Lights, Camera, Consent: The Truth About Hollywood Intimacy Coordinators

Shooting a sex scene isn’t always — well, sexy. Just ask Florence Pugh. During a recent appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast, the 29-year-old opened up about an unfortunate experience she had while working with an unnamed director.

“I’m quite confident, I’m quite happy in my skin, I’ve always been able to make sure that I’m heard,” she noted. “That being said, even though I know that I believe that, and even though I know that I felt that at the time, there are plenty of things that I remember where it was just completely inappropriate to have asked me to do that, to have directed me in that way.”

In recent years, Hollywood has taken steps to protect actors from just that by implementing intimacy coordinators — a relatively new practice that came out of the MeToo movement that saw women pushing back at exploitation. “I think it’s a job that’s still figuring itself out,” Florence admitted.

However, the Midsommar star added, “I will say that I’ve been able to understand better meaning now through working with great ones in sex scenes.” The pros have helped her in “finding the story of what it is, what kind of sex is it, how do you touch each other, how long have you been having sex for.”

At the end of the day, “everybody’s just kind of working away to chip away at the scene,” she added. “And I think when I worked with a fantastic coordinator, I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been missing, understanding the dance of intimacy’ as opposed to just shooting a sex scene.”

Staging The Spark

So, what is an intimacy coordinator and what role do they play on TV and film sets? “Their principal task is to ensure that everyone feels safe when they’re carrying out scenes,” a source explains to Star. “They’re constantly looking out for the best interests of female actresses in particular to ensure they’re not exploited or made to feel uncomfortable in any way.” In other words, says the source, “actors are told exactly how far they can go and there are signals that can be made if anyone crosses the line.” Pro Lizzy Talbot, a former fight coordinator, told Spotlight she approaches sex scenes like a choreographer to “format each movement in the scene in the same way as you would do for a safe stage slap or punch.”

For some stars, intimacy coordinators are a welcome addition to the crew. “Everyone feels safe,” Nicole Kidman, who worked with one on Big Little Lies and Babygirl, has shared with The Shelf. “[And] they know if they don’t feel safe, there’s access to changing that.” Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey has also applauded the entertainment industry for modernizing. “If there are two people doing a sex scene, the rule is they must have three barriers separating them and there are certain acts where a half-inflated netball can allow for movement without having to connect physically,” the actor, 37, revealed in an interview with Radio Times magazine. “It’s pretty silly really and we have some hilarious moments, but it makes it less awkward.”

Thanks, But No Thanks

Yet not everyone is a fan of intimacy coordinators. Gwyneth Paltrow confessed to Vanity Fair that she opted not to use one on the set of Marty Supreme, her upcoming film with Timothée Chalamet. “I was like, ‘Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on,’” the 53-year-old chided. “We said, ‘I think we’re good. You can step a little back.’” Of her decision, Gwyneth explained, “I don’t know how it is for kids who are starting out, but… if someone is like, ‘OK, and then he’s going to put his hand here’… I would feel, as an artist, very stifled by that.”

Although Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson declined an intimacy coordinator on Die My Love, the actress, 35, understands the need for them. “I felt really safe with Rob. He is not pervy and very in love with [his partner] Suki Waterhouse,” she insisted on the Las Culturistas podcast. “There was never any weird like, ‘Does he think I like him?’” However, “if there was a little bit of that, I would probably have an intimacy coordinator,” she admitted. “A lot of male actors get offended if you don’t want to f**k them, and then the punishment starts. He was not like that.”

Whether or not stars opt to use an intimacy coordinator, the option is there — and for good reason. “There are always whispers and rumors about certain actors who like to push their luck and need more regulation than others,” says the source. “Certain stars’ reputations precede them in that way, and intimacy coordinators are there to ensure everyone’s safety, It would be hard for anyone to argue that this is anything but a good thing.”