#he's like a gateway drug to all these other topics i've been interested in for years but haven't been able to find out much about

[yepthatsacowalright]

Finished watching this discussion about on stage chemistry/kissing/intimacy (which @hamish-linklater-btc​ posted on Instagram - thank you so much for finding/sharing!!) and it is so freaking fascinating to me.

Hamish has good thoughts and funny stories as usual, but to be honest I found the three women to be the most interesting to listen to, particularly Esther Perel, the woman in the middle, who is a couples/sexuality psychologist.

I kept pausing and going back to relisten to literally everything she said because every sentence blew my mind. (“In sexuality and in kissing lies two opposites, disgust and delight, depending on how it takes place.” “That’s why people go and find other lovers in the first place. Not so much because they’re looking for another person, they’re looking for another self.” And when she says something about how a long successful marriage is really like a series of different marriages with the same two people. Like 🤯. This woman’s brain is huge.) I’m now devouring a bunch of Esther’s articles and podcasts because she’s so incredibly good at articulating aspects of emotions and relationships that I know I’ve felt, but I’ve never known how to put into words.

Actors, writers, and psychologists talking about intimacy together is something I have craved because to me those three fields of study are so necessarily intertwined, but for some reason aren’t often brought together for discussions and things like this. I know people are worried about embarrassing themselves discussing it, or that they’re going to take the magic out of it and people won’t find the scenes as sexy to watch anymore....but the psychology of it!! Is so!! INTERESTING!!

#being a fan hamish linklater has been and continues to be the wildest ride #he's like a gateway drug to all these other topics i've been interested in for years but haven't been able to find out much about #a couple things of note regarding this discussion though: #the sound is super inconsistent depending on who's talking #so be prepared to adjust the volume often #also one of the audience questions at the end is a kinda weird and irrelevant question about child abuse? #and the psychologists do a great job of interpreting it in a way that is more appropriate to the discussion at hand #but it is odd #so be prepared to skip over that bit if you feel like you need to #(question starts to be asked at the 1:01:08ish mark) #hamish linklater #esther perel #kathleen chaufant #sarah ruhl #anthony charuvastra #on kisses and chemistry #acting #writing #sexuality #intimacy #kissing #psychology