Maggie Gyllenhaal is ''really interested'' in nudity.

The 'Honourable Woman' actress - who has daughters Ramona, eight, and Gloria, three, with husband Peter Sarsgaard - admits shooting sex scenes are ''uncomfortable'' but she is fascinated by seeing intimate moments played out on film.

She said: ''I think sex in film is so interesting. It's uncomfortable to take your clothes off in front of people you don't know, but it can be an opportunity for really interesting acting. I'm 37, and I've had two babies, and I'm really interested in nudity now.''

Maggie was happy to shoot sex scenes for 'The Honorable Woman' because she wanted to give a realistic view of a woman's body - but admits she wasn't allowed to make the footage as ''animal'' as she wanted.

She said: ''I was never the actress asked to be the hot girl who took her clothes off on her first day of work. I was never objectified that way.

''But in 'The Honourable Woman', my character Nessa is so controlled, I wanted the sex to be animal. Unfortunately, it was the BBC and so it couldn't be totally animal.

''Also, I wanted to show what a woman my age actually really looks like. I am much more turned on when I see people's bodies that look like bodies I recognise.''

Last year's miniseries 'The Honourable Woman' marked Maggie's first major television role and she was daunted by the project, but feels she learned a lot about herself while shooting the programme.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: ''It was a scope I've never touched before. I had a moment of panic in my trailer where I thought, 'Everybody on set is relying on me, but so are my two little girls and my husband. How the f**k am I going to do this?'

''I had a big scene to do after that, so I put all the feelings I was having into it.

''I've never learned more from a role. Not just about acting, but about myself, being a mom, managing all of it with little kids and how to come home at night and put them to sleep.''