House of the Dragon masters the sex scene

The intimacy coordinator refutes Game of Throne's star Sean Bean's comments that her profession takes the 'spontaneity' out of sex scenes. 

The intimacy coordinator refutes Game of Throne's star Sean Bean's comments that her profession takes the 'spontaneity' out of sex scenes. 

The House of The Dragon intimacy coordinator refutes comments made by the Game of Thrones star Sean Bean in August saying the emerging profession "spoils the spontaneity" of sex scenes.

Miriam Lucia, one of the film industry's most in-demand intimacy coordinators, told Deadline her work "enables the creative process" and that she was pleased to hear 18-year-old actor Emily Carey describe her role in the film as a 'massive help' after a sex scene with 47-year-old Paddy Considine.

Emily Carey and Paddy Considine in House of the Dragon episode four, 'King of the Narrow Sea.'

"It was good to hear that following on from Sean Bean’s comments about how intimacy coordinators ruin spontaneity. But I get why he said that because he doesn’t have the same experience of it, and because this is a new function on sets," she said in the interview.

Intimacy coordinators liaise between actors and production members on film and television sets to ensure all actors are safe as they choreograph scenes to capture extreme realness and connection. An intimacy coordinator may discuss consent or supply physical barriers that sit between naked bodies.

"I just think he is a man of a certain age, who has been in this industry for a very long time, and he doesn’t have an experience of the other side. Or maybe he’s had a bad experience of working with an intimacy coordinator.

Sean Bean as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.

"All I would say is that in my experience so far, I don’t think it gets in the way of the creative process. I think it helps to enable the creative process."

Game of Thrones drew fire for its cavalier and frequent depictions of sexual violence. Critics condemned what they considered gratuitous sexual brutality, that was so pervasive it became background noise. 

Lucia told Deadline the production team on Game of Thrones admits they had a "negative reputation...in terms of the press and the #MeToo movement".

In the same way she understands why Sean Bean would disparage intimacy coordinators on set, she said some "older actors in particular" find working with her odd because this is such a new job in Hollywood.

"They don’t really know what you do, or whether you’re there to police them."

"I’ve had comments on other shows from older actors who are nervous about me being there, thinking that I’m somehow watching what they’re doing. That’s not my job."

In the fourth episode of House of the Dragon, Carey performed two intimacy scenes: one where Alicent helps bathe King Viserys, and the other, a dutiful sex scene that her character performs under obligation.

Actor Carey, who was 17 when she was cast in the series, told Newsweek she was "scared" of the sex scenes — especially given the age difference between her and 47-year-old co-star Considine.

She says filming with a coordinator made it “a lot easier than I thought it was going to be,” and created an “open dialogue” where she could “talk everything through.” 

Lucia told Deadline it isn't just women who benefit from an intimacy coordinator's expertise. 

“Emily was only 18 when we did that scene. It was also about talking Paddy (Considine) through the whole thing, and checking that he was okay. He has a child Emily’s age after all.”

Lucia says that her work on the HBO series Industry taught her “about how vulnerable young men are in this industry” and tries to balance her time between men and women on set. “I am acutely aware that young men often are just as nervous, and wary, and not sure about trusting what’s being asked of them. So, I try and remember that.”

Read this: Classification code, consent to be called out 

Thanks to the pioneering work of Ita Obrien, an intimacy coordinator who works on prestige television shows revered for their nuanced sex scenes like Normal People, The Great, Sex Education, and I May Destroy You, the emerging profession continues to capture fascination.

Still from Sally Rooney's Normal People.

While there are now accredited training courses state and screen professionals can undertake, Lucia's interest stemmed from her work as an acting coach.

“I was very interested in how you approach a sex scene. How do you alleviate embarrassment, humiliation, awkwardness? And so, I thought, I’m going to train.”

In Australia, Key Intimate Scenes (KIS), has developed a program that combines international standards with requirements specific to Australia, such as law, union standards, and state-specific industry requirements. The program was announced after the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) published Australia’s first set of intimacy guidelines in 2020, encouraging the deployment of intimacy coordinators in productions.