Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton’s foundation of friendship made shooting sex scenes in the upcoming season of “Bridgerton” feel a lot less daunting.
During an interview with Teen Vogue published Wednesday, Coughlan confirmed that she and Newton lounged naked together between scenes because they felt so at ease.
“Yeah, so it’s really funny,” she said when asked about the rumors. “That is true.”
“It is a testament to the fact that we just got to a point where we were so comfortable together,” she said. “We’d just finished the big sex scene, the most intense and involved one…. and we just felt relieved.”
However, the 37-year-old noted that it also came down to logistics given they weren’t wearing “real clothes” and would have flashed the crew if they stood up.
Newton, for his part, also insisted that having a solid platonic relationship with Coughlan made the experience “easier.”
“Having shot [romance] scenes with Nicola and with actors that I would perhaps meet on the same day, I think a lot of people think it’s better not to know the person,” Newton, 31, said. “But I actually think having a really solid friendship with someone and trusting someone is a lot easier.”
He continued, “We could support each other in whatever way we needed on set, and also just have a laugh about it. I’m really glad we got to share it together. It was like having a really close friend as you’re going through something that’s maybe quite daunting.”
The Netflix stars previously gushed about their experience filming such “vulnerable” scenes during a screening for the highly anticipated new season, which comes out May 16th.
“You made me feel really taken care of,” Coughlan said to Newton, noting that the scenes were “not short.”
“It’s also a really important part of the story,” she continued. “Like those scenes in this show are important. They are an important part of the narrative. They are not throwaways.”
The Irish actress explained that she and Newton “had each other’s backs” and were able to “laugh” about the whole thing — which he agreed with.
“Yeah halfway through the day you just relax and you’re like, ‘I don’t really care if I’m naked!’” Newton chimed in.
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Season 3 of the period drama revolves around Coughlan’s character, Penelope Featherington, and her relationship with Colin Bridgerton, played by Newton.
According to Netflix, Penelope has given up on her long-held crush on Colin this season after “hearing his disparaging words about her last season.”
However, as Penelope loses interest in Colin, he starts to “grapple” with whether his feelings are “truly just friendly” or more, per the streaming service.
“They just wrote this season so beautifully,” Coughlan teased to Teen Vogue. “I also think it’s a really relatable story. Everyone’s felt like that. Everyone’s felt overlooked and not good enough.”
