Jacob Elordi Talks Working With 'Euphoria' Intimacy Coordinator

'Euphoria' took the world by storm in 2019. The series quickly gained fame when season one aired, especially for its raw emotional and intimate scenes. It also became known as a difficult show to watch due to its exploration of substance abuse, drug use, and mental health.

Just before season two of the series aired, Zendaya, who plays the lead role on the series, had to tweet a disclaimer of how the new season would be highly emotional and advise viewers that it could trigger sensitive people. 

The actors on the show also had to deal with their issues while filming. Jacob Elordi recently revealed that he had difficulties working with the intimacy coordinator when filming intimate scenes for the series.

In season one of 'Euphoria', Elordi played the character of Nate Jobs, one of the main antagonists in the series. His character simultaneously tugged at viewers’ hearts while disgusting them with his behavior. 

Nate was also the most popular boy in school, the star quarterback, and the perfect typical school jock. With how popular he was, it only followed that he was also the object of attention for many girls in school. 

This meant that Elordi had to act several sex scenes in the season. Most of these scenes were with his girlfriend Maddy Perez, but he also had a few scenes with another character, Jules Vaughn.

Many fans of 'Euphoria' have shared that they liked the show because of how realistic the sex and intimacy scenes were. But they’re far from authentic and were actually choreographed by an intimacy coordinator called Amanda Blumenthal. 

Blumenthal worked as the intimacy coordinator on season one and the recently released season two. Her work as the coordinator was to choreograph how the intimacy would play out and keep the cast feeling safe and comfortable during the filming of these scenes. 

Blumenthal’s work as the intimacy coordinator wasn’t limited to only sex scenes, and she also coordinated other intimate scenes such as makeout sessions between two actors on the show. 

Elordi has mentioned in several interviews that he enjoyed his experiences with Blumenthal on the show. He also revealed that he wasn’t so comfortable with her in the first season of Euphoria and had to learn and adjust to having someone coordinate his intimate scenes. 

He spoke about working with Blumenthal in an interview with Elle Australia, where he said, “In the first season, I kind of struggled with it because I thought it killed the spontaneity of the scene and it was a little bit hands-on, but working with her this season was such a treat.” 

He also shared that Blumenthal was “delightful, so helpful and so caring.” He said she was there for him and helped him feel that those intimate scenes were just like acting regular scenes, which was amazing.

Elordi wasn’t the only member of Euphoria’s cast to compliment Blumenthal and her work. In the same Elle Australia interview with Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, the actress who plays the character of Cassie Howard, spoke about her experience with Blumenthal and how she was extremely helpful in facilitating a safe and comfortable acting experience.

Sweeney said, “It adds another level of comfort and they have a lot of mints and gum. I’m really lucky because all my castmates are so kind and Sam Levinson is amazing. It’s a very safe and incredible environment to do such scenes in and having the intimacy coordinator adds another level of ‘I feel OK, I feel safe and this is for my character.’”

With how vital Blumenthal’s presence and work were on 'Euphoria', many actors and fans hope that other studios and shows will follow HBO’s example and include intimacy coordinators as a requirement on their sets.