Florence Pugh reflects on intimacy coordinators: ‘A job that’s still figuring itself out’

British actress Florence Pugh has shared her evolving perspective on the role of intimacy coordinators in film and television, describing it as “a job that’s still figuring itself out.”Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Pugh said she has experienced both positive and negative interactions with intimacy coordinators. She noted, “I’ve had good ones and bad ones. I did a lot of my sex scenes before that was even a job… There are plenty of things I remember that were completely inappropriate — to be asked to do that, to be directed in that way.”Pugh elaborated that more recently, she has collaborated with intimacy coordinators whose work she described as “fantastic.” However, she also recalled a poor experience where “someone just made it so weird and so awkward… wasn’t helpful and kind of was just like wanting to be a part of the set in a way that wasn’t helpful.”Highlighting the evolution of the role, Pugh said that working with strong coordinators helped her better understand how intimate scenes can serve narrative and character development. “What kind of sex is it? How do you touch each other? How long have you been having sex for? All of these things really matter when you’re trying to build a relationship that’s been going for 10 years,” she explained.She added that while the job of intimacy coordination is improving, it is “still figuring itself out.”Pugh’s comments come amid a broader industry discussion about the role of intimacy coordinators. Other actors have taken differing positions — for instance, Jennifer Lawrence declined to use one for her sex scenes in Die My Love, citing trust in her co-star, while Gwyneth Paltrow criticised the process on her project Marty Supreme, saying she felt “stifled.”Pugh, however, presented a more balanced view. She acknowledged her mixed experiences but emphasised that the best intimacy coordinators helped her understand “the dance of intimacy,” rather than simply staging a sex scene.