WILLIAM H MACY - MACY'S WHISKEY TONIC

WILLIAM H MACY relied on alcohol to help him pluck up the courage to perform steamy sex scenes with his beautiful THE COOLER co-star MARIA BELLO.

The 54-year-old FARGO star admits he was terrified about shooting naked scenes with the former ER actress - but Bello's frankness and generous helpings of whiskey helped them through it.

The actor explains "I was scared to death of the love scenes. Why did I wait till I was over 50 to drop my knickers? Maria said 'Don't worry, I'm an old hippy. I take my clothes at the drop of a hat, it's not a big deal.'

"Her confidence emboldened me. Maria and I - if you'll excuse the expression - did a dry-run where we choreographed the scenes exactly without clothes. We also had a good friend on set, called JIM BEAM who helped a lot. I'd take a couple of pulls on Jim and I was ready to go."