Recently the Game of Thrones and The Lord of The Rings fame Sean Bean made it to the headlines with his comments on intimacy coordinators on set. According to him, the presence of an intimacy coordinator only complicates things and doesn’t let the actors perform naturally. This comment by him invited widespread criticism over the past few days as various actresses and other personalities related to the industry came forward to support the intimacy coordinators. Now joining this list is the Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn who opened his mouth on this latest issue.
What did Sean Bean say about intimacy coordinators?
In a recent interview with The Times of London, Sean Bean spoke about the recent surge in the intimacy coordinators in the movies. Intimacy coordinators are hired so that the stars and the crew don’t feel uncomfortable while filming an intimate scene. The importance of intimacy coordinators mainly rose further after the wake of the MeToo movement.
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Sean Bean on the intimacy coordinators spoke that, they spoil the spontaneity of the scene as a result of which it doesn’t look natural but more technical according to him:
“It would inhibit me more because it’s drawing attention to things. Somebody saying, ‘Do this, put your hands there, while you touch his thing… I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise,”
This statement of the Ned Stark actor invited wide backlash as numerous personalities have explained how they feel more comfortable under the supervision of a coordinator.
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James Gunn and others respond to Sean Bean
The widely popular James Gunn recently took to his Twitter handle to raise his voice on the importance of intimacy coordinators on the set. The Suicide Squad director said that out of all the newer positions in the industry, he is grateful for the intimacy coordinators:
Of all the newer positions in the film industry, the one I’m the most grateful for are intimacy coordinators. If they’re doing their job right – and all the ones I’ve worked with have – they simply make sure everyone is on the same page – the director & all actors involved.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 9, 2022
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Besides James Gunn, a lot of actresses and personalities even came to counter Bean’s statement. Recently his Snowpiercer co-star Lena Hall also spoke up on Sean Bean’s statement. While she claimed that she felt comfortable with Sean Bean, she also added that intimacy coordinators are important:
“If I feel comfortable with my scene partner and with others in the room then I won’t need an intimacy coordinator. But if there is any part of me that is feeling weird, gross, over-exposed etc, I will either challenge the necessity of the scene or I’ll want an (intimacy coordinator).
She further added that these coordinators also help very much if any actor had any bad experiences before while filming in any other movie:
“I do feel intimacy coordinators are a welcome addition to the set and think they could also help with the trauma experienced in other scenes. Sometimes you need them and sometimes you don’t but every single person and scene and experience is different.”
Following Lena Hall, even West Side Story actor Jameela Jamil tweeted that like a stunt it also needs a coordinator:
It should only be technical. It's like a stunt. Our job as actors is to make it not look technical. Nobody wants an impromptu grope…
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) August 8, 2022
Another West Side Story actress Rachel Zegler also called out Sean Bean stating that an environment of safety is most important in these cases and spontaneity is not enough to threaten that:
intimacy coordinators establish an environment of safety for actors. i was extremely grateful for the one we had on WSS— they showed grace to a newcomer like myself + educated those around me who’ve had years of experience.
spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe. wake up. https://t.co/bpxT2DVU1R
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) August 8, 2022
So it is clear that the stars do not at all agree with the Ned Stark actor but it will be interesting to watch if he speaks any further on this issue.
Source: Twitter
