We Have This HBO TV Show to Credit for Intimacy Coordinators – and No, It’s Not ‘Game of Thrones’

The indie hit Anora has not only topped many favorites of the year lists but has also sparked some recent conversation around something the film lacked — an intimacy coordinator. The film contains numerous sex scenes and plenty of nudity, sparking talk about why intimacy coordinators are so important when making a film or TV series. The lead actress of Anora, Mikey Madison, opted out of the inclusion of an intimacy coordinator after director Sean Baker offered. In Variety's Actors on Actors, Madison spoke with Pamela Anderson about how not including an intimacy coordinator "streamlined the process," garnering attention from professionals who think having at least one liaison on set should be a mandate on productions. In Madison's specific case, she revealed that she, Baker, and Baker's wife Samantha Quan (also a producer in the film) “would talk about different positions,” and then Baker and Quan would “demonstrate what they wanted it to look like.”

Intimacy coordinators are put in place to protect actors from unexpected scenes that make them feel uncomfortable and to provide an educated and safe environment built on mutual respect. Their role isn’t to compromise the vision of any scene regardless of the level of sexuality or nudity; it’s to let the creatives involved focus on the art, leaving the question of professionalism on a set in the hands of professionals trained for that job.

Why Are Intimacy Coordinators Important?

The role of an intimacy coordinator is not only to bring a third party on set to ensure safety and integrity for everyone involved, but to also work with the directors, producers, and performers to choreograph sexual simulated scenes. By mapping out sensitive scenes that might make actors uncomfortable, it sets distinct boundaries and ensures informed consent for the actors involved in the scene. Having an intimacy coordinator for sex scenes is not unlike having a stunt coordinator for action scenes. It's a necessity to ensure safety and authenticity for what the project is looking to portray on screen. In an episode of Deadline's Scene 2 Seen Podcast, host Valerie Complex spoke with intimacy coordinator Brooke M. Haney about the vast knowledge and training it takes to effectively perform their job — gender, race, disability, psychology, and even legal aspects all come into play in these scenarios.

Intimacy coordinators also provide tools for talent while performing intimate scenes. Modesty garments, barriers, hygiene products, cover-ups, prosthetics, and adhesives are all tools of the trade — all with the intent of providing the most realistic depiction of intimate scenes and ensuring the performers are comfortable and informed. Alicia Rodis, a former actress and stuntperson, became an intimacy coordinator after realizing that most sex scenes were completely improvised, leaving them feeling exploitative and, frankly, not convincing. Using her knowledge of how fight scenes were choreographed, she teamed up with actor-turned-fight director Siobhan Richardson to form Intimacy Directors International in 2015. Rodis shared with The Atlantic that the most commonly used tools in their kit are Shibues and Hibues — thongs that stick to the body — in order to keep performers' private parts private. Rodis went on to become the first credited intimacy coordinator for the HBO series The Deuce.

Asa Butterfield as Otis Milburn and Mimi Keene Ruby Matthews in Sex Education Season 4.

'Sex Education's Intimacy Coordinator Talks Season 4 and the Legacy of the Netflix Series

Longtime intimacy coordinator David Thackeray explains how you craft intimate scenes.

Posts

How 'The Deuce' Set a New Standard

The Deuce debuted in 2017 and covers the birth of the porn industry in New York City in the 1970s. In 2018, when production of Season 2 of the series started, Rodis was brought on board, with most thinking the move was damage control when several allegations against producer and star of the series, James Franco, surfaced. Co-creator David Simon expressed the importance of making everyone feel comfortable and establishing a level of trust while filming simulated sex scenes in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which, of course, Franco was a major part of. Regardless of the reason, the series set a new standard for the importance of intimacy coordinators on set. There are now over 100 certified intimacy coordinators in the industry, and while it's not mandated, most sets require the inclusion of one if the project involves any level of intimacy — from kissing to graphic nudity.

Alicia Rodis now oversees about two dozen intimacy coordinators for the HBO network. In addition to The Deuce, she has worked on Succession, Westworld, and High Maintenance. Rodis' goal is to enhance the nuance of sexuality, and show how it can enhance storytelling rather than being a form of performative exploitation. She stated, "I think we owe it to them to show forms of sexuality that are not the top 50 videos on Pornhub." Actors shouldn't have to just "wing it" when she is tasked with performing a scene that involves such complex emotions, and an intimacy coordinator's job is to showcase those emotions within sexual instances faithfully to how any human would in real life. While HBO set the norm for intimacy coordinators in the industry, some of their series have also involved some of the most public cases of issues caused by the lack of intimacy coordinators. Emilia Clarke revealed that on the set of Game of Thrones, actors were often blindsided with nude scenes or scenes with heightened sexual situations. Intimacy coordinators have brought a stop to all that while also ensuring a level of professionalism for all parties involved. On-screen sex is not meant to be like real sex, it is a performance, and must be treated as such. That's why planning and choreography, just as you would see in any other stunt, can bring a scene to a new level.

With the position being relatively new to the industry, the general audience is vaguely blind to the concept of an intimacy coordinator. Even though Sam Levinson's latest HBO series, The Idol, employed intimacy coordinators, the writer-director felt the need to poke fun at the profession, which certainly caused misconceptions about what the job actually pertains to. When speaking to VoyageATL, Zuri Pryor-Graves states how her education and expertise in sex therapy and mental health allows her to empower and instill confidence in the actors she works with. Not only does the use of an intimacy coordinator ensure that everyone is consenting, but it allows for both actors performing in front of the camera and the people behind the camera to have a fair discussion about these scenes. No director should be throwing out sex positions and performing them for their actors, not when an intimacy coordinator could have streamlined that process much faster. Hopefully, the continued conversation around intimacy coordinators will not be stopped by the popularity of Anora, and it will one day not only be a norm but required within the industry.

The Deuce is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

WATCH ON MAX