Out actor David Dawson says he and fellow Brit pop singer Harry Styles promised to support each other during the sex scenes featured in the upcoming film My Policeman.
Speaking with People and Entertainment Weekly at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival Monday, Dawson said he and Styles worked to reach a certain level of comfort before filming the scenes.
"Very quickly you have to get rid of any kind of notion of what you knew of the musician before and just deal with him as a fellow actor. And he makes that incredibly easy to do," Dawson, 40, said of Styles, 28. "He's incredibly down to earth. He's a good Northern lad like myself."
In My Policeman, Dawson plays Patrick, a young gay museum curator who falls in love with Tom (played by Styles) in the 1950s.
Dawson told the outlets that the two of them along with nonbinary actor Emma Corrin, who also stars in the film, had a three-week rehearsal process to help "build that friendship and chemistry."
Related: Watch Harry Styles in a Queer Love Triangle in 'My Policeman' Trailer
Thanks to an intimacy coordinator, Dawson said the actors "explored what we wanted those scenes to be together, so that at all times we all felt a lot of trust and support in the process."
He added, "And me and Harry also promised each other that we'd always look out for each other during it so we both felt always supported and comfortable. And, actually, I can't emphasize the importance of an intimacy coordinator, the impact that brings to the set."
Dawson explained that while some may think it would constrict the actors, it's quite the opposite.
"You actually gain a freedom, I think, because everybody feels very comfortable and respected in what they're making," Dawson shared.
My Policeman comes out in select theaters on October 21. It premiers on Prime Video on November 4.