Shia LaBeouf Nymphomaniac Opening: Stellan Skarsgard says don't get too caught up in the hype, Nymphomania isn't porn, it's dark, funny and sexy.

Speaking at the New York premiere of "Nymphomaniac," Shia LaBeouf's co-star Stellan Skarsgard defended the film from the growing controversy. LaBeouf, of course, would have just put written it on a brown paper bag he could wear. The last time Shia LaBeouf made an appearance for the movie, he wore a paper bag over his head with the words "I am not famous anymore" written on the front.

Lars von Trier's new film "Nymphomaniac: Volume I" tells the story of Joe, played by Stacy Martin, as the title character, the nymphomaniac.  Joe is dealing with her parental issues by having as much sex as she can. It may be a lot of sex, but that doesn't mean Nymphomaniac is a pornographic film, says star Stellan Skarsgard.

A reporter caught up with Skarsgard at Thursday's New York premiere of "Nymphomaniac," at the Museum of Modern Art, and asked what it's like starring in a pornographic film.

Skarsgard told Variety von Triers did not make a porno. He explained "All his films are fairy tales, it's not realistic people, but he brings them alive, it has a heightened level that is very exciting,"

The sex scenes in the movie use body doubles engaged in real, penetrative sex and digitally altered them to line up with the stars' simulated sex. "Nymphomaniac" stars Shia LaBeouf along with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman and Willem Dafoe.

Turkey banned the "pornographic" Nymphomaniac, saying the film's extensive nudity and explicit sex scenes make it more porn than art. Cem Erkul, the head of Turkey's Cinema General Directorate, said the board found that the film is "pushing the boundaries of porn" and unfit for public viewing.

Christian Slater said "There were so many parameters established upfront, so it all ended up being handled very appropriately. Anything that (Martin) was uncomfortable with, they dealt with, and they brought in other bodies to use for those particular moments. So really her job, my job was just to show up and be actors, that's all we really had to think about."

In "Nymphomaniac," Shia Lebeouf plays Jerôme who takes Joe's virginity before she bets a friend that she can have sex with more strangers on a train. The wager? Some candy. Skarsgard plays an older bachelor who beats Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Skarsgard has worked with on eight films with von Trier. Skarsgard says von Trier is "a very gentle and good man. You can't feel more comfortable than on a Lars von Trier set, because he trusts the actors very much, and you're allowed to try to do whatever you want to do, and if you make mistakes, that's encouraged, because that means you're taking risks. You can ask any of the actors he's worked with. They all want to return to him. He brings out very truthful performances."

"Nymphomaniac" is Gainsbourg's third film with the von Triers, she also made "Melancholia" and "Antichrist" with the director. She says "His method is so unusual, the fact that you work with him, and he makes you go in a ton of different directions, everything about his way of doing things is fascinating. I don't know that many directors who have that talent, so everything is very appealing," she said, and then made it clear that as much as he like to push the limit, he does so in a gentlemanly way.  "For 'Antichrist' he knew that I was embarrassed about my bosom, so he knew what I didn't want to show that, and when that was clear, the rest was easy."

In his review Variety's Peter Debruge said, "Racy subject aside, the film provides a good-humored yet serious-minded look at sexual self-liberation, thick with references to art, music, religion and literature, even as it pushes the envelope with footage of acts previously relegated to the sphere of pornography."

"Nymphomaniac Volume 2″ will be available on VOD March 20 and in theaters April 4.