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Gemma Arterton has spoken about the pressure she received from a director to do a sex scene early in her career, admitting that she “flat out” refused to do it.
Speaking to the Radio Times, the 38-year-old former Bond girl, who had her first child in late 2022, said that an unnamed director demanded that she film the intimate scene despite it not being in the script.
After being asked whether she was ever worried about being perceived as ‘difficult’ in her career said: “I remember being on a set once and the director said, ‘You’re going to s**g on the bed’.”
The actor protested by saying: “No, this scene was written for us to be off-screen, so you just hear the noises. I’d never have accepted the role if it was going to be filmed.”
Arterton, whose credits also include Byzantium, Clash of the Titans and Runner Runner, went on to say that the director put “pressure” on her which “mortified” the other actor involved in the scene.
She added: “There were very high-profile people there. I said, ‘You can’t do that, I’m flat out not doing it. I don’t care if you think I’m difficult.’ But I only felt like I could say that because I was older.”
The Disappearance of Alice Creed and Quantum of Solace star did admit that making that kind of stance would have been a lot harder if she was younger and could have caused her to get sacked or risk having a “terrible reputation.”
She also revealed that the incident occurred before intimacy coordinators were introduced who have “totally changed the landscape”.
She said that now: “Anything you’re not comfortable with is not going to happen. I’ve heard other actors that are like, ‘I loved it when there was no intimacy coordinator’, but I definitely think it’s better.”
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Intimacy coordinators are now common practice within the industry but weren’t introduced until 2017 as part of the post #MeToo movement and are employed to help ensure the consent and safety of performers during sex or nude scenes.
Recently, two prolific intimacy coordinators have called on prestigious film and TV awards to recognise the role that has become crucial to modern movie-making.
Mam Smith, one of most sought-after intimacy coordinators in Hollywood who most recently worked with Zendaya on the racy tennis drama Challengers, and award-winning adult filmmaker Erika Lust, who champions sex-positive porn, called professional recognition of the role of intimacy coordinators in key awards ceremonies like the Oscars, Golden Globes and Emmys.
