'Game of Thrones' star Gemma Whelan says filming sex scenes was a 'frenzied mess'

• Gemma Whelan told The Guardian that the sex scenes on "Game of Thrones" were not choreographed.
• She said actors were told to "go for it" so the scenes became a "frenzied mess."

The "Game of Thrones" star Gemma Whelan told The Guardian that filming sex scenes on the show was a "frenzied mess."

Whelan joined the hit fantasy HBO series in the show's second season, playing the fierce warrior Yara Greyjoy. The actor continued to have a key role until the end of the series in 2019.

Speaking with The Guardian about her new show "The Tower," Whelan mentioned the sex scenes in "Game of Thrones," saying they were not really choreographed.

"They used to just say, 'When we shout action, go for it!' and it could be a sort of frenzied mess," Whelan said. "But between the actors, there was always an instinct to check in with each other."

She continued: "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."

One of Whelan's significant sex scenes in "Game of Thrones" was in season two, episode two, when her character was seduced by her own brother, Theon Lovejoy (Alfie Allen), who did not recognize his sister.

Whelan previously said on "The Graham Norton Show" that she auditioned for the show using that scene but originally Yara was seducing her brother.

Whelan told The Guardian that intimacy directors - professionals who help choreograph intimate scenes between actors - would have been helpful during that scene.

"Alfie was very much: 'Is this OK? How are we going to make this work?' With intimacy directors, it's choreography - you move there, I move there, and permission and consent is given before you start," she said. "It is a step in the right direction."

Whelan also said the #MeToo movement forced Hollywood sets to 'be a bit more genuine'

Whelan also talked to The Guardian about how the film industry had changed since the #MeToo movement, which shed a light on sexual abuse and harassment in Hollywood.

"There's a very different choice of language now," the "Game of Thrones" star said. "If anyone makes an innuendo, everyone shuts down. I think, five or 10 years ago, if there was a double entendre, everyone would jump on the bandwagon and see how many laughs they could raise."

"I remember when an actor would have a microphone fitted, and sometimes you have to root around the waist," she continued. "And, in the past, there'd be all this, 'And while you're down there, hur, hur!' But now you don't have to play along with things like that."

Whelan praised the effects of the movement in Hollywood.

"But I don't miss it," she told The Guardian. "You have to be a bit more genuine now if you're saying hello. You can't hide behind a big hug," she added. "And there's no question mark over it: Do we double kiss? Do we hug? Clasp hands? No, we just say hello to each other."

Whelan plays Detective Sergeant Sarah Collins in ITV's "The Tower," which premieres in the UK on Monday.