Florence Pugh opened up about how her perspective on the role of intimacy coordinators has changed over time.
She revealed that she was initially reluctant to work with intimacy coordinators, who became a standard part of film and TV productions in the wake of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, but a troubling incident ultimately changed her mind.
"It’s not to get in the way. It’s not to confuse, it’s not to make things more complicated or make things more awkward. I’ve had good ones and bad ones," the Little Women star described the profession during a recent appearance at an episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast.
The Oscar nominee boasted about filming many scenes without any help from the coordinator as she has been always "quite confident" and "quite happy in my skin."
However, there was one instance when someone on set "was just completely inappropriate" during a sex scene with no intimacy professional present to protect her.
The Thunderbolts actress went on to say that the new role, which involves ensuring intimate scenes are filmed with the utmost safety for the actors, still seems to have some issues to iron out.
"But my view is changing about it as well, because I’m now having fantastic experiences with intimacy coordinators," she continued. "However, that being said, I’ve also had a shit example where someone just made it so weird and so awkward and really wasn’t helpful and kind of was just like wanting to be a part of the set in a way that wasn’t helpful, and I think it’s a job that’s still figuring itself out."
Pugh said that great intimacy coordinators make scenes more meaningful by shaping how the characters’ relationship and physical connection fit the story.
Sharing the safety measure, she revealed that the scenes are aided by the usage of safe words, discussions of what’s off limits and having a designated person outside of the costume department who is in charge of coverage.
Pugh’s nuanced take on matter came after Jennifer Lawrence and Gwyneth Paltrow made headlines about not feeling the need to hire the intimacy coordinators as they trust their co-stars.
Pugh is currently gearing up to reprise her role as Princess Irulan in Dune: Part Three and in Avengers: Doomsday as Yelena Belova, both films are slated to be released on December 18, 2026.
