DH Lawrences Once banned book gets the Netflix treatment. Lady Chatterley’s lover premiered December 2 on the streaming service and features Emma Korin and Jack O’Connell as Connie and Oliver, caught up in an all-consuming affair. Hollywood Life sBrowse ONLY with Jack on how to dive deep into this emotional and physical role. The actor admitted working with an intimacy coordinator during the film’s steamy scenes was a “new experience” for him.
“I won’t lie. It was new. It was a new experience for me,” he said. “Listen, you don’t have to look far for examples where this kind of care or this kind of supervision has unfortunately become necessary. I’m not a jackass, so I worked in a time predating intimacy coordinators. But you know, after kind of listening and maybe seeing things that I’ve seen myself, I can absolutely see where that’s paramount and kind of crazy that it’s a new concept.
Jack and his co-star formed a bond before filming began, which helped them through the film’s more sensual moments. “I think it starts at the very beginning, and it’s a process that you have to develop as organically as possible. And that benefited a lot from the time we spent leading up to filming. laura [de Clermont-Tonnerre] offered us this time together,” Jack explained. “We had an intimacy coordinator at all times just to kind of help guide us and get us on our way to a position where I feel like we trust each other and value each other’s creative contribution . That was a real thrill. I consider myself very fortunate to have experienced this with both Emma and Laure.”
Lady Chatterley’s lover begins with Connie living a life of wealth and privilege as she is married to Sir Clifford Chatterley. With her marriage strained by Clifford’s World War I injuries, Connie turns to Oliver Mellors, the game warden at the Chatterley family estate. Their secret rendezvous lead them to a sensual, sexual awakening. Soon, Connie must make a life-changing decision: follow her heart or conform to society’s expectations.
The 32-year-old noted that Connie and Oliver are “really attracted to each other beyond their own boundaries and then are able to explore what it’s like to be together, albeit with a little bit of infidelity and probably a lot of disapproval.” But I think what happens when they’re together is something very instinctive, very natural. I think that’s what the DH Lawrence was getting at in the first place, so it was very important to stay aware of what our exploration was and the emancipation that comes with it.
Before taking on the role of Oliver, the actor had not read the 1928 novel. “All I was aware of was that DH Lawrence is probably the only literary legend to come from the same part of the world as me. So there was. And then I think, anecdotally, there’s always a certain typical reaction when bringing up this material with people at home, especially because I think it’s fair to say that in book terms it’s quite, and I hope so don’t do it It’s unfair to say this, but it’s quite pornographic. So it always gets some sort of reaction, which is now a little tongue-in-cheek.”
He continued: “It was banned for a long, long time. If you talk to many older generations at home, including my grandma, she can recall a time when this book was literally being passed around in secret, which is always a very interesting concept, especially at my work. In these subdued corners of society, it always provokes a little extra interaction for me. But then I read the book, fell in love with it and that the book has actually served as a real beacon throughout the process and I think Laure would agree and I know Emma would agree.”
That skins Alum enjoyed embracing Oliver’s “wealth” as a character. “He has chosen to denounce a lot of what society is trying to feed him and he has some very poignant, valid reasons for doing so,” Jack said HollywoodLife. “And that for me is studying and trying to understand that. Look, Oliver and I obviously live in very different times, but I think what’s amazing is what’s still relevant today, what was relevant when DH Lawrence first put pen to paper and told this story. They were some really good additions to me.”