Intimacy Coordination

An Intimacy Coordinator (IC) is a trained professional who works on film, television, and theater productions to choreograph and oversee scenes involving intimacy, nudity, and simulated sex. Born out of the #MeToo movement in 2018, the role ensures that actors feel safe, that boundaries are respected, and that the director's creative vision is achieved through clear communication and consent-driven choreography.

Mam Smith was one of the first people in the world to take on this role. Trained by Ita O'Brien at the Irish Film Institute and then fast-tracked into the position by HBO — which had just mandated intimacy coordinators on all productions — she brought decades of stunt and choreography expertise to a discipline that was being defined in real time.