Television & radio | The Guardian: Emily Berrington was overjoyed when she received the call from her agent. She’d got the part. And it was an exciting one: a role in Close to the Enemy, a BBC miniseries set in the 1940s, written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It was 2015 and Berrington was told in writing that there would be some nudity, which she was OK with in principle, as long as all the details were straightened out in advance.
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This article talks about something that is now coming to light and gaining the momentum that this topic requires.
Nudity, on stage or on screen, is a very sensitive thing to deal with because it pertains to the comfort and safety that actors need to be in and feel in order to ensure that they are not disturbed by the wholes scenario and so that their inhibitions do not necessarily come in the way of the performance they want to deliver.
Actors are, as far as I know, very open to doing difficult and explicit scenes, so long as they are aware of the importance of the scene and they are sure that they are in a safe environment. For that to be achieved, it is very dependent on the director to make sure that the actors have a comfortable environment, an environment where they feel safe enough to perform.
I think this article does a good job in terms of portraying the importance of this principle by giving such examples that are very deeply connected to the topic.
I was really impressed by how director, Natalie Abrahami, dealt with empowering her performer when it came to a nude scene. It’s encouraging that Abrahami did the same actions that the actor would do in order for her to feel confident up on stage. It is my opinion that as an actor you can feel challenged by a role, but you should never feel unsafe. Communication is a super important way to get all questions answered, and feel better prepared being a space and interacting with others. From stories that I’ve heard about actors feeling particularly unsafe, it’s because they never got to discuss these moments with the director, or practice with their partner(s) in order to make sure that the scene moves without a hitch. Intimacy choreographers are a good way to help kick start these conversation, but I think a lot of initiative needs to come from the directors and performers about the logistics of any sex scene.
Hollywood is disgusting for expecting women to essentially just “shut up and be comfortable” with whatever so many directors want them to do. The first anecdote shared in this article made me so angry. The notion that women are “difficult to work with” when they are only exercising control over their the way their bodies and images are used on screen is horrible. It is not a difficult thing for multi-million dollar films and television shows to hire intimacy choreographers or to treat sensitive content in sensitive ways, but they truly do act like it is the hardest thing in the world. It was refreshing to read about how Ari Aster approaches intimate scenes. Rehearsing everything in the room beforehand so that it feels like a choreographed dance seems like it helped the actors feel a lot less uncomfortable with actually doing it on set. Opening up a conversation months ahead to make sure no boundaries are crossed seems like it should be common practice, and it is baffling that is isn’t yet, although knowing Hollywood I am not surprised.
The article opened my eyes to how important the role of intimacy coordinators are. I believe we have them as well for our shows at CMU, although we never do shows that are so sexually explicit. The video that was embedded in the article was especially insightful. It’s comforting to see that there are many measures that could be taken to ensure all performers are comfortable and understanding of everything that the sex scene entails. It’s horrible to hear that some performers are kept in the dark of what they are to expect when filming. It’s even more upsetting to hear that this toxic mentality exists that actors have to be open to anything in order to land a good role. Consent is completely thrown out the window. But seeing that professional intimacy coordinators are being a standard for the industry is really encouraging. We are progressing to be more ethical in the way we treat performers. It seems that female actors are constantly the ones that are “victims” of unethical sex scenes. I have no doubt that women go through these types of experiences more, unfortunately. But I wonder if there are stories to be told from male actors.
I commend actors and actress who have gone in front of the camera either nude or semi-nude with another person (or even themselves) and done a sex scene. That's a hard thing to do. I know often times we may think well that's their job, that's what they signed up for so they must be comfortable with. I'm sure there are some actors and actresses that are extremely comfortable with this stuff, but there are clearly many who are not. Understandably so. It's not even just that they have to get naked and perform this intimate scene with a partner. On set, there is usually a room full of people watching in silence. Some in amusement, some being judgemental, others just doing their job. And then the towels drop, you get into position and you hear, "action." It really is an awkward thing. I'm hoping that they restrict the amount of people who are able to be in the room. But people still have to do their jobs. I remember watching Cersei's walk of atonement in Game of Thrones and immediately thinking about the actual actress, Lena Headey, who had to do that dreadful walk. Even though it was all acting, someone had to do that walk. If you've seen it, you know that it is a lot, in many ways. Naked and dirty with people throwing things on you and spitting on you all while yelling "shame," in front of a large crowd of people. I read that it was done using a body double but that is still a person having to have done that. Great scene because of the affect it has, but I really can't imagine what that was like for the person walking through... I can see how choreographing these scenes help. They didn't mention how these scenes tend to be very critical, so I'm sure there is a lot of pressure to be perfect and make it look perfect. So having something already planned out by someone else and just going through the various steps hopefully makes them feel a bit more comfortable.
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