Gillian Anderson advocates for intimacy coordinators after thinking they would “dampen down the sense of passion”
Gillian Anderson has said she now advocates for intimacy co-ordinators being on film sets after originally thinking they would “dampen down the sense of passion”.
The actor was speaking in a new interview with Glamour alongside her co-star, Lola Petticrew, for the new Channel 4 drama Trespasses, which tells the story of a Catholic teacher who gets into a romantic relationship with a Protestant barrister who defends IRA suspects in 1970s Belfast, based on the original novel by Louise Kennedy.
A major part of the story arc for the series is the romance between the two main characters, Cushla and Michael, which required the help of an intimacy co-ordinator to cultivate. However, Anderson, who plays the part of Cushla’s mother Gina, said that the role of such a professional on set was something she initially viewed with scepticism.
“I’ve had scenes where I’ve thought [having an intimacy co-ordinator] is gonna dampen down the sense of passion,” she explained. “I mean, not that scenes on camera end up being actually properly passionate because very often they’re so technical, [but] intimacy co-ordinators actually suggest things for a scene that you’re like, ‘oh yeah, whoa, yes, I can try that’. [Using them] doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to suddenly get tame.”
To this end, Petticrew also added: “It’s something that the industry was missing for a long time. I understand that some people might feel like they don’t need one, but I think it’s important that they’re there in case anyway, just like there might not be a fire, but you have a fire safety person and an extinguisher just in case.”
In her personal life, Anderson has been a strong advocate for women being able to express their sexual identities, with her book Want, released in September 2024, exploring this same subject.
Relating this to the plot of Trespasses, she added: “Having another representation of a young woman really trying to make sense of themselves coming of age, navigating the throes of love and passion is always a good thing.”
The four episodes of Trespasses are airing at 9pm every night in the UK on Channel 4 from November 9th to 12th.
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