Emma Thompson defends intimacy coordinators
Following remarks made by Sean Bean, Emma Thompson has leapt to the defence of intimacy coordinators in Hollywood.
Bean drew criticism after telling The Sunday Times he feels intimacy coordinators stop actors from showing “the natural way lovers behave” and turn scenes into a “technical exercise”. The actor said: “It would inhibit me more because it’s drawing attention to things,” during the interview. “Somebody saying, ‘Do this, put your hands there while you touch his thing.’”
Emma Thompson has now weighed into the debate and praised the work of intimacy coordinators. Speaking on the Fitzy and Wippa radio show in Australia, Thompson said: “Intimacy coordinators are the most fantastic introduction in our work. And no, you can’t just ‘let it flow’.”
She continued: “There’s a camera there and a crew – it’s not on your own in a hotel room. You’re surrounded by a bunch of blokes carrying things. So it’s not a comfortable situation, full stop.”
Thompson also revealed the presence of an intimacy coordinator has helped her tremendously. She added: “‘It made me comfortable, it made me feel safe, it made me feel as though I was able to do this work.”
Lena Hall has also responded to Bean’s claims and said: “The infamous mango scene wasn’t a naked scene. I was “naked” (but not really naked) in the bathtub/suicide scene (which I guess is in that same moment), but Sean Bean was in the bathtub fully clothed in a tuxedo.”
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