House of the Dragon Intimacy Coordinator Responds to Sean Bean's Negative Comments

Intimacy coordinators don't "get in the way of the creative process", says House of the Dragon's Miriam Lucia. 

Lucia, who works as an intimacy coordinator on the Game of Thrones spinoff, responded to comments made by Game of Thrones vet Sean Bean. "I love him as an actor... I just think he is a man of a certain age, who has been in this industry for a very long time, and he doesn't have an experience of the other side, said Lucia. "Or maybe he's had a bad experience of working with an intimacy coordinator."

Bean previously spoke out against the employment of intimacy coordinators, arguing that it hindered performances. "It would inhibit me more because it's drawing attention to things," said the actor. "Somebody saying, 'Do this, put your hands there while you touch his thing.'"

"I think the natural way lovers behave would be ruined by someone bringing it right down to a technical exercise," explained Bean.

Lucia disagreed with this idea, emphasizing how this kind of coordination helps everyone involved. "All I would say is that in my experience so far, I don't think it gets in the way of the creative process," she continued. "I think it helps to enable the creative process, because I think once you've worked out what the actors are comfortable with in terms of touch and consent, and what the movements are going to be, then you add the emotion to it. And then you find the freedom, because you're not scrambling and fumbling and trying to find it there and then in the moment."

Game of Thrones frequently received backlash for its graphic sex scenes over the course of its 8-season run, and in 2018, HBO announced that it would hire intimacy coordinators to oversee intimate scenes going forward.

Stars of House of the Dragon have praised the series for its behind-the-scenes handling of sex scenes so far. Emily Carey, who portrays young Alicent Hightower, said their scenes were approached "in the best way they could have done."

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Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. She was previously a reporter/producer at Decider and is a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.