Actors’ Union Employs ‘Intimacy Coordinators’ for Movie Sex Scenes

The Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced the development of standards for filming sexual scenes on Sunday.

“Our goal is to normalize and promote the use of intimacy coordinators within our industry,” SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris said. The statement, published to the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ website, marks the beginning of official coordination with Intimacy Directors International (IDI) co-founder Alicia Rodis to “standardize intimacy coordinators on-set.” Specifically:

The guidelines will seek to establish new, relevant policies for nudity and simulated sex; define the duties and standards for intimacy coordinators on productions; and specify acceptable training, vetting and qualifications of intimacy coordinators.

“Intimacy coordinators provide an important safety net for our members doing hyper-exposed work,” Carteris explained. “At a time when the industry still needs to make great changes, our initiative will ensure the safety and security of SAG-AFTRA members while they work and respects the boundaries of actors.”

This new protection will be another step forward in SAG-AFTRA’s previously announced “Four Pillars of Change” initiative, which aims to identify “real solutions and actions that help members confront harassment while securing an equitable workplace,” especially regarding sexual content.

The announcement comes one year after HBO brought IDI on board to oversee sexual content in three of their shows: Crashing, The Deuce, and Deadwood. This is a significant step forward from circumstances like the one Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams encountered on set — specifically, a controversial sexual encounter that the actress thought was just a joke.