A hot topic of conversation in Hollywood lately is the use of intimacy coordinators on set. The crew position was only introduced in 2020 by SAG-AFTRA as a way to make everyone involved in the shooting of an uncomfortable scene feel as safe as possible. Kate Winslet is now stepping into the conversation in a New York Times Magazine interview because she believes it would have been “nice to have someone in my corner” when she was starting out in the entertainment industry.
Winslet was only 22 years old when she filmed Titanic and she’s come to realize how little power she had in the early stages of her career, especially when a major nude scene was involved. “I would have benefited from an intimacy coordinator every single time I had to do a love scene or be partially naked or even a kissing scene,” she explained while sharing what often went through her head while she was filming. “I don’t like that camera angle. I don’t want to stand here full-frontal nude. I don’t want this many people in the room. I want my dressing gown to be closer.”
While those sound like “little things” on paper, it’s monumental when you are about to disrobe in front of crew members and shoot a love scene with a co-worker you might have just met days ago. Winslet now has the power to voice her opinions as an A-list actress, but she didn’t always have that same confidence. “When you’re young, you’re so afraid of pissing people off or coming across as rude or pathetic because you might need those things. So learning to have a voice for oneself in those environments was very, very hard,” she noted.
It’s hard to believe that intimacy coordinators didn’t come into play sooner, but they were a direct result of the #MeToo movement in 2017. Now, the actors choreograph their sex scenes together so that everyone feels safe and respected. The intimacy coordinator is there to be an advocate so that no one goes beyond the established boundaries. And in looking back at Winslet’s quotes about Titanic over the years, it’s something that has stuck with her for a long time after she finished filming in 1997.
“I wish I hadn’t shown so much flesh, but I was young, and I knew I had things to prove,” she told The Sun in 2012 after the film’s rerelease in 3D. Winslet isn’t the only person in Hollywood who has regrets about filming a nude scene early on in their careers, so hopefully, the next generation of rising stars feels more protected and understands their power in the word “no.”
Before you go, click here to see which other stars got naked on camera.
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