Olly Alexander had a "complete emotional and physical breakdown" during rehearsals for his first 'It's A Sin' sex scene.
Olly Alexander
The Years & Years frontman - who has returned to acting for Russell T Davies new Channel 4 drama based around a group of friends In 1981 at the start of the AIDS epidemic - was initially optimistic about the raunchy shoot, but quickly became overwhelmed.
He told NME: “Going into the show, I thought: I’m a confident person, I perform for a living, I like sex – this will be easy...
"I had three full days of shooting sex scenes, so I had a lot of guys to get through with this process!
“And I actually had a complete emotional and physical breakdown in the first rehearsal session."
There was an intimacy coordinator on set for the workshops and filming, and after discussing the situation with them, Olly ended up laughing and joking his way through the scenes.
He explained: "I went to the intimacy coordinator and said: ‘I can’t do this’. I just had a really violent reaction to trying to simulate sex.
“But they really held my hand in the process and in the end, I really enjoyed it. I laughed the whole time.
"When we were shooting the scenes, I was singing songs in between and making jokes. Because it’s ridiculous that you’re at work suddenly with all your clothes off making noises."
And while Olly admitted he "underestimated" how tough the filming would be, he feels delighted and empowered after getting through the shoot.
He added: “I really underestimated how difficult it would be but I’m so f****** proud of myself. After I did it, I felt like I literally could do anything.”
'It's A Sin' starts on Channel 4 on Friday (22.01.21) at 9pm.
Tagged in Russell T Davies