Yahoo News Nicholas Galitzine felt ‘comfortable’ filming Mary & George sex scenes
The actor stars in several intimate scenes in the Sky drama
Watch: Nicholas Galitzine reflects on Mary & George's sex scenes
Mary & George is Sky's new raunchy period drama, and with the tagline "Lust. For Power" it may come as little surprise that the series features a number of sex scenes.
What may come as more of a surprise is the context, as the series depicts the relationship between George Villiers (Nicholas Galitzine) and King James I (Tony Curran), and his rise to power alongside his mother Mary (Julianne Moore). They do so when Mary pushes her son to ingratiate himself with the King, who then takes George in as one of his lovers.
Galitzine stars in a number of intimate scenes with Curran as a result, but he tells Yahoo UK he felt "comfort and confidence" throughout the process of filming thanks to the thoughtful approach director Oliver Hermanus took to them, and the show's "excellent intimacy coordinator".
"Oliver Hermanus, our wonderful director, and I spoke very early on about what we want the sex scenes to be, the purpose we wanted them to serve and how they'd be done," Galitzine explains.
"Starting the project my first three scenes, I think, in the project were all sex scenes and I immediately felt a level of comfort and confidence. And actually excitement that this is George's currency, right?
"I felt like I was really getting to know George through those scenes in a way, because this is how he operated in the world and how he chose to dominate people often. So it was actually quite exciting in a way."
The Sky drama, which premieres on Tuesday 5 March, follows the relationship that develops between the King and George Villiers, a subject that has often been debated by historians over whether it can be seen as romantic in nature or not.
The show is based on the book The King's Assassin by historian Benjamin Wooley, and so it had a more "specific story" to tell, according to Galitzine.
"I think we all, especially Tony and I with each other, talked a lot about that," Galitzine said of the debate around King James I's relationships. "We want to tell a very specific story as well, I think the series succeeds in doing that."
All seven episodes of Mary & George will launch on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW on Tuesday, 5 March.
Read more:
Julianne Moore defends Mary & George’s depiction of James I’s gay romance
Julianne Moore says saying women are 'ageing gracefully' is 'totally sexist'
Watch the trailer for Mary & George:
