Kerry Fox and Mark Rylance performed an unsimulated sex scene in the 2001 film Intimacy
The partner of an actor who took part in a film with a real, unsimulated sex scene has shared how the experience affected their relationship behind the scenes.
When we see intense or steamy scenes on screen, they often look incredibly realistic to the audience. But usually, these moments are carefully staged, using clever filming tricks and the guidance of intimacy coordinators to keep things professional and controlled.
That said, there are a few rare films where the actors really did go all the way on camera. These stand out as some of the most controversial examples in film history.
These are the kind of roles that take method acting to an entirely new place.
There are actually more films with unsimulated sex than many people realize. Movies like Little Ashes starring Robert Pattinson and the bold 2004 release 9 Songs are just a few examples, and many include well-known actors.
But that leads to a bigger question—how does it feel for the actors involved, or even their real-life partners, knowing these moments are permanently captured on screen?
The 2001 erotic drama Intimacy, directed by Patrice Chéreau, was one of those bold films. It featured Kerry Fox and Mark Rylance in several intimate scenes while playing characters Claire and Jay.
In one of the most talked-about moments, Fox was asked to perform actual oral sex on Rylance. While the scene is only a few seconds long, it had lasting effects on both actors and their relationships at the time.
This intense moment inspired Fox’s boyfriend at the time, Alexander Linklater, to write a piece for The Guardian, reflecting on what it meant for him and their relationship.
Kerry Fox would come home ‘exhausted and almost ill’
Linklater shared how, at first, he and Fox were curious about how the audience would be convinced the scene was real. They hadn’t expected the director, Chéreau, to be so upfront about just how real some parts of the film would be.
This came as a shock, especially since they had only been dating for six months when she took on the role. The challenge of navigating such a unique situation put their relationship to the test early on.
Linklater wrote: “Forget Kerry – this wasn’t going to be easy for me. I was in the flush of the most important relationship of my life and had no doubt that I was also, in the immortal words of John Lennon, a jealous guy.”
“If the film went ahead, I would have to wait while she left for rehearsals to practise sex with Mark, and came back home.”
“Then, I would have to wait as she went on set, undressed with Mark, took him in her arms, helped him reach a state of arousal, and came back home again.”
He also opened up about how physically drained Fox became during filming. He mentioned how she’d come home with marks like ‘carpet burns’ and seemed completely wiped out, often looking “exhausted and almost ill” from the toll the filming took.
The film featured a brief moment of unsimulated oral sex
StudioCanal
However, he later said: “Once I had seen the film… the jealous urge to find out how far Kerry and I could trust each other disappeared.”
What have Kerry Fox and Mark Rylance since said about shooting Intimacy?
More than two decades after the release of Intimacy, Fox and Linklater are still together. They eventually got married and now have two children. In a 2012 interview with Metro, Fox reflected on her experience filming the unsimulated scene, calling it one of the most important roles she’s ever done.
“I have no regrets,” she said.
As for Rylance, he’s looked back at the project with more criticism. He described it as the toughest role of his career and expressed mixed feelings about the outcome.
Kerry Fox has since revealed she doesn’t regret the film
Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images
“I was convinced it was a vital story about the difficulties people face finding intimacy in a big city like London,” he told The Guardian in 2016.
“Hanif Kureishi’s writing couldn’t have been more intimate and revealing, but I found the making of the film and the subsequent publicity and personal attacks very, very painful. I wish I hadn’t made it.”