Lena Dunham thinks Jon Bernthal should give lessons on “how to be a man in a sex scene”.
The “Girls” actress, 36, also praised Jon, 45, for his “thoughtfulness” when directing him during intimate shoots for her newest film “Sharp Stick”, which tells of a naïve young woman, played by Kristine Froseth, 26, who begins an affair with an older employer.
Dunham told the new issue of W Magazine: “I have to give credit to Jon Bernthal – I always joke that he should give a class on how to be a man in a sex scene.
“He is so gentle and so thoughtful, he could literally have a side hustle as an intimacy co-ordinator.”
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Dunham, who is married to musician Luis Felber, 36, said she was determined to “create an environment that allowed people to talk about sexuality that was actually safe”.
She added: “I feel like there’s always been this anxiety I’ve had with directing men, this fear that I wouldn’t be strong enough or tough enough or show them what a boss I was.”
Dunham made her directorial debut in 2010 with the indie drama “Tiny Furniture”, followed by six seasons of comedy series “Girls”, which earned her eight Emmy nominations.
She said: “I feel a lot of female directors have this self-consciousness about being able to match or show up to the way the guys do it.
“Jon let me be exactly the director that I am; he heard me and I didn’t have to be loud, scary, or dominant. He was coming right off the set of ‘King Richard’ and he could have been so tired. Instead, he just held us all up.
“I used to joke that if I could direct shows with only women in them, I would. And now, I love directing men because (with) Jon, I didn’t have to yell through a megaphone.”