Actor Sean Bean lost his foot in an interview with the UK’s Times Magazine on August 8, according to Variety. Bean was addressing the use of intimacy coordinators onset. Bean’s total lack of social understanding was put on display when the polite interviewer provided Bean with another perspective on the value of having said coordinators. Several prominent figures in the business have spoken out in support of intimacy coordinators in the wake of this fiasco, the most recent being a multiple-Oscar winner and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande star Emma Thompson. Actor and former Game of Thrones cast member Bean are under backlash online for many glib comments he made to Times Magazine.
The actor’s flippant remark that an intimacy coordinator would “spoil the spontaneity” of filming a sex scene in film or television exemplifies a mindset that is gradually going extinct. The idea that having an intimacy coordinator would “inhibit [him] more because it’s drawing attention to things” or “…the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise” may seem reasonable to Bean and others in his position, but this perspective has long since become out of date. At a certain point, it’s reasonable to assume that everyone in the audience is aware that romantic relationships on TV don’t always reflect reality.
Bean also stuck in his heels, bringing up the time he had an intimate encounter with Joely Richardson (Event Horizon) and Lena Hall (Snowpiercer). Bean recalled his time in the early 1990s on the set of Lady Chatterley, when the position of intimacy coordinator was still novel in the film industry, and he claimed, “Fun times indeed! We understood that what we were doing was unconventional, but we had a lot of fun doing it anyhow.” Bean’s criticism of intimacy coordinators is illogical given that Richardson was conspicuously absent from the discussion.
The up-and-coming actress Rachel Zegler (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) responded by tweeting her support for the profession of an intimacy coordinator. Professionals in the role of “intimacy coordinator” make sure the performers are comfortable and secure in their surroundings. I’m thankful to the ones we had on WSS since they were kind to a rookie like me and helped me learn from the mistakes of my more seasoned coworkers.
Intimate settings are not the place for improv. Get some sleep! When the interviewer helpfully mentioned that intimacy coordinators “…may assist to protect performers in the aftermath of #MeToo,” Bean answered that it depends on the actress. His co-star in the Snowpiercer series, Hall, came from a cabaret music background, so she was game for anything. Bean reaffirmed the destructive view that anybody with what some puritans may consider a sexual past is “up for anything” indefinitely.
With this in mind, consider Hall’s Twitter response: Thompson was faced with Bean’s perspective during her own interview after the release of her most recent film, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, in which she portrays a widow consciously seeking sex and personal connection. Thompson, who just finished filming and released a movie on romance, shared her thoughts, and, as reported by Variety, she said that romance coordinators may be useful for certain people.
“I don’t know [if] you were speaking to somebody who found it distracting, but in another conversation, you might find people go, ‘It made me comfortable, it made me feel safe, it made me feel as though I was able to do this work,'” Thompson replied, emphasising the importance of intimacy coordinators. So, the intimacy coordinators are the best possible first impression of our job. Also, you can’t just “go with the flow.” They have a camera and a team there. In a hotel, you won’t be alone; rather, you’ll be surrounded by dudes. So, it’s safe to say that the scenario is not pleasant in any way.”
USA Today reported in early 2020 that in the wake of the #MeToo movement, intimacy coordinators were recommended as a resource for Hollywood’s defined norms and regulations. According to the Screen Actors Guild’s own description, this person acts as “an advocate, a liaison between actors and production, and a movement coach and/or choreographer regarding nudity and simulated sex and other intimate and hyper-exposed situations.” The criticism of Bean is part of a larger, gradual cultural shift in Hollywood, where people are trying to make amends for ignoring sexuality, rape, and trauma for so long. Filmmaker James Gunn is just one of several artists who have spoken out. It’s possible that Bean needs a coordinator for sensitivities. Bean’s defenders may mobilise their soldiers with “woke” chants, but as a group, they are committed to stopping evolution. The discovery of fire allowed mankind to emerge from our previous existence in the dark. If you’re updating your phone once per decade, you might also want to consider leaving some mental space for growth and change.