[Exclusive] Maitland Ward Talks 'Game Of Thrones' Sex Scenes

During our wide-ranging exclusive interview with Maitland Ward, we asked the adult entertainment star about recent revelations from Game Of Thrones star Gemma Whelan about the lack of direction performers had during sex scenes on the show. The observations from Whelan came as a surprise to many since the wildly popular HBO fantasy drama was well known for its many sex scenes. Ward had some tough talk about why it is that Hollywood is still behind the times when it comes to depicting intimacy and sexuality on the screen and what mainstream entertainment could learn from porn.

Maitland Ward Talks ‘Frenzied Mess’ GoT Sex Scenes

We sat down with Muse 2 star Maitland Ward for a lengthy interview and were able to cover a wide range of topics. Since Ward had worked in two different entertainment industries over the course of her illustrious career, we asked about her thoughts on Game Of Thrones star Gemma Whelan’s comments about sex scenes on the HBO hit show. Whelan spoke with The Guardian about her time on the show, confessing that shooting sex scenes for the fantasy drama could be a “frenzied mess.”

Gemma Whelean Shares Sex Scene Experience

“They used to just say, ‘When we shout action, go for it!’, and it could be a sort of frenzied mess,” Whelan recalled. The lack of clear direction wound up forcing the actors to “check-in with each other,” Whelan added. “There was a scene in a brothel with a woman and she was so exposed that we talked together about where the camera would be and what she was happy with. A director might say, ‘Bit of boob biting, then slap her bum and go,’ but I’d always talk it through with the other actor.”

This revelation might have come as a surprise to many Game Of Thrones fans, but Maitland Ward wasn’t too shocked. Having worked as a mainstream actress, with her most well-known role coming from her time on Boy Meets World as Rachel McGuire, Ward is familiar with how sets are run. With her more recent work as an adult film star, she’s also learned about protocols on porn sets which, contrary to popular thought, are far more strict and concerned with consent than many would assume.

How Hollywood Fails Sex Scenes According To Ward

Ward commented that audiences obviously love sex scenes, which Hollywood is quite aware of and tries to provide, but the people in charge aren’t willing to “go the full distance or commit to making a sex scene.” She said it was “interesting” that this was the experience Whelan had on set, continuing, “Really the porn industry could help with that.”

She added that Hollywood studios should do themselves a favor and listen “to people who do sex work for a living,” though she also implied that these execs wouldn’t be too likely to follow through on her advice. Ward also gave some insight into how scenes proceed on adult film sets.

“I think that people don’t realize in porn scenes how much consent ahead of time,” Ward explained. “I’ve had people in the past [say], ‘Oh, do you just have to do anything [her co-workers] want you to do?’ Like no. Are you kidding me? We have to consent about everything. And if you say stop, I mean, you stop.”

Consent is still something that mainstream entertainment struggles with, Ward continued. “I think that Hollywood hasn’t fully grasped that yet,” she said, adding that there are so many “better ways to accomplish sexually explicit scenes instead of just throwing them together.”

Ward’s Advice For Hollywood

It’s not all bad news, though, Ward insisted. “I do think the conversation is changing,” she explained, adding that there’s now a bridge between mainstream media and the porn industry that’s slowly helping these issues disappear. Still, there’s much work to be done to ensure the safety, comfort, and security of performers, whether they work in the porn industry or on mainstream film and TV sets.

Ward envisions a future where mainstream studios filming sex scenes “use porn people to help it along,” and also make use of the guidelines the porn industry has enforced to keep their sets safe for performers. When we suggested these mainstream shoots could use a consultant like Ward on set to help the adjustment, Ward laughingly agreed, adding, “Yeah, a consultant, right? Exactly. It would be cool. I think maybe that will be part of the worlds, like, bridging the worlds in the future.”