Michael Douglas reveals the most important element of intimate scenes after previous criticism of intimacy coordinators
Michael Douglas has discussed how intimate scenes were handled on two of his best-known films, Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, neither of which had an intimacy coordinator on set.
The 82-year-old has starred in numerous erotic thrillers, and appeared opposite Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.
Intimacy coordinators are a relatively new addition to film sets and became more common following the #MeToo movement.
Douglas has previously been critical of the role. “I’m past the age where I’ve got to worry about that,” he told the U.K.’s Radio Times in May 2024.
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“But it’s interesting with all the intimacy coordinators. It feels like executives taking control away from filmmakers — but there have been some terrible faux pas and harassment.”
Now, Douglas has said the most important element of an intimate scene is trust. “The only way you can do [it], whether it’s an intimacy coordinator there or not, is with trust,” he told CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister during a recent episode of Coming Up.
He explained that it’s key to ‘gain your partner’s trust’ in a sex scene and said he was always ‘very careful’ in his movies. Comparing intimate scenes with stunts, he said they are all choreographed with intention and precision so that actors ‘know exactly the steps’.
Why does Michael Douglas compare sex scenes to fight scenes?
He went on to expand on the comparison.
“Sex scenes are a lot like fight scenes,” he continued. “You know, fight scenes are choreographed. You know? I’ll hit here, boom, there. And sex scenes are the same way. Okay, I’m gonna kiss you here, kiss you there.” He emphasized, “It’s a question of trust and nobody taking advantage of anybody else.”
Douglas covered similar ground in his 2024 Radio Times interview.
He once again compared sex scenes to fight scenes, stressing that they are carefully planned.
“In my experience you take responsibility as the man to make sure the woman is comfortable, you talk it through,” he said.
What has Michael Douglas revealed in his memoir?
Douglas released his memoir, One Helluva Ride, on Oct. 6.
In it, he revealed that he ended relationships with five women after his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, asked for exclusivity, according to PEOPLE.
Following his 1995 separation from first wife Diandra Luker, Douglas had been seeing women who lived in different cities. “I told her wait here I have to make five quick calls. ‘Five? You have to make five calls?’ ” he wrote.
The memoir also revisits their 2013 separation and reconciliation the following year.
The couple first met at the Deauville Film Festival in France in 1998, after Douglas saw Zeta-Jones in The Mask of Zorro, and married at New York City’s Plaza Hotel in November 2000.
Douglas has also spoken about what helps sustain the marriage.
He told PEOPLE earlier this month that humor and communication have played a part. “A good sense of humor doesn’t hurt, number one. And talking things out,” he said.
Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity
Thomas Bamford