Kate Winslet Said Her ‘Ammonite’ Love Scenes With Saoirse Ronan Were a ‘Very Joyful Experience’
Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan may not have had an intimacy coordinator for their love scenes in Ammonite, but they felt they were able to skillfully navigate the intimate details. Winslet described it as a “very joyful experience” working out the sex scene specifics with her much younger co-star.
Kate Winslet supported a young co-star during an intimate scene
During an interview with How I Found My Voice, Winslet discussed how she felt compelled to lend her support to a young co-star during a sex scene.
In Mare of Easttown, Winslet plays the mother of actor Angourie Rice’s character. When Rice had to film a sex scene without an intimacy coordinator on set, Winslet went above and beyond to offer her support.
“Because there were no clothes that come off in the scene they didn’t consider bringing in an intimacy coordinator,” the Titanic star explained. “And I just got the sense that she was nervous. So I said to her, ‘I’m going to be around for this, I’m going to stay, I won’t leave the set.’”
Rice was appreciative of Winslet’s support. “She said, ‘Thank god Kate, thank you so much’ and I ended up being in the car. I ended up being in the boot of the car,” Winslet explained. Since “the only other people in their space” were two male camera operators in the car, the actor knew it would help put her co-star at ease to have her nearby.
“I knew it would make them feel better to have that one person who would be able to put their hand up and say, ‘Actually we need to cut now, is everyone feeling OK?,’” she shared.
Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan choreographed their love scenes in ‘Ammonite’
Winslet and Ronan didn’t have an intimacy coordinator while filming Ammonite but worked out how to choregraph their lesbian love scenes.
“It’s interesting we didn’t have them on Ammonite and I think it’s partly because at the time we made the film, it was 2019,” Winslet explained. “Intimacy coordinators were only just slightly becoming a thing, they weren’t a legal requirement on film sets. “
“Ammonite was truly a very low budget film, we didn’t have stunt doubles, hand doubles, we barely even had a packed lunch,” she continued. “It wasn’t something that was ever offered to us.”
The co-stars were able to work through the scenes together to tell their characters’ romantic story. “But Sairose and I, we felt quite confident in what we wanted to do with the characters in those intimate scenes,” Winslet shared. “I think the two of us together sort of looking after each other made us feel a bit better.”
Kate Winslet said it was a ‘joyful experience’ to work out a sex scene
Winslet used some of her past acting experience to inform the love scenes in Ammonite and revealed that she and Ronan really connected for the intimate moments.
“I’ve definitely, I’ve had a lot more experience than Saoirse when it comes to shooting intimate scenes and also I have played several LGBTQ roles in the past,” Winslet shared during a December 2020 interview with Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast.
She explained that she “felt a sense of responsibility” for herself and her younger co-star. “I wanted our voices to be, I guess just united, really … It’s quite awkward for any director and even any surrounding crew” to shoot love scenes,” Winslet noted.
“It just made sense … Women know what women want, let’s not beat about the bush. So Saoirse and I knew that we could unite in our feelings about these characters and where they’re at in the story and could tell that story physically,” she continued.
“It was really just a very joyful experience,” she added.
