Jason Biggs is opening up about the iconic pie scene in "American Pie," revealing exactly how many thrusts were cut to keep the film rated R. The Jason Biggs Shares How Many Thrusts Were Cut To Save ‘American Pie’ From NC-17 Rating first appeared on The Blast
Jason Biggs is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the 1999 cult classic “American Pie,” sharing his thoughts about filming the iconic pie scene. The actor also revealed what it took to get the raunchy film from avoiding an NC-17 rating when it hit theaters.
Jason Biggs Said The Pie Scene Was Shot Two Different Ways
On the March 23 episode of the podcast “Pod Meets World” with host Rider Strong, Biggs shared his experience shooting his breakout movie, “American Pie,” wherein he played Jim Levenstein, an awkward teen determined to lose his virginity before graduating high school.
In arguably the most iconic scene in the movie, a curious Jim spots a warm apple pie in the kitchen and gives in to his sexual urges, getting a few thrusts into the pie before being caught by his father mid-pleasure.
As Biggs shared, they shot that scene two different ways, not with the rating in mind, but to give the filmmakers options and see which one gets more laughs. “It was scripted, I think, standing up, but we said, you know what? What if I was actually on the countertop, mounting the pie? Like, that would be funny. Why don’t we try that too?” Biggs recalled.
From An NC-17 Rating To R
According to Biggs, an early cut of the movie showed him on the countertop thrusting into the pie, and that received an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association.
The rating prohibits viewers 17 and under from seeing the movie, as opposed to an R rating, which allows 17 and below to watch as long as accompanied by an adult. According to reports, less than one percent of movies get the NC-17 rating, and studios typically want to avoid it as much as possible due to limited distribution options and advertising.
Biggs shared that they shot the scene with him standing up by the counter, which also received the same dreaded rating. After getting NC-17 multiple times, what finally got their rating to R was the number of thrusts.
“So ultimately, that was the big fight. It wasn’t over f words… It was the number of thrusts into the pie,” he said, adding that limiting it to two thrusts instead of three finally gave them an R rating.
Jason Biggs Was Concerned About The Scene
Biggs had his reservations about the pie scene and said he initially had concerns about doing it. He shared that he was asking himself whether it was considered adult content, or if he’d be making a fool of himself and ruin his career. He then called his manager, who encouraged him and said, “Jason, you go in there, and you hump that pie with all you got.” So, he did.
What changed his perspective was seeing the crew’s reaction after filming. “We did one take, and we cut. And there was, like, a half-second pause, and then the entire crew burst out laughing. And that was the moment where so many things happened for me,” Biggs shared.
At that point, the actor said he knew that “American Pie” was going to be something big.
The Actor Showed The Scene To His 11-Year-Old
In January, Biggs revealed that he showed his 11-year-old son, Sid, the iconic pie scene. As reported by The Blast, he did it to “control the narrative” since Sid had already been hearing about it from other people and was curious what his father did with the pie.
The actor shared that at one time, he was walking with his children when someone screamed, “Hey, it’s the pie f-cker!” Fortunately, the kids didn’t hear the guy. He and his wife discussed it and decided the best course of action to take was to show their son the scene themselves to “get ahead” of the situation.
Biggs said Sid was “a little uncomfortable” when he saw it, but had a fit of laughter afterwards, saying that his dad was “a good actor.”
‘American Pie’ Was A Massive Success
“American Pie” was a box office success, earning more than $235 million on an $11 million budget. The movie also starred Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Klein, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas. Following its success, three more films followed: “American Pie 2” (1999), “American Wedding” (2003), and “American Reunion) 2012.
While there have been rumors about an “American Pie” reunion, nothing has been confirmed, but Biggs said in 2025 that he would “100% be down” to work with his former co-stars again and revisit his character.
The Jason Biggs Shares How Many Thrusts Were Cut To Save ‘American Pie’ From NC-17 Rating first appeared on The Blast
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