Toni Collette has opened up on why she refuses to use an intimacy co-ordinator during sex scenes in her films and the measures she's taken to avoid feeling uneasy with her co-stars.
The presence of sex coaches on-set have become industry standards since the 2017 #MeToo movement but the Muriel’s Wedding star, 50, revealed their presence actually made her feel ‘anxious’.
Sex coaches are brought in to ensure the wellbeing and consent of actors by choreographing and coordinating intimate scenes of simulated sex and nudity for film and tv.
Toni, whose upcoming Amazon drama series The Power is released later this month, claims she’s even asked sex coaches to leave the set.
Speaking to The Times, she said: “I think it's only been a couple of times where they've been brought in, and I have very much trusted and felt at ease with the people I was working with.
“It just felt like those people who were brought in to make me feel more at ease were actually making me feel more anxious. They weren't helping, so I asked them to leave.”
She went on: “Every single job is different. Because it's a bunch of new people it's a new energy; everyone brings their whole life with them, and it's all thrown in the pot.
“I've been very fortunate in that I've only worked with a few arseholes over the several decades that I've managed to keep this boat afloat.”
Intimacy co-ordinators have largely been warmly received by actors, with many praising their presence and skill at creating explicit scenes in film and television.
Oscar-winner Kate Winslet previously spoke out about how she wishes she’d had someone to help save her from over enthusiastic co-stars during past performances.
The 47-year-old has starred in a number of films with sexual scenes and believes having that person there might have made a difference to her.
She said: “I definitely wish I had them in the past.I could have done with that friend.
“You could just do with someone saying, 'Can you ask him not to put his hand there', so it wasn't me having to say, 'Can you not put your hand there', which can be pretty awkward.
“It might have made a difference to me over the years.”
House of the Dragon star Emily Carey, 19, also revealed she was ‘scared’ to shoot sex scenes in the HBO fantasy series due to the 30 year age gap with her co-star Paddy Considine, 49.
Carey, 19, who plays the young Alicent Hightower in the HBO prequel, said the presence of an intimacy co-ordinator was a ‘massive help’.
She said: “Having that outlet, to be able to talk everything through and not be shunned, or not feel awkward.
“In the rehearsal room, she was a massive help and on set she was a massive help. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.”
