Swedish-born actress Rebecca Ferguson has made a surprising revelation about her approach to filming intimate scenes, stating she would rather work without intimacy coordinators on set. The 42-year-old star, known for her roles in the Mission Impossible series and Dune movies, explained that while she acknowledges the importance of such professionals, their presence makes her feel uncomfortable.
Personal Boundaries and Professional Communication
Ferguson, who plays the Romani temptress Kaulo in the newly released Netflix film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, emphasized that she possesses what she describes as 'enormous boundaries' and is fully capable of verbalizing them directly with her co-stars. In the film, she shares a significant sex scene with leading man Cillian Murphy, who portrays the iconic character Tommy Shelby.
'It's wonderful that we can have intimacy coordinators,' Ferguson told Radio Times, 'but for me, it's very off-putting and it makes me feel uncomfortable because I have enormous boundaries and I can verbalise them.'
A Collaborative Approach with Cillian Murphy
The actress detailed her proactive communication with Murphy before filming their intimate scene. She revealed that she called the 49-year-old actor to discuss how they wanted to approach the moment, even admitting to having studied his previous sex scenes to better understand his style.
'It sounds so silly,' Ferguson recounted, 'but I said, 'I've studied your sex scenes,' and he was like, 'That's really weird and awkward.' And I went, 'I know but bear with me. This is not just a regular sex scene. This is not us getting our kit off, getting on with it, bish bash bosh. This is a moment of release. This is a moment of intimacy, there's magic.''
The Long-Awaited Peaky Blinders Film
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man represents a significant moment for fans of the franchise, who have been anticipating a film adaptation since show creator Steven Knight first teased the project back in 2021. The film was officially confirmed last year and became available in select cinemas from March 6, 2026, before its wider Netflix release on March 20.
The story picks up four years after viewers last saw the Shelby clan in the series finale of the television show. Tommy Shelby, played by Murphy since the show's debut in 2013, finds himself driven back to Birmingham from his self-imposed exile as his past begins to catch up with him during World War II.
Plot Details and Character Dynamics
The film's trailer reveals Tommy living alone far from home when Ferguson's character Kaulo confronts him with the powerful accusation: 'You abandoned your kingdom, and you abandoned your son.' This new acquaintance challenges Tommy's isolation and forces him to confront his legacy.
When Stephen Graham's character Hayden Stagg suggests Tommy had decided 'it wasn't his war' to fight, Tommy menacingly replies: 'It is now.' The character then returns to his old haunt in Birmingham, where he encounters unfamiliar faces who don't recognize him, requiring intervention from Jordan Bolgar's character Isaiah Jesus to remind everyone of Tommy's formidable reputation.
The trailer builds to a series of powerful explosions, teasing the dramatic action sequences to come, before Tommy delivers his concluding line: 'Once, I nearly got f**king everything... but nearly doesn't count.'
Ferguson's comments about intimacy coordination come at a time when such professionals have become increasingly common on film and television sets, particularly following the #MeToo movement. Her perspective highlights the nuanced debate about how different actors prefer to approach sensitive scenes, with some valuing the structure provided by coordinators while others, like Ferguson, prefer to rely on direct communication and personal boundaries.
