Game of Thrones and "sex scenes" pretty much go hand and hand, but, to our surprise, all of those steamy scenes actually came with little-to-no direction, according to Gemma Whelan.
In an interview with The Guardian, Whelan revealed that the show did not have an intimacy coordinator—which is used to not only help achieve the director's vision, but to also maintain the actors' safety. Without one, the cast was left to look out for each other on set, and apparently led to a bit of a "frenzied mess."
"They used to just say, ‘When we shout action, go for it!'," the Yara Greyjoy actress told the publication. "But between the actors there was always an instinct to check in with each other."
Whelan recalled that one scene had her checking in on her scene partner. "She was so exposed that we talked together about where the camera would be and what she was happy with," she continued. "A director might say, 'Bit of boob biting, then slap her bum and go!', but I'd always talk it through with the other actor."
One of Whelan's more illicit scenes—which became one of GoT's most notorious—starred the actress' on-screen brother Alfie Allen. The awkward on-screen moment featured the pair engaging in some sexual activities while riding a horse. But, per Whelan, this scene was just uncomfortable for the viewer, since Whelan recalled that Allen made sure she felt safe during it.
She added, "Alfie was very much, 'Is this okay? How are we going to make this work?'"
Whelan isn't the first GoT performer to vocalize an opinion about production for the fantasy drama. Back in May, Hannah Waddingham revealed details about her iconic torture scene, telling Collider Ladies Night that she was essentially "waterboarded."
"I thought they'd sent me the wrong bits," Waddingham, who played Septa Unella, recalled. "And, sure enough, when I got there, I was then put in the wetsuit top and I was like, 'Because?' and they went, 'Oh, it's waterboarding instead.' And I was like, 'Oh, we're not actually doing waterboarding?' 'No, no, no, we are.'"
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