Outlander: How Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe worked on sex scenes ‘great deal of trust’
OUTLANDER season 6 featured some steamy moments which left fans hot under the collar. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, the show’s intimacy coordinator Vanessa Coffey spoke about how she worked with lead stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe on the sex scenes.
Starz series Outlander is off-screens at the moment with fans in for quite a wait until season seven. While viewers try to survive the so-called Droughtlander, many are eager for any new bits of trivia from the show. Although season six was the shortest outing to date, it had some of the most poignant plot points as well as some tender moments between the central couple Jamie (played by Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe).
Speaking to Express.co.uk, intimacy coordinator Vanessa Coffey, explained how she worked with Heughan and Balfe on the new series, saying her role was different compared to other shows.
Coffey was enlisted by producer and actor Heughan to work on Outlander with the intimacy coordinator now busy on season seven as filming takes place in Scotland.
Heughan wanted an intimacy coordinator to offer support to the cast, particularly the younger members who were new to the industry.
When Outlander first aired, the show didn’t have an intimacy coordinator with the cast working without one.
Outlander: Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan as couple Claire and Jamie Fraser (Image: STARZ)
Outlander: Sam Heughan brought on the show’s intimacy coordinator (Image: STARZ)
Intimacy coordination has come about relatively recently off the back of the #MeToo era. Now many shows from Bridgerton and Sex Education to I May Destroy You, have a dedicated intimacy coordinator on hand to work with the cast to ensure safety.
In fact, sex scenes are now treated with the same rigorous planning as a fight scene with many discussions, choreography sessions, and rehearsals taking place prior to filming.
Coffey, who has also worked on Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga and Sky’s I Hate Suzie, said: “Sam and Caitriona already do have a mode of working together, so really it’s a little bit different on Outlander working with the leads because it’s about how I can come in and help enhance those scenes.
“They already have a great deal of trust between the two of them, which is really lovely. I think it’s really apparent they’ve got a good working relationship.”
Outlander: Jamie and Claire Fraser’s love scenes are integral to the story (Image: STARZ)
Outlander: Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe have a strong working relationship (Image: STARZ)
She said her job was more about how she could assist Balfe and Heughan with these intimate moments, explaining: “So then it’s about, ‘Okay, let’s talk about the literal things that are going to happen in this scene: the angles we’re going to be shooting it from. Maybe adding in some of the things they hadn’t previously spoken about that they may have spoken about together that we can have a conversation about as a group with production.
“As an example, whether the characters go through to orgasm. That’s not a conversation you want to have on the day of the shoot. You want to ask, ‘Is this going to happen?’
“It’s about having that conversation before we get to the time of the shoot.”
Coffey added: “Both of those actors have also said very kindly that it’s been a real help to have an intimacy coordinator come on the show, to have those conversations that hadn’t been had before but were had in the context of if they were going to do a fight.
