Olivia Colman didn't find Wicker sex scenes with Alexander Skarsgård as "embarrassing" as usual

Olivia Colman has spoken about her latest film Wicker, and more specifically the sex scenes involving Alexander Skarsgård. Despite their unique nature, the actor said that she didn't find them as "embarrassing" as usual.

The romantic fantasy is based on Ursula Wills's 2008 short story The Wicker Husband, with the plot following an ostracised fisherwoman (played by Colman) who requests a husband (portrayed by Skarsgård) made out of wicker.

Despite being previously tormented by her fellow villagers, the fisherwoman gradually draws the envy of the local residents, with several women being enraptured by the Wicker Husband.

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The pair share a very intimate connection during their time together, and Colman told The New York Times that filming the sex scenes was more fun this time around as she likened them to a "dance routine".

"I do find things like that incredibly embarrassing," said the actor. "But this wasn't as embarrassing as other things I've had to do because, well, it felt real. [The intimacy coordinator] made it fun, like a dance routine."

"They were very funny on the page. They were steamy and sexy, but there were all these really funny moments," Skarsgård added. "I only feel those types of scenes are uncomfortable if I don't know what purpose the scene fills in the greater narrative.

"So be it this or a gay orgy in the woods, like in Pillion, if I'm creatively excited about the scene and I see how it fits in, then it's thrilling. It's only weird if you're like, 'why is this scene here?'"

Written and directed by the team of Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, the stellar supporting cast for Wicker includes Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nibhaan Rizwan, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Richard E Grant.

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Siu, who plays the Tailor's Wife's sister, spoke exclusively with Digital Spy about the film, and shared that she had an "out of body" experience after watching Skarsgård during filming.

"He'd just be half in the suit, half in the dressing gown, so when they were doing my coverage, I was like, 'that's Alexander Skarsgård in a dressing gown'," she recalled. "It was so out of body."

Wicker is released in UK cinemas on 30 October.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.