Florence Pugh has had both positive and negative experiences with intimacy coordinators, saying some were “fantastic” and “effective”, while others were “shit” and “weird”.
Pugh was speaking on the Louis Theroux Podcast and was asked by Theroux what she felt about their role.
Saying that she has “had good ones and bad ones”, Pugh said: “I did a lot of my sex scenes before that was even a job. I am quite quite confident, quite happy in my skin and I’ve always been able to make sure that I’m heard. That being said … there are plenty of things I remember that were completely inappropriate – to be asked to do that, to be directed in that way.
“But my view is changing about it as well, because I’m now having fantastic experiences with intimacy coordinators. However, that being said, I’ve also had a shit example where someone just made it so weird and so awkward and really wasn’t helpful and kind of was just like wanting to be a part of the set in a way that wasn’t helpful.”
Pugh added: “It’s a job that’s still figuring itself out. But I will say that I’ve been able to understand better meaning now through working with great [intimacy coordinators] in sex scenes. 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. All of these things really matter, when you are trying to build a relationship that’s been going for 10 years. I’d never thought of it like that before, because sex scenes are so awkward for everybody on set.”
Pugh has joined a number of high-profile figures commenting on the role of intimacy coordinators on film shoots. Jennifer Lawrence said that she declined the option to use one for her sex scenes for Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love as co-star Robert Pattinson was “not pervy”, while Mikey Madison, who won the best actress Oscar for her lead role as a sex worker in the Sean Baker-directed Anora, likewise said that she had shot scenes without an intimacy coordinator, saying that she and co-star Mark Eydelshteyn “decided it would be best to just keep it small”.
Gwyneth Paltrow also said she had been unhappy with intimacy co-ordinator input on sex scenes she filmed with Timothée Chalamet on Marty Supreme, saying she felt “as an artist, very stifled”.
Madison and Paltrow’s comments led to backlash, with former Channel 4 drama head Caroline Hollick called Paltrow “irresponsible”. Pugh’s position is more conciliatory, saying: “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. There are good ones and bad ones, and it’s through the good ones that I have learned how effective it can really be.”
