Overview of Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan — “Oh Walt Whitman!”
In this episode, Conan O’Brien, Sona Movsesian, and Matt Gourley speak with Brooke, an intimacy coordinator based in Queens, New York. The conversation is equal parts informative and comedic, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how intimacy scenes in film, TV, and theater are planned, choreographed, and made safer for performers. Brooke explains how the role grew out of the Me Too movement, why consent and boundaries are central to the job, and how intimacy coordination helps actors stay grounded while still making scenes feel believable.
Key Topics Discussed
What an intimacy coordinator does
- Ensures actors are comfortable, informed, and consenting before filming intimate scenes.
- Helps choreograph movement, breath, eye contact, and reactions so scenes feel authentic.
- Works to protect actors from being pressured by directors or producers.
Brooke’s path into the profession
- Started as an actor and noticed she often performed emotionally intense or intimate material.
- Created “warm down” practices to help performers come back to themselves after difficult scenes.
- Later focused on queer storytelling and researched queer sex, BDSM, and kink to better support those performances.
- Transitioned from theater into film and TV during the pandemic.
Industry standards and qualifications
- There is no formal license, but there are training programs and SAG-AFTRA guidelines.
- Brooke notes that strong intimacy coordinators should have specific training and on-set experience.
- She emphasizes that different projects need different coordinators, depending on tone and content.
How intimate scenes are staged
- “Barriers” and modesty garments are used to reduce sensation and prevent fluid transmission.
- Brooke brought props to demonstrate how these tools work, prompting lots of jokes from Conan and Sona.
- She uses charts, words, images, and even action figures to block scenes.
- A Squishmallow, hilariously, can also function as a physical buffer between performers.
Realism vs. what audiences see on screen
- Brooke points out that sex scenes are often unrealistic:
- orgasms happen too quickly on screen,
- insertion/movement is usually shown as effortless,
- and the reaction moment is often missing.
- She argues that intimacy is largely about reaction, so missing those beats makes scenes less believable.
Performance, arousal, and closure
- Brooke explains that actors can accidentally become physically aroused because their bodies respond to touch, eye contact, and breath.
- Closure practices help separate the character from the performer after a scene.
- She stresses that choreography should remain precise, especially in theater, so it doesn’t shift with real-life chemistry.
Notable Moments
Conan’s running joke
- Conan repeatedly jokes about shouting “Walt Whitman” during a simulated orgasm, which becomes the episode’s absurd comic thread.
- Brooke, to her credit, keeps steering the conversation back to professionalism and actor safety.
Action figures and scene blocking
- Brooke uses toy figures to demonstrate complex scene choreography, including group scenes.
- Conan is both fascinated and horrified by the level of detail required.
The “this is not sexy” reality
- A major takeaway is that intimate scenes are usually highly technical, awkward, and mechanical.
- Brooke’s job is partly about making that process feel emotionally safe and artistically coherent.
Main Takeaways
- Intimacy coordination is a real craft centered on consent, safety, and storytelling.
- The role exists because film and theater historically asked performers to do intimate work without enough preparation or protection.
- Good intimacy coordination doesn’t make scenes less creative — it makes them more specific, believable, and humane.
- Brooke’s work helps normalize conversations about boundaries while improving the quality of on-screen intimacy.
Final Thought
The episode is a funny, surprisingly practical look at a growing profession that fills an important gap in entertainment production. Conan’s jokes keep it light, but Brooke’s explanations make the deeper value clear: intimacy scenes work better when actors are protected, informed, and given room to perform without fear.