But being offered a body double doesn’t mean there wasn’t expectation or pressure. It’s being presented a script and being told ‘This is the scene. Do you want to do the work or do you want someone else to do it?’ Her portrayal of the character is not just her face and voice. It’s how she embodies the character, including her movement. It’s understandable to not want important parts of that portrayal performed by someone else. There’s also immense pressure on young actors, especially women, to not be a source of friction on set. People who get a reputation for being “difficult” struggle to find work.
I don’t think this is necessarily the fault of studios or directors. Pressure isn’t just using power to compel behaviour. I’m sure most of the people she worked with would have been horrified to find out she felt that way. It just takes more than having nice people on set to overcome that power imbalance. The situation could have been writers and directors thinking that she’d say something if she felt uncomfortable and her feeling like it’s not appropriate for her to say something. Even assuming best intentions from everyone, it was still a shitty outcome for her. An important part of an intimacy coordinator’s job is to be friction on set to take the burden off those performers. And instead of it being a question of whether she or someone else will do the work, the question becomes, “how can we construct this scene so our performers feel safe and comfortable?”
I never thought the scenes with Emilia Clarke fully naked were needed. They didn’t add anything to the story. Any intent could have been done in a different way, I’m glad tv shows are gwtting past the age of adding the obligatory sex scene where 9/10 times it’s a young female who is on display.
I will note GOT was somewhat different in that some men were also fully naked, but that was for more violent effect (Alfie Allen) or mockery (hodor). Not saying that’s a good reason either. Curious if they felt pressure to do it? Also curious if the fans have made comments about those appearances.
But being offered a body double doesn’t mean there wasn’t expectation or pressure. It’s being presented a script and being told ‘This is the scene. Do you want to do the work or do you want someone else to do it?’ Her portrayal of the character is not just her face and voice. It’s how she embodies the character, including her movement. It’s understandable to not want important parts of that portrayal performed by someone else. There’s also immense pressure on young actors, especially women, to not be a source of friction on set. People who get a reputation for being “difficult” struggle to find work.
I don’t think this is necessarily the fault of studios or directors. Pressure isn’t just using power to compel behaviour. I’m sure most of the people she worked with would have been horrified to find out she felt that way. It just takes more than having nice people on set to overcome that power imbalance. The situation could have been writers and directors thinking that she’d say something if she felt uncomfortable and her feeling like it’s not appropriate for her to say something. Even assuming best intentions from everyone, it was still a shitty outcome for her. An important part of an intimacy coordinator’s job is to be friction on set to take the burden off those performers. And instead of it being a question of whether she or someone else will do the work, the question becomes, “how can we construct this scene so our performers feel safe and comfortable?”
I never thought the scenes with Emilia Clarke fully naked were needed. They didn’t add anything to the story. Any intent could have been done in a different way, I’m glad tv shows are gwtting past the age of adding the obligatory sex scene where 9/10 times it’s a young female who is on display.
I will note GOT was somewhat different in that some men were also fully naked, but that was for more violent effect (Alfie Allen) or mockery (hodor). Not saying that’s a good reason either. Curious if they felt pressure to do it? Also curious if the fans have made comments about those appearances.
I felt her walking out of fire with clothes burnt away looked awesome