“Unique Dogsledding Sex Scene in ‘North Of North’ Leaves Star Anna Lambe Feeling Embarrassed”

It might be cold in Ice Cove, Nunavut — but North of North Season 1, Episode 6 sure is steamy.

A young Inuk mother named Siaja (played by Anna Lambe) is at the center of the new Netflix series as she decides to start fresh in the small Arctic town of Ice Cove, leaving her husband behind. In an attempt to rediscover herself, Siaja agrees to go on a date with Olivier (portrayed by Dan Jeannotte), a French dogsledder. However, she soon discovers that dogsledding is not only Olivier’s passion but also his sexual fetish.

The date begins normally with Olivier preparing dinner as Siaja admires his photography. Things take a turn when they move to the bedroom, and Olivier unexpectedly puts Siaja in a doggy style position. He then asks her to imitate animal sounds, but Siaja starts to feel uncomfortable when Olivier treats her luscious hair like reins and urges her to act like a sled dog, crossing a boundary for her.

Surrounded by images of sled dogs, Siaja realizes that Olivier’s sexual gratification is intertwined with his hobby, prompting her to leave abruptly. She expresses her discomfort to Olivier, stating that she does not want to lose her dignity in such a manner. Siaja concludes the awkward encounter by shaking Olivier’s hand, touching his muscular abdomen for the last time, and swiftly exiting the room.

When DECIDER caught up with actress Anna Lambe before North of North premiered on Netflix, she said there was “a lot of laughter” going on when they filmed the cringey sex scene.

“I remember when we were filming it, when we get to the whole part in bed and he’s holding on to my hair and he was, you know, ‘Mush, doggy, mush,’ I could hear Zoe Hopkins, who was our director, behind the privacy screen watching the monitor trying to stifle her laughter,” Lambe said. “And I was mortified. I was like, ‘Oh, my god, this is so ridiculous. What is my job?’”

While the interaction may have been awkward to film, Lambe had nothing but kind things to say about her scene partner.

“Dan, who plays Olivier, is such a lovely, lovely guy,” she said. “He’s so kind and he’s so sweet and just really leaned into the ridiculousness of the scene, of Olivier and how kind of cheesy and strange he is.”

“It made it easy and smooth and just really silly,” she continued. “I think that going into the day and just being like, ‘Let’s just have fun, let’s make something really silly,’ took a lot of the pressure off and any of the fear and anxiety.”

North of North is currently streaming on Netflix.