Intimacy coordinator Marci Liroff: «Hollywood? The password is consent “

It is written as an intimacy coordinator and a champion of #MeToo. This professional figure is new and was born to protect the artists (and not only) on the set in sex scenes, naked or more generally those that generate discomfort of any kind. This is why Marci Liroff, after more than 40 years as casting director (from Footloose a Mean Girls), has reinvented an entire career by dedicating himself to this activity full-time (obviously after following a specialization course of the newborn trade union overseas).

In connection with Zoom, he recounts the last experience in chronological order, the ten episodes of the second season of the series Hightown, available on Starzplay with Monica Redmund, former face of Chicago Fire. In the first chapter on the set a figure with his was not foreseen, but now it is necessary. Anyone familiar with the turbulent protagonist Jackie knows well that the policewoman, at least initially, collected one night stand stories. The hot scenes follow one another with some regularity, but in the upcoming episodes the promiscuity gives way to a certain emotional involvement. This is why the presence of an intimacy coordinator becomes essential.

Let’s start from the beginning. When hired, do you immediately meet the actors involved in the most delicate scenes?
«No, the first step is to meet the director and the producer and talk about the nude or sex scenes to understand the tone of the story but also what they want and how. Often on the sets you go fast and dismiss these moments without paying too much attention to them, but I make sure that they are meticulously choreographed ».

What happens next?
“Only then do I meet the actors separately. Now the conversation takes place via Zoom, often at my request because I want to read their facial expressions and with the mask it is not possible ».

The most important topic?
«The cornerstone of everything is consensus, which must be clear and enthusiastic. For example, I ask “Are you okay with having your nipples licked in that scene?”. If I see hesitation and they answer “I think so”, then I know it’s a no. “

What happens in that case?
«I let the actors discover the power of no. Their mindset leads them to be compliant with every request because in fact those in front of them can hire or fire them, so it’s a big change to understand that they can back down from a request that makes them uncomfortable. My role is to represent both needs and, as a stunt coordinator, I go back to the director so that everyone is on the same wavelength ».

At that point, is your work done?
«Not at all: at that moment I start a kind of tour of the departments, starting with the legal one to draw up the so-called nudity rider, a written consent with explicit references on which parts of the body can be shown. In fact, the contract signed in 2020 requires greater clarity. For each scene this contract must reach the artist 48 hours before the take. But it is not certain that, once signed, the actor cannot change his mind. The very day of shooting on the set I make sure that this is the case, while the common feeling so far is that if in the past the artist has shot in a certain way he must continue to do so. No: the consensus does not follow you automatically from project to project but changes with the circumstances and if an actor has made a choice before, he doesn’t necessarily feel like repeating it ».