There’s been a huge shift in the way sex and sexual identity are represented on screen over the past decade.

In the wake of Hollywood’s ‘Me Too’ reckoning, intimacy coordinators have become an increasing presence on film and television sets.

But what does an intimacy coordinator actually do?

Today, we’re exploring the world of one of Hollywood’s most in-demand jobs.

Aleks Trkulja is a certified Sex and Relationship Therapist who works as an intimacy coordinator. She describes the role as “choreographing consent around intimate scenes in TV and film,” ensuring “performers, cast, and crew all feel safe” during the process.

The work begins well before the cameras roll, and can include conversations with performers about their boundaries and meetings with filmmakers.

For Trkulja, this can mean team discussions to determine “what we’re trying to portray with [a] scene… how it complements storytelling around sex, intimacy, a character's journey or growth”.

Intimacy coordination can look different, depending on the production. On some shoots, intimacy coordinators are given full creative direction. Other times, Trkulja acts as a supportive presence in the background of a shoot.

“So when you are on set on the day, things can kind of just move really smoothly, and everybody feels safe and comfortable.”

Consent and communication are at the heart of the job, to create a safe space for actors to “move creatively through their work.”

Actor Florence Pugh explained what it’s like working with intimacy coordinators on the Louis Theroux Podcast in November. 

“It's simply to make sure that everybody is happy with what they’re creating and also that you're creating things that have meaning to them… I've always been able to make sure that I'm heard.”

Recent portrayals of sex and sexuality on screen have shifted to a more authentic ‘warts-and-all’ representation of intimacy.

Successes like Normal People, Sex Education, and Heated Rivalry portray sexuality through a new lens — one that reflects changing cultural conversations around visibility and representation.

Trkulja explains how the media we consume can influence our ideas about intimacy: “So many people come into private practice learning about sex as this passionate thing through the TV shows or the movies that they've seen.”

As an intimacy coordinator, she said it’s “fascinating to be on the other end of that spectrum, to be informing the kinds of narratives around sex and intimacy that ultimately do impress upon people.”

 For people who struggle to articulate their wants and needs, these movies and shows can create new dialogues. Trkulja said some of her clients will point to something they’ve seen on screen as an example of what they’re looking for, or “how they want to feel with someone”.

Traditional representations of sex and intimacy on screen have been criticised for portraying men’s experience of desire, without considering women’s.

 “Most women will experience desire as more responsive [than spontaneous]. It takes time,” Trkulja said.

Bridgerton and Heated Rivalry are two recent examples that have been celebrated for portraying this yearning and build-up.

“These shows are really landing for a lot of people who resonate with elements of that experience of romance.”

More representation of female writers and directors in Hollywood is also helping to shape the storytelling of female desire and sex on screen, Trkulja noted.

“Even looking at Wuthering Heights, there’s this portrayal of women and sex on screen that is… more realistic of how women are experiencing their own sexuality and desire”.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Heated Rivalry intimacy coordinator Chala Hunter said: “I approach every scene with the same goal of ensuring that everyone is consenting to what they’re doing and that we’re all on the same page about the action that’s going to occur”. 

Hunter explained this means having a series of “very detailed” conversations with cast and crew. 

“It requires a lot of listening on my part, not just active listening, but a kind of deep empathic listening... and then I try to ask more questions to really flesh it out to make sure that if they’re consenting to something, they’re doing that confidently.”

Consent is not just a critical focus on a set. It’s changing how stories are told on screen. 

One of the biggest transformations to modern sex scenes has been the increased representation of scripted and deliberate consent in film and television. This theme has become a fundamental aspect of  storytelling, “to portray the reality that consent isn't something that ruins the mood,“ Trkulja explained.

When consent is openly represented as “a normal part of sex and relationships,” it empowers our society, “especially younger people.”

While consent and representation have become key considerations on set, intimacy coordination is not ingrained in the processes... yet.

The scope of the job involves supporting the storytelling and the performer, “but there are also liability issues.”

As an intimacy coordinator, Trkulja says she acts as a go-between for production, performers and cast.

“It’s still not a compulsory position on set,” but Trkulja predicts that will change.

There are mandatory safety processes when it comes to stunts and weapons on set, so why shouldn’t intimacy coordination follow suit?

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