Type keyword(s) to search

News

Sean Bean's 'Up For Anything' Snowpiercer Co-Star Lena Hall Responds

Jameela Jamil, Rachel Zegler, and Rahul Kohli have also spoken out after Bean complained about on-set intimacy coordinators.
posted by Deena ElGenaidi
Tuesday 8/9/2022 at 9:51AM EDT
  • Lena Hall and Sean Bean (Photos: Jason Mendez/Everett Collection and Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett Collection)
    Lena Hall and Sean Bean (Photos: Jason Mendez/Everett Collection and Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett Collection)

    Lena Hall is sounding off after her Snowpiercer co-star Sean Bean claimed Hall was "up for anything" while shooting sex scenes and dismissed the importance of intimacy coordinators.

    In an interview with UK's Times Magazine, Bean said of intimacy coordinators, "It would inhibit me more because it's drawing attention to things. Somebody saying, 'Do this, put your hands there, while you touch his thing…'"

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

    Bean went on to discuss filming a sex scene with Hall, saying, "I suppose it depends on the actress. This one [referring to Hall] had a musical cabaret background, so she was up for anything."

    Hall responded to Bean's comments in an eight-part Twitter thread. "Just because I am in theater (not cabaret, but I do perform them every once in a while) does not mean that I am up for anything," she wrote. "Seriously does depend on the other actor, the scene we are about to do, the director, and whatever crew has to be in there to film it."

    She also came to Bean's defense, writing, "Sean is an awesome actor and made me feel not only comfortable but also like I had a true acting partner in those bizarre scenes. It was us against the world and we were gonna tell that story."

    "If I feel comfortable with my scene partner and with others in the room then I won't need an intimacy coordinator," she continued. "BUT if there is any part of me that is feeling weird, gross, over exposed etc... I will either challenge the necessity of the scene or I'll want an IC."

    Hall concluded, "I do feel that intimacy coordinators are a welcome addition to the set and think they could also help with the trauma experienced in other scenes. Sometimes you need em sometimes you don't but every single person and scene and experience is different."

    But Hall's defense didn't stop other actors from calling out Bean, including Rachel Zegler, who said West Side Story's intimacy coordinators "establish[ed] an environment of safety for actors."

    Jameela Jamil, star of the upcoming Marvel series She-Hulk, added, "It should only be technical. It's like a stunt. Our job as actors is to make it not look technical. Nobody wants an impromptu grope..."

    Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Bly Manor star Rahul Koli also posted a three-part Twitter thread on the topic. "I've worked with a few intimacy coordinators now, and while ever so slightly embarrassing at first, are essential for protecting our safety, making us comfortable, and opening up constructive dialogue between the actors and director when scenes call for 'intimacy,'" he wrote.

    Koli added, "As for 'killing spontaneity,' which is a phrase I've heard multiple times from some folk… I'd argue that we don't complain about it when it's stunt/fight choreography. It's our job to rehearse meticulously, and then 'make it look real,' no different. No shade, just my two cents."

    Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.

    TOPICS: Lena Hall, Snowpiercer, Jameela Jamil, Rachel Zegler, Rahul Kohli, Sean Bean