Intimacy coordinator defends Jenna Ortega’s sex scene with Martin Freeman following online criticism
Jenna Ortega was “sure of what she wanted to do” while filming her intimate scene with Martin Freeman in Miller’s Girl, according to the film’s intimacy coordinator.
In the film, Ortega, 21, plays 18-year-old student Cairo Sweet who strikes up an inappropriate relationship with her creative writing teacher, played by 52-year-old Freeman.
Following the film’s release, viewers expressed their unease at watching the Wednesday actress engage in “uncomfortable” sexual scenes with an actor who is 31 years her senior. One particular scene has been doing the rounds on social media, with many describing it as “gross’.
However, the film’s intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona has now revealed that Ortega was involved in the decisions for the curation of the scenes, insisting that no boundaries were crossed at any point.
“There was many, many people throughout this process, engaging with [Ortega] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,’ Arjona told The Daily Mail.
“Part of my job too is supporting her decisions. I adapt to whatever is the comfort level of my actors, especially on a production like this where there is a large age gap between the actors.
“I’m hyper aware of both of my talent and making sure that we’re consistently checking in and that at no point are any of their boundaries being surpassed. And again, making sure – especially with someone who’s significantly younger – that they are giving continuous consent.”
Arjona said she also discussed with the “level of nudity” with the actors, before talking them through the modesty garments they could use to maintain an “appropriate distance” during sex scenes.
The intimacy coordinator clarified that this information was given to the actors in written format 48 hours before the scenes were filmed, but stressed that they also had the option on the day to change their mind about a scene if they no longer felt comfortable with it.
She also revealed that discussions were held between the cast and crew before filming the scenes, and that test audiences were used to help determine what was “too much”.
“For this film, in particular, because of the sensitivity of the content, they had some different variations of how they wanted to shoot these scenes so that audiences could watch them at test screenings to see what was too much,” Arjona said.
Elsewhere, Ortega is set to return for a second season of Wednesday, Netflix‘s hit Addams Family spin-off series. Recently, the actress revealed that the upcoming season will feature “more horror” than the first.
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Chris Edwards
NME
