Martin Freeman took some heat for his involvement in a sex scene with Jenna Ortega, who is 30 years his junior, in ‘Miller’s Girl’ — and made a Liam Neeson and ‘Schindler’s List’ comparison in his response.
May-December romances have always sparked controversy in films, from 1967’s The Graduate to Harold & Maude in 1971, Indecent Proposal in 1993, all the way up to Miller’s List earlier this year. Now, the latter’s star, Martin Freeman, is responding to the backlash over his intimate scene with Jenna Ortega.
The 52-year-old actor raised eyebrows, and plenty of ire, after it was revealed that he shared such a scene with his Miller’s Girl costar, 21-year-old Ortega.
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Jenna Ortega’s Intimacy Coordinator Reveals How the Actress Felt About Martin Freeman Sex Scene
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In a new interview with The Times, Freeman reminded audiences that the film is “grown-up and nuanced,” as covered by People. “It’s not saying, ‘Isn’t this great?'”
It’s not even a real scene between their respective characters. In the film, Ortega plays a college student who turns in an erotic piece of fiction to her professor, played by Freeman. Scenes from her story are performed by the actors, then, in Freeman’s character’s imagination.
According to Freeman, “stories about difficult subjects” can often find themselves “tainted by association, and that’s a shame.” In other words, people can agree that this age and power difference is hugely problematic, but does that mean the film can’t be made?
“Are we gonna have a go at Liam Neeson for being in a film about the Holocaust?” he then asked, referring to Steven Spielberg’s 1992 masterpiece, Schindler’s List.
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Standards and Protocols for Intimacy Coordinators Tightened By SAG-AFTRA
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The Miller’s List uproar led to the film’s intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona to speak out on behalf of the film and its young star, with her first insisting that Ortega was completely “comfortable and sure” every step of the way.
“There [were] many, many people throughout this process engaging with [Ortega] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,” Arjona told The Daily Mail in February.
She explained that it’s her job to be adaptable to her actors, “especially on a production like this where there is a large age gap between the actors. I’m hyper aware of both of my talent and making sure that we’re consistently checking in and that at no point are any of their boundaries being surpassed.”
“And, again, making sure — especially with someone who’s significantly younger — that they are giving continuous consent,” she added.
Miller’s Girl is streaming now on Netflix.
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