Toni Collette says she ‘ask the intimate dispatchers to leave the set because they make her ‘anxious’

Toni Collette has revealed that she asked the intimate coordinators to leave the set while staging sex scenes in front of the camera.

Intimacy coordinators are people hired by productions to ensure the safety and consent of actors filming sex scenes, and are now common on TV and on set.

The hereditary star who has the latest project Power was released later this month, claiming that the presence of intimate coordinators on set made her “anxious”.

“I think they’ve only been brought in a few times, and I trust and feel comfortable with the people I’m working with,” Collette said in an interview with Time.

“It feels like the people that were brought in to make me feel more comfortable actually made me feel more anxious. They didn’t help, so I asked them to leave.”

With the intimacy coordinator still a relatively new role on set, Collette was asked if she would have appreciated their presence earlier in her career.

“Depends,” she replied. “Look, every job is different. Every job is different. Because it’s a new group of people, it’s a new energy; everyone carries their whole life, and all is thrown into the pot. You never know what you’re going to get, and having a movie come together is already a miracle, let alone thrive.

“I’ve been very lucky because I’ve only worked with a few assholes over the decades that I’ve managed to keep this boat afloat.”

In recent months, a number of other high school actors have also spoken out about intimate co-stars.

Ian McKellen claimed that the coordinators ruined “purity” on set. However, Emma Thompson has described them as “absolutely necessary”.