Brendan Morrow
Christopher Eccleston is stressing the importance of intimacy coordinators on set as he alleges he was once falsely accused of groping by a famous co-star.
The “Doctor Who” alum claimed in an interview with The Independent that an “A-list“ actress he worked with suggested he had inappropriately touched her while filming a sex scene when he had not done so.
“She implied, in front of the crew, that I was copping a feel,” Eccleston said. “Because she didn’t like me.”
Eccleston did not name the actress or project, although he clarified it was not the “brilliant” Nicole Kidman. He also made clear he is not talking about his role on the fourth season of “True Detective.” The actor told The Independent he was “fortunate that happened to me before the Harvey Weinstein stuff came to light, so I wasn’t put in the stocks for it.”
“But I’ve never felt more betrayed by a fellow actor than I did that day,” he added. “I have to say to you that I would sooner have put my hands in a food blender than copped a feel of that person. It was an abuse of power, what she did. I don’t think that would have happened with an intimacy coordinator on set. I could have been accused of all manner of things … that’s about what passes between actors, with trust and the abuse of it.”
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What is an intimacy coordinator?
An intimacy coordinator is a person on a film or television production who serves as an “advocate, a liaison between actors and production and a movement coach and/or choreographer in regards to nudity and simulated sex and other intimate and hyper-exposed scenes,” according to SAG-AFTRA.
In 2020, the actors union said that intimacy coordinators should be hired for scenes involving nudity or simulated sex or upon request for other intimate scenes. SAG-AFTRA’s tentative agreement to end the Hollywood actors strike in 2023 said that studios and production companies will “use best efforts” to hire an intimacy coordinator for scenes involving nudity or sex acts. They must also take any performers’ requests for an intimacy coordinator under consideration, without retribution.
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Eccleston told The Independent that although he has done “so many sex scenes” in his career, “True Detective” was only his second time working on a show with an intimacy coordinator, which he praised as a “wonderful innovation in the industry.” He also recalled the coordinator telling him, “I’m here to protect you too, Chris.”
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His comments stood in contrast to those of some actors who have criticized the use of intimacy coordinators on set. In 2022, “Game of Thrones” star Sean Bean sparked backlash after telling The Times that intimacy coordinators would “spoil the spontaneity,” adding, “I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise.”
Jennifer Aniston also told Variety that she didn’t need an intimacy coordinator for a sex scene with Jon Hamm on “The Morning Show” because “we’re seasoned — we can figure this one out.”
But other actors have praised the practice, with “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler posting on X, formerly Twitter, that she was “extremely grateful” to have an intimacy coordinator on the Steven Spielberg film in response to Bean’s comments. “Spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe,” she wrote. “Wake up.”
Contributing: Andrea Mandell, KiMi Robinson
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