The New European: The new normal: How the series took lockdown by storm
Normal People employed ‘intimacy coordinator’ Ita O’Brien to help with the sex scenes. It’s a job that has become more common on film sets in the era of #MeToo but was new to director Lenny Abrahamson and to Guiney. “We were concerned it would get in the way of what the actors wanted to do, but in fact, it was like using a choreographer or stunt director and made us able to recreate the intimacy in the book.
“It’s very much about the intellectual and emotional connection between Marianne and Connell and their physical connection is an extension of that, so we wanted the sex scenes to be just like a continuation of the conversation, of their dialogue and that’s what our intimacy coordinator did so brilliantly.
“It made it all so much more grown-up and professional and allowed us to really get on with filming. It puts everyone at ease, I think. We’re very proud of it because it’s something fresh and not seen before on TV, and I’m thrilled we went there and pulled it off.”