Olivia Colman wanted sex scenes cut from ‘Empire Of Light’
Olivia Colman has revealed that she originally wanted the sex scenes in Sam Mendes’ new film Empire Of Light to be removed. The British actor plays Hillary Small, a woman suffering from bipolar disorder who falls in love with a young colleague at The Empire cinema, where she works the box office.
The story takes place in Margate in 1981 and follows the romance between Hillary and Stephen while documenting the former’s battle with mental illness. Discussing the numerous sex scenes shared between Colman and fellow actor Michael Ward, she told The Daily Mail that she hoped the scenes would be removed.
“I always wanted Sam to take out the sex scenes because I was so embarrassed,” she said, adding, “I said, ‘Why can’t they go for the kiss, and cut, and then pretend that it had already happened?’”
After “begging” Mendes to remove the scenes, Colman was put at ease by intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien, an old friend from drama school who ahs worked on the likes of Sex Education, I May Destroy You, It’s A Sin and Lady’s Chatterley’s Lover. “I would request her on every job, forever,” she said.
Colman recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show to promote Empire of Light, during which she described how filming one of the sex scenes gave birth to some hysterical moments. “There was one particular moment when I was astride Micheal in a compromising and slightly embarrassing situation and he said, ‘It’s my mum’s birthday today,'” she recalled.
Empire of Light arrives on January 9th and is expected to receive nominations at this year’s Oscars. You can watch the trailer here.
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