lot of things I missed. I hadn’t done a role in a really long time, but it was fun with David. A lot of it was done in two shots. I’m proud of that. I set up everything beforehand so that once we were there, it was just David and I trying to tell the truth.”