Amanda Seyfried Wishes She Had Intimacy Coordinators as a Teen, Let Herself Be Uncomfortable o

April 2024 · 4 minute read

Amanda Seyfried told Porter magazine that she purposely let herself be uncomfortable on film sets earlier in her career because she felt it was the only way to keep her job.

The publication noted that the Emmy and Oscar nominee “wishes she could be coming up now, in an era where intimacy coordinators are an on-set requirement and actors are in a better position to speak up.” Seyfried said she emerged “pretty unscathed” from her early days as an actor in Hollywood, but she does look back in shock.

“Being 19, walking around without my underwear on – like, are you kidding me? How did I let that happen?” Seyfried said. “Oh, I know why: I was 19 and I didn’t want to upset anybody and I wanted to keep my job. That’s why.”

Intimacy coordinators have been back in the news recently after “Game of Thrones” and “Lord of the Rings” actor Sean Bean criticized their addition to film and television sets. Bean argued that “the natural way lovers behave” is “ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise.” Several actors have since come forward to comment on Bean’s opinion, including his “Snowpiercer” co-star Lena Hall.

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“If I feel comfortable with my scene partner and with others in the room then I won’t need an intimacy coordinator,” Hall wrote on Twitter. “BUT if there is any part of me that is feeling weird, gross, over exposed etc… I will either challenge the necessity of the scene or I’ll want an IC [intimacy coordinator].”

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“West Side Story” breakout Rachel Zegler was more forceful, writing on social media that “intimacy coordinators establish an environment of safety for actors.” She added, “I was extremely grateful for the one we had on ‘West Side Story’ — they showed grace to a newcomer like myself and educated those around me who’ve had years of experience. Spontaneity in intimate scenes can be unsafe. Wake up.”

Added “Midnight Mass” and “Bly Manor” actor Rahul Kohli, “I’ve worked with a few intimacy coordinators now, and while ever so slightly embarrassing at first, are essential for protecting our safety, making us comfortable and opening up constructive dialogue between the actors and director when scenes call for ‘intimacy.'”

Seyfriend is Emmy-nominated this year for her performance as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu’s “The Dropout.”

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