Michael Douglas on Intimacy Coordinators in Hollywood

Michael Douglas is sharing his thoughts on how the approach to filming sex scenes has changed throughout the years.

The veteran actor, who has starred in dozens of projects, including 1987’s Fatal Attraction and 1992’s Basic Instinct, was asked in an interview with Radio Times, via The Telegraph, about the recent trend of sex scenes appearing less in films.

“I’m past the age where I’ve got to worry about that. But it’s interesting with all the intimacy coordinators,” he said. “It feels like executives taking control away from filmmakers — but there have been some terrible faux pas and harassment.”

Douglas continued, “Sex scenes are like fight scenes, it’s all choreographed. In my experience, you take responsibility as the man to make sure the woman is comfortable, you talk it through. You say, ‘OK, I’m gonna touch you here if that’s all right’. It’s very slow but looks like it’s happening organically, which is hopefully what good acting looks like.”

Networks started using intimacy coordinators on film sets in recent years, particularly after Hollywood’s #MeToo reckoning. However, it’s continued to be a divisive concept, with some creatives skeptical, while others appreciate the role.

Douglas also previously told The Telegraph about intimacy coordinators, saying, “I’m sure there were people that overstepped their boundaries, but before, we seemed to take care of that ourselves. They would get a reputation and that would take care of them.

The Oscar-winning actor added, “But I talked to the ladies, [because] I did a few of those sex movies — sexual movies — and we joke about it now, what it would have been like to have an intimacy coordinator working with us…”