Florence Pugh had ‘completely inappropriate’ experience filming sex scene with actor

Florence Pugh has spoken out about the 'completely inappropriate' direction she once received while shooting a intimate scene.

The Oscar-nominated actress, 29, is no stranger to stripping off in front of cameras, as she's had her fair share of sexual storylines when portraying various characters.

She's rolled around the sheets on screen with Hollywood heart-throbs such as Andrew Garfield and Cillian Murphy before now, so Pugh is pretty well-versed in the practice of feigning fornication.

These days, it's an industry standard for actors to be aided by intimacy coordinators on set when crafting these romantic moments.

The Screen Actors Guild explains that these crew members act as 'an advocate, a liaison between actors and production… in regard to nudity and simulated sex and other intimate and hyper-exposed scenes'.

So, as well as helping with the choreography of it all, intimacy coordinators ensure that everyone is comfortable and that the sex scenes adhere to safety protocols.

Florence Pugh explained why she thinks intimacy coordinators are a great addition to film sets (A24)

According to Pugh, the presence of these advocates on set is something of a double-edged sword - but on the whole, she believes the introduction of this role is a good thing for the film industry.

Explaining what the job consists of, she said during a recent appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast: "It’s not to get in the way, it’s not to confuse, it’s not to make things more complicated or make things more awkward.

"It's simply to make sure that everyone is happy with what you're creating. And also, it's creating things that have meaning to them."

Beforehand, it was the film director who had jurisdiction over intimate scenes - and the Oppenheimer actress explained that this could make for quite the uncomfortable experience.

"I did a lot of my sex scenes before [an intimacy coordinator] was even a job and I think I'm quite confident, I'm quite happy in my skin," Pugh said. "I've always been able to make sure that I'm heard.

"That being said, even though I know that I believed that and I felt that at the time, there are plenty of things that I remember where it was completely inappropriate to have asked me to do that or direct me in that way."

She recalled how she has previously received 'completely inappropriate' direction from a filmmaker while shooting a nude scene (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

And although she's glad intimacy coordinators are now an on-set essential, the Don't Worry Darling star admitted that she has encountered both 'good and bad' ones during her career.

Pugh reckons that they can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help, as she reeled of a few 's**t examples' of their efforts that missed the mark, while also discussing some of her 'fantastic experiences'.

She recalled how an intimacy coordinator once made shooting a sex scene 'weird and awkward', explaining that they seemed to just want 'to be a part of the set in a way that wasn’t helpful'.

"I think it’s a job that’s still figuring itself out," Pugh continued. "But I will say that I’ve been able to understand better meaning now through working with great ones in sex scenes.

"Finding the story of what it is, 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, really matter when you're trying to build a relationship.

"I'd never thought of it like that before, because sex scenes are so awkward for everybody on set. Everybody’s just kind of working away to chip away at the scene," Pugh continued.

Pugh is quite confident in filming intimate scenes and has a lot of experience in doing so (Universal Pictures)

"And I think when I worked with a fantastic coordinator, I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been missing, understanding the dance of intimacy as opposed to just shooting a sex scene'.

"There are good ones and bad ones, and it’s through the good ones that I have learned how effective it can really be."

Heaping further praise on the importance of the role, Pugh said intimacy coordinators are a 'dedicated person that is there to make sure that all of your comfort is being thought about'.

Her comments come after Die My Love star Jennifer Lawrence came under fire for revealing why she didn't want an intimacy coordinator to shoot saucy scenes with Robert Pattinson.

She has sparked quite the debate after explaining that she felt 'really safe' with the actor and didn't need anyone assisting them as he is 'not pervy', as opposed to other male stars who 'get offended if you don’t want to f*ck them'.