Emily Osment says she asked for an intimacy coordinator to be present during kissing scenes with her “Young Sheldon” co-star Montana Jordan because of the age difference between them.
Osment, 34, made the comments in Jessica Radloff’s new book, “Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy.” Jordan is 23.
“That made me uncomfortable. He was a baby! A baby with a mullet,” Osment said of Jordan.
Osment said she brought the request to producer Tim Marx. “So I spoke to Tim Marx, and obviously they were not able to get one that late in the day, but for the next few episodes they had one there, since the relationship between them escalates,” she said. “It made everything easier having one there. I think it’s something that’s really important.”
She added that she wasn’t sure Jordan knew he could make the same request. “Like, let’s give him the option, too. Make him comfortable,” she said. “And he’s such a sweet kid, I think he would just eat his discomfort. But I love those guys, and I’m really happy it got to the point where they were able to do that [for us].”
Director Alex Reid said the production “totally dropped the ball” by not having an intimacy coordinator on hand from the start, since the CBS show didn’t include sex scenes. “I have a photo between takes of them sitting in that car when we shot that, and they’re looking off in other directions. I showed it to Emily and she said, ‘Yeah, that was so uncomfortable for both of us, because we didn’t know each other,'” Reid said. “It wasn’t even about the lack of an intimacy coordinator. It’s just you’re having to make out with somebody you just kind of met. Obviously, they worked that out, and they have a great chemistry now, but that was kind of embarrassing.”
Co-creator Steve Molaro said Osment had “every right to ask” for an intimacy coordinator and that eventually “she was comfortable without one.”
“Young Sheldon” aired for seven seasons, from September 2017 to May 2024. Osment joined the show at age 30 to play Mandy McAllister, a weather forecaster who becomes involved with Jordan’s character, George “Georgie” Cooper Jr. Jordan was 18 at the time. Their characters’ relationship later spawned a spin-off series, “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.”
