Nicholas Galitzine tried to 'think of new sex positions' on Mary & George

Director Oliver Hermanus (Living), who's currently at the Cannes Film Festival for screenings of his new film, The History of Sound, brought up his work on the Starz limited series Mary & George when asked to comment on "the state of gay sex on screen."

Starring Julianne Moore as Countess of Buckingham, Mary Villiers, the character raises her son, George (Nicholas Galitzine) so that he could embed himself deep in the king's court. Eventually, George does become King James's cupbearer and lover.

Hermanus expressed his love of films and TV shows with "raw sexuality," adding that it takes a lot for him to be shocked by queer sex.

"I made a TV show in 2023 called Mary & George, and we would stand on set trying to think of new sex positions [for the show]," Hermanus revealed, as reported by Variety. "I would turn to Nicholas Galitzine and say, 'What have you not done?' He would go, 'I got fucked that way yesterday. I already did an orgy with that guy the other day. I topped that guy and bottomed for the other.'"

The intimacy coordinator would come over with an iPad and flip through new positions," he added. "It was the point where I was just trying to differentiate a French orgy from a British one, like Legos."

Hermanus is currently at Cannes promoting his new movie, The History of Sound, which features Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal as two young men meeting during World War I and traveling across the United States to chronicle folk music.

As a gay filmmaker, Hermanus took great care in crafting the romance at the center of the film, telling Variety that he wants to offer audiences "a different queer experience" with this film. He already made a film, Beauty, about secrecy and repression. Now, he's ready to move on to different stories.

Even though Mary & George had a flood of shocking sex scenes, Hermanus said that his upcoming historical gay romance film, The History of Sound, took a different approach.

"There are moments, but I was very determined to not have the assumptions of sex scenes be pivotal, or gear changes in their relationship," the director said. "That’s not the film. They stick together from the first day they meet. What I love is the moments that bring sex about, and then the moments after. Josh's character has this amazing thing where he keeps collecting all the feathers that are falling out of Paul's pillow and stuffing them back in. That's romance."

The History of Sound is scheduled to premiere on May 21 at the Cannes Film Festival