Lena Dunham is in praise of Jon Bernthal. Image Source: Cinema Blend
Lena Dunham is in praise of Jon Bernthal.
Lena Dunham, during a recent interview with W Magazine, opened up about the challenges she had to face while making 'Sharp Stick', which she had not encountered previously, and she shared about the anxiety-inducing sex scenes.
The actress-writer-director mentioned that even though she wrote the sex scenes in the script herself, she was very anxious when she had to film them but stated that her co-star and actor, Jon Bernthal, was very gentle and thoughtful with them. Lena explained that she knew the ways she felt when she was directing herself, overexposed or scared or not seen, and added that she has worked with an amazing crew on Girls, but sometimes just the fact of having to enact these scenes was anxiety-inducing under the best circumstances, even though she wrote them herself.
Lena Dunham further continued that at the age of 35, she wants to create an environment that allows people to talk about sex the way it is, safe and normal, and she has to give credit to Jon Bernthal, saying that she has always joked that the actor should give a class on how to be a man in a sex scene. Lena added that Jon is so gentle and so thoughtful that he could hustle as an intimacy coordinator.
Lena Dunham continued to talk about how Jon Bernthal made her feel powerful as a director too, as she said that she feels that she has always been anxious while directing men because she feels like she would not be strong enough or tough enough to show them that she is the boss and added that she feels a lot of female directors have this self-consciousness about being able to match or show up to the way male directors do. But Jon Bernthal let her be exactly the director she is and mentioned that he heard her and she did not have to be loud, scary, or dominating to show that she is the boss.
The director-with-actress mentioned that the actor was coming right off the set of King Richard and he could have been so tired but he just held them up and Lena said that she used to joke that she could direct shows with only women in them, but now she loves directing men because Jon Bernthal made her feel that she was the boss and she did not have to yell at him through a megaphone.
Lena Dunham also spoke to Yahoo Entertainment and revealed that the film would be about sex but would not contain any female nudity to avoid the topic of female nudity and instead focus on the scenes' emotional impact. Nevertheless, this does not imply that they are not intense or graphic. According to Lena Dunham, having an intimacy coordinator like Chantal Cousineau on the set was a fantastic idea because she explained that intimacy coordinators are not simply a partner like a stunt coordinator for a fight scene but they are a secure location where the actors may go if they have any worries. She said that she is grateful that they exist as someone who has done countless sex scenes and not only for her profession.
Sharp Stick released on 29th July in the United States which also stars Taylour Paige, Luka Sabbat, Liam Michel Saux, and Scott Speedman. The movie, which was written, produced, and directed by Lena Dunham, centers on Sarah Jo, a gullible 26-year-old who lives on the outskirts of Hollywood with her mother and sister. When Sarah starts an affair with her more senior boss, played by Jon Bernthal, she is forced to learn about sexuality, loss, and power. Sarah longs to be noticed. The wife of Jon Bernthal's character is played by Lena Dunham and the movie has been received with mixed reviews from the critics. Lena Dunham explained in one of her interviews that directing Sharp Stick was a healing process for her which reminded her to a base level of why she does what she does.
