Dame Emma Thompson responds to Sir Ian McKellen after comments from privacy coordinators

Dame Emma Thompson has praised privacy coordinators as “absolutely essential” after fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen said they can ruin the “purity” of the theatre.

Sir Ian, 83, recently said that in the early stages of his career, matters requiring privacy coordinators would have “solved themselves”.

Speaking to Andrew Marr on LBC on Thursday, Dame Emma, ​​63, dismissed Sir Ian’s comments, saying: “It’s all very well, if you’re a guy, it’s a different kind of thing.”

“I think if you’re a young woman on a set, which is mostly populated by men, 90% of the crew will be made up of men and the women won’t be on the set with you, because generally speaking we don’t have parity.” at any level on film sets, they are all men.

“And that’s a very uncomfortable position for a young woman just starting out in the industry, but it’s absolutely essential that someone is there to protect her. Absolutely essential.

“You can’t imagine what people on some of those big series went through when they first started the broadcast series.

“They were just told when they walked on set, now this is what we have to do… And that’s absolutely outrageous.”

“So, it’s all very well, if you’re a guy, it’s a different kind of thing.”

Dame Emma’s comments came after Sir Ian told BBC Radio 4: “I imagine there are situations where you have to be careful and people find it difficult to be intimate, and therefore a coordinator is just the thing. you need”.

‘But why can’t it be the director who does that? Why does it have to be someone who has been trained how to do it?

Dame Emma previously expressed her admiration for intimacy coordinators after comments made by Sir Ian’s Lord of the Rings co-star Sean Bean, who said intimacy professionals could “spoil the spontaneity” of scenes in sex.

Other female members of the industry, including Rachel Zegler, also criticized Bean’s comments.

Dame Emma said: ‘It’s not to say that they’re going to be there all the time fixing your breasts, it’s that they can be there in case you feel like there’s a position that you’ve gotten yourself into that you’re not entirely comfortable with, You know, your ass is waving in the air, and you think that I don’t feel quite comfortable…

“I’ve worked with young actresses who have been truly traumatized by their experiences on set.

“So my passion for privacy coordinators and protecting young women in particular, and young men, I mean, it’s not necessarily an easy thing for any one person.”

Gillian Anderson and Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page have also previously praised the intimacy coordinators for their work on the on-screen productions.

It comes after Daryl McCormack revealed how he and co-star Dame Emma prepared for the risqué sex scenes in their latest film, Good Luck To You Leo Grande.

speaking to the independentDaryl, 30, said he and Dame Emma had the help of their director, Sophie Hyde.

She revealed that they shared some intimate details about their paper bodies in rehearsals, before slowly undressing to “tell stories about their bodies.”

He said it was a “beautiful, gentle introduction for us to step into a place of vulnerability.”

“The body map then led us to tell stories behind everything. Then from there, the three of us take off a layer of clothing, one by one, and tell stories about our bodies,” she said.

“Before we knew it, all three of us were naked, and it seemed like we didn’t even take our clothes off at first.” There was a level of comfort that I had never experienced before,” she added.

In June of last year, Daryl revealed that he and Dame Emma opted not to use an intimacy trainer for the film.

The new film follows Nancy (Dame Emma), a widowed schoolteacher who hires a male escort (Daryl) on a date, hoping to experience an orgasm for the first time, with the two characters sharing some very intimate moments.

But Daryl recounted how he, Dame Emma and director Sophie Hyde chose to navigate the scenes themselves because they felt it would be more “special” to do their own “unique” thing, adding that things were never “awkward” between them. .

While many TV shows, including Normal People and Bridgerton, brought in an intimacy coach for the sex scenes, the trio chose to choreograph their own sex scenes after becoming comfortable with each other.

He said Bustle: ‘We felt it was something we could do together, so we did it. ‘It feels a little more special because it’s our unique thing.

‘It started with simple things. Just talking about our body: the things we like and the things we don’t like. There’s something about taking the judgment away from yourself and just seeing the potential of your body and what it can offer you. That gives you access to get into the intimate nature of the film.’

Thanks to their rehearsals and concerted efforts to get to know and feel comfortable with each other (Emma and Daryl enjoyed walks in the park together), when it came to the more intimate scenes, the duo were able to fully embrace the moment.