'Not Sexy': Dakota Johnson Reveals the Surprising Truth About Sex Scenes and Her First Intimacy Coordinator

Dakota Johnson has described filming sex scenes as 'not sexy' and said the experience 'doesn't feel good', reflecting on her first time working with an intimacy coordinator in a 2025 podcast interview.

The actor, best known for playing Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey, discussed the practical realities of filming intimate scenes on Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast on 10 June 2025, while promoting Materialists. Johnson explained that a film she had worked on a few months earlier was the first production on which she had worked with an intimacy coordinator, whom she praised as 'really great'.

Johnson did not identify the film during the interview. Although she stars in Verity, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover's psychological thriller released in October 2026, there is no independent confirmation that this was the production she was discussing.

Dakota Johnson on Intimacy Coordinators

'I recently did a movie a few months ago, and we had an intimacy coordinator on set, and it was the first time I've ever worked with one. And she was really great. It was so cool,' Johnson said.

Her comments are notable because Fifty Shades of Grey, released in 2015, made Johnson's name through highly publicised sexual content. Yet her account concerns her own working history, rather than a judgement about how widely intimacy coordinators are used across film and television.

She did not criticise earlier productions. Instead, she described the coordinator's role as helpful, pointing to the value of having someone dedicated to consent, comfort and the practical choreography of an intimate scene.

Why Sex Scenes Are 'Not Sexy'

Johnson was candid about the difference between the polished scenes audiences see on screen and the experience of filming them. She explained that simulated sex scenes are 'not sexy' and 'don't feel good'.

Preparation, she said, starts with character rather than choreography. 'First, it depends on who the character is and who the character's supposed to be to the audience,' she said. 'Is she like a super idolised hot girl? Is she a housewife? Is she lonely? Is she scared? Is she conservative? So that's obviously character work.'

There is a physical dimension too. Johnson said the work involves 'certain prep', adding, 'I want to feel good in my body if I'm showing my body.'

It is a useful reminder that what looks effortless on screen is rarely spontaneous. An intimate scene is a technical sequence, often filmed from several angles, with crew members nearby and each movement planned in advance.

Family, Body Image and Confidence

Johnson also credited her mother, actor Melanie Griffith, with shaping her attitude to her body and sexuality. Griffith and Don Johnson are both actors, and Johnson said the openness she experienced at home helped when she later encountered vulnerable material at work.

'My mom raised me to be really proud of my body and love my body,' she said. 'So I've always felt so grateful for that, especially in my work because I can use it and it feels real.'

She recalled that Griffith was unusually direct about subjects that many families find awkward. 'It was the way she spoke about it with me ... she was very honest and open about body stuff, like getting my period,' Johnson said.

'She also talked to me about sex and how precious and important it is. So I guess in my work, it's something that I feel brave with and that I feel, when it's used the right way in a story, it's important.'

Johnson's Latest Screen Role

Johnson stars in Verity, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling psychological thriller, alongside Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett. The film was released in cinemas on 2 October 2026, according to Amazon MGM Studios.

The timing has encouraged speculation that Verity may have been the production Johnson meant, particularly because she said the relevant film was made a few months before her June 2025 interview. But that remains an inference, not a confirmed fact.

Johnson's account highlights the preparation, coordination and practical work involved in filming intimate scenes. The screen version may look seductive. The process behind it, by her description, sounds considerably more workmanlike.