In a candid interview, award-winning actress Kate Winslet looked back on her career beginnings, revealing she would have greatly benefited from having intimacy coordinators present during nude and intimate scenes when she was a young actress.
Intimacy coordinators are professionals hired to facilitate clear communication between actors and filmmakers during filming of sensitive scenes involving nudity or simulated intimacy. Their role is to advocate for the actors’ boundaries and ensure a safe, comfortable environment.
Speaking to The New York Times Magazine, Winslet stated, “It would have been nice to have had someone in my corner, because I always had to stand up for myself.” She recounted times when she wished she could have voiced concerns like adjusting camera angles, limiting people in the room, or having her robe nearby.
“When you’re young, you’re so afraid of pissing people off or coming across as rude,” the 47-year-old actress explained. “Learning to have a voice for oneself in those environments was very, very hard.”
Winslet shot to global stardom at age 22 with her role in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Last month, she reflected on that era of sudden mega-fame to Porter Magazine, admitting, “Being famous was horrible. I didn’t want to be followed literally feeding the ducks.”
The actresses’ revelations underscore the importance of intimacy coordinators and creating safer environments, especially for young performers in vulnerable situations early in their careers when standing up for oneself can be extremely difficult.