What Role is Worth It?

I have never been a fan of full frontal nudity, for myself that is.  There are several roles out there, probably at least fifty percent of the ones that I see that require some form of nudity.  Don’t get me wrong, I have done nudity in the past, but it was implied nudity.  I was in a horror film (The Taken) where I woke up naked in a bath tub (I had pasties and a thong on, but looked naked).  I was okay with doing implied nudity for this role because I did not feel that it misrepresented me or the script.  My character had just been physically abused and hurt and was left unconscious in a bath tub in the middle of a large empty building. It fit the script, it fit the role and it was shot very tastefully. 

I auditioned for a film recently where I would have had to do a love scene if booked for the role.  There was required nudity for this love scene; the woman waist up, the man fully nude.  I was okay with this scene because of the way it was written, personality and characteristics of the two characters, why it was important to the script and the fact that it was also going to be shot tastefully.  This I could handle. 

On the other hand I was set up to audition for two other projects that also required nudity, both topless.  One was a series regular on a television show, it was similar to Sex in the City, but required more nudity and love scenes than Sex in the City.  I thought I could handle doing a role like that, but after reading the script, watching the first series and how it was shot and then the character background, I decided against it, although the acting on the series I actually really enjoyed.  The other project was a feature film and the character that I would have auditioned for would have been a sleazy small town waitress that wants to f*$k anything that walks through her restaurant doors.  Later on in the script she ends up having sex with the lead male actor, but instead of it being shot tastefully, it would have just been a blunt – her riding on the main actor, wasted and boobs flailing everywhere just as if you were to walk in on your brother having sex with his drunken girlfriend – not pretty. 

One of my good friends just started to get into acting, never having done it before in her life.  Her husband is away to another country fighting the war and they both agreed that she could act as long as she does not kiss another man, meaning she can “have sex” with another man (acting/on set) or even kiss a female (why does that not matter?  She could fall just as easily for a woman as she could a man).  She is also “allowed” to go nude, and nudity doesn’t bother her (and that is okay with me, I personally will only do it if I feel it is necessary and shot tastefully, I could care less if others want to do it, don’t care about it, want to flaunt what they got, etc. more power to them).  She just recently auditioned for this naked commentary where she would stand topless for a commentary on a DVD that will be released shortly.   To me, I don’t think that would help my career, unless of course I wanted to go into porn, which I don’t.  She went for it, had a blast with it, good for her, just not for me. 

My question for you is, what roles or auditions are worth it?  What is it that you are going for?  How do you want to be portrayed?  I know what I am going for, I know what I want, and I know what I will or won’t do.  What about you?