Not every actor can handle intimate scenes. In fact, on shows like Euphoria, it's often noticeable when an actor appears to have had NSFW scenes axed from their contracts... ahem... ahem... anyone but Sydney Sweeney. Of course, Sydney has voiced both positive and negative feelings about filming sex scenes. But she says what so many other young actors, such as Sex Education's Emma Mackey, have said about the process... it's not remotely attractive. It's highly choreographed, and everyone is staring at you. It's work. And it can be awkward work as Jennifer Lawrence found out on the set of Passengers. After all, she had to get drunk in order to film her romantic moments with Chris Pratt.
Ella Purnell is another young actor who has had her fair share of intimate scenes throughout her blossoming career. Most recently, she starred as Jackie on HBO's Yellowjackets. While the show wasn't exactly drenched in lust, her character did have a few intimate moments. Her early show, Sweetbitter, was absolutely filled with them. So, how does the British-born star-in-the-making really feel about filming them?
How Ella Purnell Wants Her Intimate Scenes To Be Like?
In many of her interviews, Ella Purnell has revealed that she has made a point not to take the "eye-candy" or "girlfriend" roles. She is committed to finding roles that are more reflective of her feminist ideologies. To put it bluntly, she wants roles that are every bit as juicy and dynamic as those that great make actors get. Of course, regardless of someone's sex or gender identity, many great roles also come with intimate scenes.
Her role in HBO's Yellowjackets had a few short intimate scenes but she hasn't really commented on them publicly. She did, however, talk about them promoting her short-lived series, Sweetbitter. While the show really spent time with her character's sexual awakening, it wasn't just about her falling for the bad boy or sleeping with her much older boss. Instead, the New York-based series focused on how common all of these things. Because they weren't glorified or overly sexualized, Ella felt more than comfortable shooting them.
"This is real life. There is sex in this show, ‘cause sex is what happens in real life. And it’s not done in a unnatural way," Ella Purnell said during a 2018 interview with Vulture about Sweetbitter. "Everything is, I think, so natural and just grounded in realism and that was so important to [creator] Steph [Danler], to me, to Caitlin [Fitzgerald, who played Simone], to all of us. New York City is not always glamorous and beautiful. It’s also gritty and hard; and blood, sweat, and tears; and lonely. And being 21 is scary and f***** up and all of the things, and we just wanted it to be real life. And that’s why it feels, I think, feminist."
What Were The Hardest Scenes For Ella Purnell To Shoot In Yellowjackets?
The intimate scenes in HBO's Yellowjackets weren't the hardest for Ella to film, according to her January 2022 interview with Vulture. Ella claims that the high-intensity moments and sheet brutality between her character and the other girls on the show did a massive number on her psyche.
"It kind of does a number on you. With Sophie, I really had to do very little because she’s such a phenomenal actress. It’s such a pleasure working with her and such a joy working with other good actors because you don’t have to do anything. She’ll do something slightly different, and it will just bring up so much emotion, and it’s different every single time," Ella explained. "There were a couple of scenes — one of them was when Lottie pulls me around on the shrooms night in “Doomcoming” and shows everyone the blood on my dress and then locks me in the pantry. I mean, the nice thing is, we’re such a close cast that like literally halfway through, I was like, 'I’m sad, can I have a hug?' and everyone just gave me a group hug and it was fine. But when you spend six hours being screamed out, shouted out, pushed, shoved on the ground, it does kind of f*** with you a little bit because your brain doesn’t know."
On top of this, all of the physicality required to shoot Yellowjackets, as well as the harsh weather conditions, were far more taxing than any of the intimate scenes.
"The show was definitely very physically demanding. It’s six months in the forest. There’s a lot of just grittiness, the way that the makeup is or the lack of makeup, the bruises, the injuries, the blood, the dirt constantly on us. And then when you add the fact that almost every episode, one of us is crying or dying or screaming. And it’s usually me."
