Ewan McGregor Explains Why He & Wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead Used Intimacy Coordinator on ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ Set

Ewan McGregor is opening up about filming the intimate scenes with wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead for their new show.

Ewan, 52, and Mary, 39, will star together in the new Showtime/Paramount+ series A Gentleman in Moscow and despite being married, they still decided to have an intimacy coordinator on set when they filmed their sex scenes.

During his interview with Radio Times, Ewan said that he believes having an intimacy coordinator on set is “still necessary because it’s also about the crew.”

“It’s odd to be naked in front of people, it’s odd to be intimate in front of the camera,” Ewan explained, according to Variety. “If you were doing a dance scene, you’d have a choreographer. It’s an important part of the work now, because it’s somebody that the director and actors meet in the middle.”

Ewan also highlighted the importance of having intimacy coordinators on set to ensure the protection of young actors and the prevention of them performing in “unnecessary” scenes.

He then used his daughter Esther, who is also an actress, as an example, saying, “My daughter is 22. If an older, famous director goes to a 22-year-old and says, ‘I want you to be naked in this scene,’ that actress might feel, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve got to do it, my career might depend on it.’”

“And then five years after that, she could look back and go, ‘I wish I hadn’t. Why am I naked in that scene? It’s unnecessary,’” Ewan added.

A Gentleman in Moscow premieres on March 29 – watch the trailer here!