In season five of You, the line between love and obsession blurs once more again as Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) returns to our screens for the show’s finale. Amid the show’s final dose of murder, marital betrayal and family feuds, the show has has upped the ante on it’s intimate scenes, namely between Joe and Bronte.
The final ‘you’, Bronte/Louise is played by Madeline Brewer who tells ELLE UK that filming the intimate scenes were anything but romantic—they were meticulously choreographed moments of professional trust. Brewer, who portrays Bronte, reflects on the experience: 'Penn and I are old hats at this,' she says. 'I’ve done so many intimate scenes—six simulated sex scenes. Penn has obviously been doing this show for years.'
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Both actors are in committed relationships, which Brewer states helped lay a neutral ground for filming: 'We’re both in very happy and loving relationships. There’s no tension—it’s just choreography.' In 2024, Brewer got engaged to cinematographer Jack Thompson-Roylance while Badgley has been married to his long-term partner Domino Suzy Kirke-Badgley since 2017.
As for filming process itself, she recalls how her and Badgley would hold mutual check-ins with one another in between scenes. 'We’d be like are you okay? I’m okay. Are you okay? I’m okay,' Brewer states.
'It’s so choreographed and non-sexual that it really does feel like just going to work.’ However, not all moments were comfortable, says the actor, who described one particularly awkward scene: ‘There’s one in particular, where I’m kind of under a table... very uncomfortable, very strange.' Despite this, Badgley was there to give her reassurance, 'Maddie, I’ve been doing this for so long. Don’t worry about it. I’ll let you know if I’m not okay'
A key figure in ensuring the scenes were handled with care was through the assistance of You's intimacy coordinator Allison Jones, who Brewer states helped her and Badgley find balance in their approach to filming their scenes. 'She was wonderful. She knew exactly when to step in and when to step back. She let us guide the scene, and it was incredibly respectful from all parties. Which is exactly how it should be.'
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