The music video was shot at Echo Park in Los Angeles , California . Madonna portrays an exotic dancer who befriends a young boy , played by child actor Felix Howard . This video was originally set to be directed by Madonna 's then-husband Sean Penn , but in the end the final honors went to Jean-Baptiste Mondino , who went on to work with Madonna on her videos for " Justify My Love " ( 1990 ) , " Human Nature " ( 1995 ) , " Love Do n't Live Here Anymore " ( 1996 ) , " Do n't Tell Me " ( 2000 ) and " Hollywood " ( 2003 ) . The video was shot in July 1986 and was released in December 1986 . It was produced by David Naylor . The video was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 1987 . In the Best Female Video category , " Open Your Heart " lost to another Madonna video , when the music video for " Papa Do n't Preach " won the award . The video has been ranked at number 35 on VH1 's " 50 Sexiest Video Moments " of all time
MTV Video Music Awards
1987 MTV Video Music Awards
Open Your Heart (Madonna song)