Gemma Arterton Says A Director Put ‘Pressure’ On Her To Do Unscripted Sex Scene
British actor Gemma Arterton has accused an unnamed director of trying to pressure her to film a sex scene.
In an interview with British outlet Radio Times published Tuesday, the “Quantum of Solace” alum claimed that a director once asked her and her costar to film a sex scene that wasn’t included in the script.
“I said, ‘No, this scene was written for us to be off screen, so you just hear the noises,’” Arterton said she told the director. “I’d never have accepted the role if it was going to be filmed.”
Noting that there were “very high-profile people there,” she added that the director “put pressure on us on the day. The other actor, God bless him, was mortified.”
Arterton, who did not name her costar, said she told the director “flat out” that she wouldn’t do the scene.
“You can’t do that, I’m flat out not doing it. I don’t care if you think I’m difficult,” she recalled telling the filmmaker.
The “Clash of the Titans” star, who is 38, added that she might not have been as vocal about her discomfort if she had been younger for fear of getting fired or garnering a “terrible reputation.”
Intimacy coordinators, who advocate for a safe work environment during nude scenes or simulated sex scenes, had not yet become standard on film and TV sets at that time, the actor explained.
Arterton applauded the fact that this has changed since the Me Too movement, telling Radio Times that “it’s a totally different landscape” 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,” she added.
Many celebrities have praised the role of intimacy coordinators in Hollywood.
“Anyone but You” actor Sydney Sweeney told RogerEbert.com that working with one for the first time while starring in HBO’s “Euphoria” “changed [her] approach to everything.”
“I love having one and I think they should be considered a necessity on every set,” she raved in a 2020 interview.
Sweeney said she hired one of her intimacy coordinators for another project in 2021.
“I actually brought my intimacy coordinator, Amanda Blumenthal, onto my Amazon movie, ‘The Voyeurs.’ I wish that more productions were aware of this and we made it a priority,” she added.