Julianne Moore on why the sex scenes in her new steamy period drama were crucial to bringing the story to life

Mar. 5, 2024

Exclusive: Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine speak on the importance of sex scenes in new period drama Mary & George

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

There’s an ongoing debate in the world of TV and film about whether sex scenes are necessary to on-screen storytelling. Julianne Moore’s new steamy period drama Mary & George falls firmly on one side of the debate, featuring its fair share of intimate scenes.

Set in the Jacobean era, the historical psychodrama from Sky relies on them to tell the true story of royal seduction, and as Moore and her co-star Nicholas Galitzine tell GamesRadar+, these sex scenes are more than important, they’re “integral”.

“I think they’re really integral,” George actor Galitzine tells us. “I mean, certainly, for my character, it’s his currency. It’s how he dominates people. It’s how he maneuvered through the court, through the king, through his time in Spain.”

For Moore, sex also serves a purpose for her character. Although the story is adapted from the fictional novel ‘The King’s Assassin’ by Benjamin Woolley, her character Mary Villers was a real person. As a woman in the 1600s, Mary had very little power and she is said to have been penniless when she married her first husband, who was thought to be abusive to her. But to provide for herself and her children, she used her sexuality and charm to secure marriages as a source of income and to climb up societal rankings.

Moore explains: “She was a woman who had no agency, no autonomy, and no way forward, except through her relationship with men. She really felt that she certainly found a way to advance her children and advance herself in society.”

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

Mary & George is available to watch now on Sky Atlantic and is streaming on NOW in the UK, and will hit Starz on April 5 in the US. For more, check out our rankings of thebest TV showsof all time, or keep up to date withupcoming TV showsheading your way this year.

A Hulu/Disney Plus fan-favorite with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score is coming back for season 2

Sherlock creator Steven Moffat responds to recent revival comments, revealing that he already has an idea for how Benedict Cumberbatch’s detective could return

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 first reactions are in, and they’re glowing: “It’s the closest Hollywood has made to a Dragon Ball movie”