Ewan McGregor Says He Used an Intimacy Coordinator for Sex Scenes With His Wife

In a new interview with the Radio Times, McGregor said it was "still necessary" to have an intimacy coordinator for the sex scenes opposite his wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, in their new drama series A Gentleman in Moscow.

"It's still necessary, because it's also about the crew, and it's odd to be naked in front of people, it's odd to be intimate in front of the camera," McGregor explained.

The 52-year-old actor continued, "If you were doing a dance scene, you'd have a choreographer. It's an important part of the work now, because it's somebody that the director and actors meet in the middle."

The couple have been married since 2022. They share a son, Laurie, who was born the previous year.

Intimacy coordinators, which are on hand to support the actor in any intimate action on set, such as contact kissing, physical touch and simulated sex, have become an integral part of movie and television sets in recent years, which McGregor believes is a good thing.

McGregor, who shares son, Laurie, 2, with Winstead, and has four daughters from his previous marriage to production designer Eve Mavrakis, cited his 22-year-old daughter, Esther, in the interview, suggesting that an actor her age might feel they have to do a naked scene if asked to do so by a famous director in order to advance their career.

"Then five years after that, she could look back and go, 'I wish I hadn't. Why am I naked in that scene? It's unnecessary,'" he said.

"Now there's somebody she talks to whose career doesn't rest on the shoulders of this person," McGregor added.

Things like this, McGregor said, have made the industry more safe for his daughters to work in -- the Scottish born actor's daughter, Clara is also an actress, starring alongside McGregor in the 2023 drama, Bleeding Love, which tells the story of a father and daughter working to repair their relationship.

"There are many things that are inclusive and right, the whole boys' club aspect of it is gone. I'm very relieved," the proud dad noted.

McGregor is the latest celebrity to speak out in support of intimacy coordinators, with Sydney Sweeney, Emma Thompson and more all sharing their desire to have them on set.

They're there to "make sure that everything is choreographed and everyone is okay and comfortable with what is happening," Sweeney said in a 2020 interview.

"I had my first intimacy coordinator on Euphoria, and it changed my approach to everything. I love having one and I think they should be considered a necessity on every set."