The star of His Dark Materials and Luther, Ruth Wilson, has revealed the sex scenes in her new film True Things are ‘incredibly sexy and explicit’ but were choreographed and she felt safe filming them.
The 40-year-old star left Showtime drama The Affair in 2018 after four seasons, upset with the demands made on her during filming and she ultimately she filed a hostile work complaint.
She later said: ““Things didn’t feel right… I didn’t feel safe.”
Ruth, who plays the mysterious Mrs Coulter in BBC One’s His Dark Materials, co-stars with Strike actor Tom Burke in a True Things, the story of a benefits officer who begins a passionate relationship with a client. The sex is charged and on screen it represents the passage of their desire, but while full on it is not exploitative. Ruth, who also co-produced the film, made sure of that by employing an intimacy coordinator.
She told The Independent: “If people are able to have conversations and talk about the intent, and where their boundaries are and what the director wants, it’s a really great thing. It’s not just two actors getting on with it.
“Invariably, doing that you feel uncomfortable. At best its awkward, at worst it can become quite exploitative and you’re not getting it right anyway. Weirdly, by talking about it, by choreographing it, you can probably get scenes that are safer for the actors, but also more explicit and interesting, natural, real, honest portrayals of sex.”
Ruth pointed out that there is very little nudity in the independent film, not that she has a problem with that, if it’s right for the scene. If it’s not, if it doesn’t feel genuine and she distrusts why it’s there.
“In True Things each sex scene depicts the journey of the relationship. Sexuality is part of human nature. We have to put it on screen so it’s not about taking it out. It’s about making it really specific and honest.”
True Things is on release in the UK from Apr 1. His Dark Materials season 3 will screen on BBC One later in 2022.
