Cynthia Erivo Calls for Greater Recognition of Intimacy Coordinators at LFF Talk

Cynthia Erivo told a London Film Festival audience on Monday that intimacy coordinators receive "not enough credit" for their work on set, drawing applause at a screen talk for the U.K. debut of her new film "Prima Facie."

What is 'Prima Facie' about?

"Prima Facie" follows Tessa Ensler, a defense lawyer who is sexually assaulted by a colleague. Erivo, 38, leads the film as Tessa and also served as producer. The project adapts Suzie Miller's 2019 stage play of the same name. It premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film has its U.K. premiere on Tuesday at London Film Fest.

Erivo said she signed on after one read-through. "I just had this feeling that it was more important than I was even aware of and I wanted to be a part of it," she said.

The film marks Erivo's first feature role since "Wicked" (2024), for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

How did the intimacy coordinator shape the production?

Lizzy Talbot served as intimacy coordinator. Erivo said Talbot helped create a secure environment for the assault scene, in which Daniel Ings plays the colleague who attacks Tessa.

"Lizzy, our intimacy coordinator, was really helpful with creating a space that felt very safe," Erivo said. "I had to understand what it was like to be in your body but not there, so finding what that looked like for me, where you're there but you have to check out to stay safe."

Erivo described the aftermath as harder than the shoot itself. "A lot of this was really hard to film, but the hardest thing was actually coming back from filming it," she said. "Getting your feet back on the ground, getting back into your body and finding the safest place again."

Ings initiated early conversations with Erivo about the scene, she said. "He from the beginning was very, very kind and immediately wanted to have a conversation about how we could be protective of one another."

Why did Erivo speak out on the role?

Erivo framed her advocacy as a broader industry issue. "I think not enough credit is given to intimacy coordinators and they're often given a hard time for the work they have to do on a set," she said. "But the work that they do is incredibly important."

She pushed back on the narrow view of the job. "It isn't just about choreographing a sex scene, a love scene, it's sometimes about how to not just choreograph these really hard, harrowing scenes, but make sure everyone comes back to their bodies safely."

Erivo connected the film to a wider conversation about sexual assault and Black women. "We already have preconceived notions about how Black women, particularly, experience pain," she said. "It's more often than you would realize, more than we discuss at all. It's often not reported."

What did Erivo say about 'Wicked' and what's next?

Erivo reflected on her Oscar-nominated turn as Elphaba in "Wicked," directed by Jon M. Chu. She said she approached the role by locating personal parallels rather than imitation. "I know that the two of us are very different. I know that the two of us have strange relationships with fathers," she said. "I also knew, I'm not trying to make her different, but just trying to make her as true as possible."

On the green skin and prosthetics, she was firm: "For me it was like, no this is her DNA, this is the way she was born."

A second "Wicked" film is in production. As for future roles, Erivo signaled a shift away from heroic leads. "I want to find those stories where we get to see faces that are different in leading roles that are complicated and not necessarily the hero, but are gritty and in the gray area and fun to play," she said.

What's the takeaway?

Erivo's comments arrive as intimacy coordination becomes standard practice across film and television, following years of advocacy following the #MeToo movement. Her public endorsement adds a high-profile voice to calls for greater respect and funding for the role.

The film itself, a solo-vehicle legal drama anchored by a Black woman lead, positions Erivo for awards-season attention following her 2025 Oscar nomination.