Romy
Hooper

INTIMACY COORDINATOR

Intimacy highlights here

Romy started studying Intimacy Coordination under the mentorship of Jennifer Ward-Lealand in 2020 and has continued her education through IDC - Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, TIE - Theatrical Intimacy Education, and IPA - Intimacy Professionals Association based in the US. She worked with South Seas Film School graduates for multiple years and accrued many of her professional practice hours on independent and New Zealand Film Commissioned short films including Vivie, Pleasuredora, and recent Show Me Shorts award winner Just Kidding, I Actually Love You. Her television credits include Emmy award winning Rūrangi S2, Ahikāroa S4, Kevin and Co’s Homebound 3.0, Great Southern’s nOOb, feature films Shut Eye and Workmates and Warner Bros Gloriavale docu-feature Escaping Utopia. 2024 was a busy year for Romy, working on international slasher rom-com feature Heart Eyes and local body-horror/sci-fi feature Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant. She has worked on theatrical productions of Tick, Tick Boom! and Auckland Theatre Company’s Youth Theatre festival Here and Now. She has specialized in coaching and working with youth, having completed IDC’s Working with Underage Performers Methodology workshops and has completed their Level 1 and 2 Foundations of Intimacy: Pathway to Accreditation courses.

She regularly consults for high schools and tertiary institutions such as South Seas Film School and Unitec, as well as running workshops for Equity New Zealand and other environments upon request.

Link to Culture 101 interview at Radio New Zealand about the role of the Intimacy Coordinator, with Perlina Lau and Miriama McDowell here

Heart Eyes feature film with Jordana Brewster

Pleasuredora - Mark Prebble

Romy is a proud member
of ICA - Intimacy Coordinators Aotearoa
and maintains current
St Johns Mental Health First Aid certificates.

Just Kidding, I Actually Love You - Anna Duckworth, Show Me Shorts Film Festival

FULL CREDITS

2024 / Grease the Musical (Theatrical Production) - Sacred Heart College

Big Fish the Musical (Theatrical Production) - Selwyn College

Syrena (Music video) - Kiki Rockwell, Oshara Ardelean

Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant (Feature film) - Up the Duff Productions, Thunderlips

Homebound 3.0 S2 - (TV Series) - Kevin & Co

Spartacus: House of Ashur - (TV Series) - Steven S DeKnight and Starz television network - Covering IC with Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Tandi Wright

Normal For Me - (TV Commercial) Breast Cancer Foundation - Fiona McGee, Revolver

Heart Eyes (Feature film) - GC Heart Limited

Moss and Freud (Feature film) - GFC Films, James Lucas - Covering IC with Megan Adams

A Remarkable Place to Die (TV Series) - Remarkable Productions NZ

Le Comte Ory (Theatrical Production) - NZ Opera

Much Ado About Nothing (Theatrical Production) - Dolphin Theatre

Holy Ghost (Short film) - Mash Productions, Day One Shorts, New Zealand Film Commission

Illuminati Castrati (Short film) - The No Fate Project - Ani White

2023 / nOOb (TV Series) - Great Southern Television for ThreeNow - Covering IC with Todd Emerson

