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Olivia Cooke, star of House of the Dragon and new Prime Video series The Girlfriend, has spoken about the use of intimacy coordinators in the film and TV industry, and how women are still labelled “difficult” for raising issues.

Speaking with The i Paper, Cooke gave a shout-out to the intimacy coordinators on The Girlfriend, before adding: “It’s amazing to me that people had to just fudge their way through those scenes before those people existed.”

Cooke said that sex scenes put actors in “really precarious and vulnerable situations”, and that the inevitable embarrassment is amplified for “those who are just starting out and don’t have the vocabulary to say what they’re not comfortable with”.

“And for women, who’ll often get labelled ‘difficult’ or ‘a b***h’ for speaking up,” she continued.

Cooke added that good intimacy coordinators will “sense hesitation and become your voice”, and that while she believes “showing intimacy, passion is an integral part of reflecting the human experience”, it can be done without actors left feeling like “a chunk of yourself has been taken”.

In The Girlfriend, Cooke plays Cherry, the titular girlfriend of Laurie Davidson’s Daniel. When Daniel’s mother, played by Robin Wright, finds herself suspicious of Cherry, the two end up in a power struggle to have the greatest influence over Daniel.

Cooke is perhaps best-known for playing Alicent on House of the Dragon, but she has also had major roles in films such as Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Ready Player One, as well as series including Bates Motel, Vanity Fair and Slow Horses.

The Girlfriend is available to stream on Prime Video now – try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days.

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