‘Normal People’ & ‘I May Destroy You’ Intimacy Coordinator Launches World’s First Intimacy Practice Degree

deadline.com:

Ita O’Brien, the pioneering Intimacy Coordinator who has worked on the likes of Normal People, I May Destroy You and Sex Education, has founded what is being called the “world’s first degree in intimacy practice.” O’Brien’s Intimacy on Set outfit has joined with the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts on the two-year course, which will teach best practice in the fast-growing world of intimacy co-ordination and help build and support professionals in the increasingly crucial role.

The formal nature of the training recognizes recent developments in the industry, for a role that was barely heard of a decade ago.

O’Brien, who has led the charge to improve intimacy co-ordination on TV and film sets, said: “Intimacy practice is a young profession, and whilst awareness of its existence has grown considerably in the last few years, deep understanding of good practice is missing. “To ensure we develop a profession which can proudly grow with excellence we need to be able to train talented individuals who can navigate the both physical and emotional journey that each actor will go on, and can responsibly and safely deliver the intimate content as envisioned by the director, the storytelling and each character.” The course has been forged in partnership with the University of East Anglia and will begin in September.

Intimacy on Set already trains Intimacy Coordinators and O’Brien has worked with the likes of the BBC, Netflix and HBO. In 2021, the BBC made Intimacy Coordinators mandatory across its TV shows and they are now used across multiple shows and films.