Escaping Utopia (Documentary feature film) - Warner Bros ITVP NZ

Good People (Short film) - Fernando Hart, Alva Casey

Pleasuredora (Short film) - Mark Prebble

Vivie (Short film) - Hweiling Ow

Illuminati Castrati (Short film) - Pamela Caval

Workmates (Feature film) - Workmates Productions, Morgan Leigh Stewart

2022 / Parallax of the Liminal Void (Short film) - Odin Jurray

Buona Notte (Short film) - South Seas Film School

Femme Fatales (Short film) - South Seas Film School

Ahikāroa Season 6 (TV Series) - Kura Productions

Tick, Tick Boom! (Theatrical Production) - Masked Productions

Homebound 3.0 (TV Series) - Kevin & Co

Rūrangi Season 2 (TV Series) - Craig Gainsborough-Waring

Just Kidding, I Actually Love You (Short film) - Leopold Wave Ltd

Cherry (Short film) - Robert Limm + John Dichi

2021 / Boy Blue (Short Film) - South Seas Film School

Perfect Woman (Short film) - South Seas Film School

Lunacy (Short film) - South Seas Film School

White Roses (Short film) - Mad Cow Productions

Yang/Young (Theatrical production) - Auckland Theatre Company

Shut Eye (Feature film) - Lumin Productions

FURTHER TRAINING

2024 / Intimacy Professionals Association (IPA): Intimacy Coordinator Certification Training Programme with Amanda Blumenthal

2023 / Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC): Foundation of Intimacy: Pathway to Accreditation Level Two

IDC: Considerations for Asian American Pacific Islander Intimacy, Matt Denney

2022 / Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE): Trauma Informed Practices, Chelsea Pace and Laura Rikard

TIE: Refresher of Ingredients, Chelsea Pace and Selah

IDC: Foundations of Intimacy: Pathway to Accreditation Level One

IDC: Intro to Kink + BDSM Choreography, Dr Timaree Schmidt

2021 / IDC: Acting Intimacy for TV and Film, Claire Warden

IDC: Working with Underage Performers – Understanding the Law, Paperwork and Protocols

IDC: Working with underage Performers – Methods for Approaching Intimacy with Minors

MEAA Actor’s Equity Foundation Australia: Day in the Life of an IC, Alicia Rodis and Nigel Poulton

FIA/SAG-AFTRA: The Role of the IC, Katja Holm, Michelle Bennett, Arden Rhyspan, Ian Manborde

2020 / TIE: Foundations and Best Practices of Theatrical Intimacy Coordination, Chelsea Pace and Laura Rikard

TESTIMONIALS

“I had the great pleasure of working with Romy while directing the dramatized elements for “Escaping Utopia”. The content was of an extremely traumatic and explicit nature and required a highly sensitive approach. The actors and I could not have been in better hands. Romy created an emotionally and physically safe and respectful environment for us all and as a result the work on screen is exemplary. She is highly detailed, energetic, empathetic and brave and I cannot recommend her highly enough”.

/ Britta Jenkins, Director Warner Brothers International TV Production NZ

“I loved working with Romy, she has all the right qualities for intimacy work; warmth,empathy, humour and kindness. She has a great instinct for how much actors need and want from an intimacy coordinator and has a deep understanding of story and character. Romy is a master at listening and made everything feel so safe and free on set”.

/ Sophie Henderson, Actor and Writer Workmates

“Romy was given very little time to work with building intimacy between myself and the other lead on our very fast turn-around set. Despite this, she was able to efficiently and effectively help us find safe ways to explore the scene content. What I appreciate as an actor about Romy’s IC style is that she leaves her own energy out of the equation giving space for the actors and their characters to bring the emotional imprint to the material. Thanks Romy, you were a valuable resource”.

/ Michelle Ang, Actor and Writer Homebound 3.0

“The intimate scenes were beautiful, tender, funny and sexy. The mahi we did with you set us up well and your notes helped us tackle the scenes with confidence. As a personal note, something I noticed is that as a director, I didn't have to do any work on building on screen chemistry and sparkiness between the two actors in the non-intimate scenes. I didn't even realise this until after the shoot but your mahi meant that they had already built that connection and it showed on screen from take one. Edwin and Marion both gave wonderful performances. Thanks again for contributing to and empowering that”.

/ Mark Prebble, Co-Writer and Director Pleasuredora

“My Kopere Hou short film deals with an intimacy issue, and casts that are POC. Romy made me feel comfortable diving into the themes of the short film, and took the actors through the process of consent with care and sensitivity. Her professionalism is outstanding and I would definitely be going back to her for any of my future needs as a director”

/ Hweiling Ow, Director and Writer Vivie