TV sets have long included stunt coordinators, dialect coaches and choreographers. Now, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists suggests they add intimacy coordinators to the crew, as well.
Intimacy coordinators are often likened to stunt coordinators; much like stunt coordinators, intimacy coordinators are brought in for “intimate” scenes—ranging from a kiss to an assault—to ensure all actors involved are comfortable, and have their questions and concerns heard out, and directors satisfy their creative vision. They often act as a sort of liaison between actors and directors.
SAG-AFTRA’s directive, unprecedented considering the newness of the intimacy coordination vocation at all, appears however not to be a mandate, but rather a set of guidelines for the use of intimacy coordinators, with an implicit nudge towards their inclusion on set. The move comes after over two years of workplace sexual misconduct scandals that have rocked Hollywood. The Weinstein scandal that kicked off the Me Too and Time’s Up movements came in fall 2017, and in January 2018, actorwas accused by multiple women—his acting students—of using filming sex scenes as a cover to sexually exploit them, pushing them to go further than expected during scenes.