In 2007, the British television show Skins premiered its first season and quickly gained traction for its dark depiction of the lives of teenagers. Storylines for the series included graphic sex scenes, drugs, and alcohol. Actual teens also played the characters on Skins, and a new cast would be introduced every two seasons. While the series ultimately served as a stepping stone for young actors looking to make their big break, not all its stars felt comfortable while shooting the series. In 2021, eight years after the final season, members of the cast began to share their negative filming experiences. Most recently, actor Jack O’Connell revealed (via Buzzfeed) that he’d been “very naive” and felt “compromised” when filming for Skins.
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Previously, April Pearson, who played Michelle in seasons 1 and 2, and Laya Lewis, who played Liv in seasons 5 and 6, revealed some of the issues they’d experienced while filming Skins. On Pearson’s podcast, Are You Michelle From Skins? Lewis said, “If you want to pluck children out of the street, which is essentially what they were doing to have this authentic onscreen thing going on, there needs to be a bit more help. Talk through things, it was just a bit much to be bang, day one, here you are.” Pearson likewise shared a similar sentiment saying, “There’s a difference between being officially old enough and mentally old enough.”
Pearson added that she believed that the pair’s experience on the series wasn’t uncommon for Skins stars and stated that she’d privately talked with other female cast members who also felt uncomfortable with their experience on Skins. “We’re talking seven series of the same show and everyone feeling the same, certainly the women and some of the men I have spoken to feel the same,” Pearson expressed.
The former Skins stars also touched on the fact that intimacy coordinators weren’t really a thing for television shows and movies during the time that Skins was shooting.
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Jack O’Connell Said That He Felt “Compromised” When Filming for Skins
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Most recently, Jack O’Connell, who played Cook in seasons 3 and 4, has spoken out about his struggles while filming sex scenes for the series. “It’s hard to say that you’re ever totally comfortable [filming sex scenes],” the actor said. “Listen, I admit I was very naive at the time, enough so as to not check in with myself and question myself if I was feeling comfortable or not. It just felt like part and parcel of the program in a very different time than the one we’re in now.”
O’Connell continued, “You feel very compromised and if you don’t feel that you’re protected in that environment, it can be very unnecessarily daunting,” he explained. “I think what’s important is that them discussions are being had to make sure that whatever was happening [on Skins] that wasn’t right, it seems, is addressed and doesn’t repeat itself.”
Still, O’Connell hopes that experiences like his serve as a lesson so that these types of experiences don’t happen to other actors. “You feel very compromised and if you don’t feel that you’re protected in that environment, it can be very unnecessarily daunting,” he explained. “I think what’s important is that them discussions are being had to make sure that whatever was happening [on Skins] that wasn’t right, it seems, is addressed and doesn’t repeat itself.”
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