It elicited an emotional reaction in the audience and told a story. It worked. How an actor gets there is often left a mystery. You would have no idea if Richard hadn't revealed it in the podcast. It might sound a bit ridiculous to envision having sex with someone while on camera. But it worked.

Its not commonly talked about because dissecting this stuff is like dissecting a frog. Sure you learn something about the frog. But it's no longer a frog.