As half of The White Lotus Season 3’s star-crossed couple, Rick and Chelsea, actor Aimee Lou Wood had intimate scenes to film. It wasn’t an unfamiliar undertaking for the Sex Education vet, yet the experience turned out to be different than her previous ones. In a GQ interview published on April 8, she explained what was “better” about filming her steamy White Lotus scenes and why she now looks at her past work differently.
Solidarity With White Lotus Co-Stars
Before filming her sex scenes with her co-star Walton Goggins (Rick), Wood had a chance to talk it over with two of her female castmates. She told GQ that she, Michelle Monaghan (Jaclyn), and Carrie Coon (Laurie) all had dinner together and discussed their respective scenes, including whether nudity fit their storylines.
Comparing it to her Sex Education experience, Wood said, “It made me feel so much better because what bothered me about Sex Ed, that I’m only just realising, is not what I did, it’s the fact that I felt like I was the only one.”
She pointed out that the other main cast members of the risqué British teen comedy-drama series didn’t have to go to such “extremes” that season, adding, “I think that’s what made me feel exposed.”
Wood’s Sex Education Experience
While Wood previously lauded the fact that Sex Education was an early adopter of intimacy coordinators in a 2021 Guardian interview, she shared she was still apprehensive about filming a masturbation scene in Season 1. “You’re by yourself, you don’t have another actor to joke with: ‘This is a bit awkward!’” she said.
Since then, Wood has said she’s become more intentional when it comes to intimate scenes. In February, she told Elle, “Sex Ed taught me a lot, and I had to do so much stuff in season 1 that, after that, I was like, ‘Right. Now, we’re going to be more discerning.’” Though she described herself as “so looked after” on the series, she said she is now more “aware” of what is actually necessary.
“Now, I’m more like, ‘Do we need this? Is there a way to tell this story with just a look or just a kiss?’” she explained. “I think it’s always about asking, What is the scene saying? Because if we can say it without doing a full-blown nude sex scene, then let’s try that.”
Having A Say
In Rick and Chelsea’s storyline, Wood told Elle she got to weigh in on their spicy moments before and during filming, as well as later determine if she wanted anything cut. “I was like, “No, I actually think it’s great because it shows a facet of their relationship that we otherwise wouldn’t really get,’” she said, calling it “important to keep those scenes.”
As for whether or not the couple’s relationship was ultimately healthy, though, Wood recently told Bustle what drew Chelsea to Rick was “unhealed sh*t.” She added, “If she went to therapy and did some deep inner work, she would probably have made a different choice.”
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