Olivia Colman Doesn't Like Filming Sex Scenes, But Shares How One Direction From An Intimacy Coordinator Made All The Difference

Olivia Colman’s talent likely snuck up on a lot of American audiences after they watched her eventually Oscar-winning role as Queen Anne in The Favourite, but folks who watch British TV knew about her, and her serious funny bone, for many years before that 2018 hit. Since then, she’s become more well-known and beloved than ever, and the star recently appeared in the 2025 movie schedule entry, The Roses. Colman opened up about not liking sex scenes, but also revealed that one note from an intimacy coordinator really helped her out.

What Did Olivia Colman Say About Filming Sex Scenes And How An Intimacy Coordinator Helped Her?

While being a famous actor can largely seem glamorous and fun, there’s also just a lot of hard, sometimes weird work to be done as they go about their profession. That tends to include filming sex scenes, and many stars have spoken about how using intimacy coordinators over the past several years has begun to help them and the industry go through that process in an easier way that makes everyone more comfortable.

Olivia Colman is no stranger to sex scenes, as her starring role that won her an Oscar involved quite a few sexytimes. Though she previously admitted that many of those intimate scenes had a tendency to make her “giggle,” she recently told Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast that having to do sex scenes is actually something she considers herself to be “afraid of.” Colman said:

I mean, I don’t think even the non-actors among us can fault The Crown and Heartstopper star for this. There are very few people who would immediately be A-OK with getting so up close and personal with someone they barely know on camera. Yet, it’s been a very common practice for basically as long as movies have been around (to varying degrees, of course), so it’s good that there’s now a whole profession committed to making sure everyone is alright with everything they do on screen.

You can watch a clip of Colman’s answer, which features both she and Poehler making some pretty funny “ick” faces, below:

Though some actors and filmmakers don’t like working with them, it’s becoming more common, and intimacy coordinators have worked on everything from movies like Babygirl (where the director said it was like working with stunt performers), to shows like Bridgerton and Outlander: Blood of My Blood (the actors talked about reaching a “controlled uncomfortableness” with sex scenes). An intimacy coordinator even helped the actors in horror movie 28 Years Later deal with running with fake “genitals,” so the gig has a pretty broad scope.

The Peep Show actress revealed years ago that she had tried to have director Sam Mendes remove all the intimate scenes from their film, Empire of Light, so she really doesn’t like doing them. She continued, speaking about how The Favourite’s coordinator helped her in an important moment:

Other stars have revealed that having intimacy coordinators on their movies and TV shows has helped them to play out certain sexy activities in a more realistic way, as well. Michelle Williams, for instance, noted that using one “can really show you how to give a better blow job.” Luckily, it sounds like Colman will be alright with doing such scenes with the help of an intimacy coordinator, as long as she can get all her ick giggles out beforehand.