WOMEN, POWER!

"Yennefer, played by Anya Chalotra"

If somebody ever told you that adapted films or series are a far cry from the books, Netflix’s The Witcher is a total gamechanger. You’ll be following Henry Cavill (who plays Geralt) running around the woods (sometimes shirtless...) and killing monsters. There are also two very important women in his life — Princess Ciri (Freya Allan) and the powerful sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra). We got a chance to chat with the two main ladies and spoke about their characters, how they got bitten by the acting bug and female empowerment.

Can you give us a little background about yourselves?

Freya: When I was 11, there was a touring ballet company doing an interpretation of Rapunzel. That was like my first ever audition and I got in. That was when I got the bug for it. When I was 14, I sent out emails and got an agent by myself. From there, I just went through auditions and made sure I work hard.

Anya: I started out in musical theatre, really. That was what my school offered. Acting really helped with my confidence. After deciding that acting was my thing, I did a year at LAMDA and then three years at Guildhall. I’ve got the opportunity to learn for eight months on the job. It has been an amazing experience.

How does it feel to be Ciri and Yennefer in the age of women empowerment?

Freya: Playing Ciri, I got to explore a different way of showing a kind of strength in the fact that you very much see her strength through how vulnerable she is and how she chooses to fight despite the horrific things she goes through. You get to see her strength through how gentle she is. She has to have a certain kindness to be able to put herself in other people’s shoes despite the fact that they might have views that may be opposing to her own.

Anya: [Yennefer] is an incredibly strong character. We learned in the series from where her power comes from and what her powers are, and how strong they make her and how strong her insecurities make her. She had a tragic childhood and not much love. So that becomes her ultimate goal and her strength really.

What is your idea of a strong woman?

Freya: For me, the idea of a strong woman is someone who sees their choice, their voice as a power and how they utilise those things.

Anya: I completely agree with Freya. I think that the women of The Witcher have strong attributes and that’s something that we focus on. There are many women that I look up to in my life and that’s where I drew force for Yennefer.

Do you feel the pressure to live up to the fans’ expectations?

Anya: If you choose to focus on that then there’s a huge pressure because there are so many fans and expectations towards the show and playing such iconic characters. But there’s also so much positivity out there and if you focus on that it will support you.

Freya: Obviously, there are people that have already invested in these characters and have their own image of them in their mind. But all we can do as actors is try as hard as possible to give the best interpretation that we can.

"Henry Cavill plays Geralt on The Witcher"

"Emma Mackey (right) alongside Aimee Lou Wood"

"Lily played by Tanya Reynolds(left) and Ola (Patricia Allison)"

Emma Mackey’s life turned 180 degrees when Sex Education dropped. She plays Maeve Wiley, the classic cool girl with the pink hair, leather jacket and no nonsense attitude. We think we’ve got her all figured out, but as the show goes along, there’s a lot more to Maeve than meets the eye. TeamCLEO had the chance to talk to Emma and it was like talking to a friend — there were no nerves. Read on to find out more about how being on the set of Sex Education was like, and her favourite things about her character.

What’s the filming process like on Sex Education?

It’s kind of like a whirlwind. It’s four months of the year, but it goes so quickly, it’s mad. There’s so much to prepare and the pace is kind of electric. It’s filming all the time and you don’t really have time to go off in your own bubble. I personally love it because I don’t want to be thinking about anything else.

How did the opportunity to play Maeve come along?

My agent sent me the script and said “Are you up for this?” I was actually doubting it a little because I’ve never done this and they need someone who’s done this job before. Then I got the job and I was like okay! I think it kind of came about quite randomly I suppose, but yeah, it just felt right. I think unexpected things are the best.

What was it about her that made you want to play her? And how did you prep for it?

What everyone likes about her is what I like about her. It made so much sense for me to want to play the part because she’s amazing. She’s written really really beautifully — someone who’s strong and young and has her whole life ahead of her. In terms of process, it’s a very intimate thing for each actor. But for me, I guess it’s lots of music, creating playlists for her. It’s finding myself with my female friends around me and finding their strengths, and what makes them funny and what makes them scary or what makes them unapologetic, and what they care about.

Let’s talk about Season 2, what can you tell us about it?

I can tell you that it’s a 2.1 version of what you’ve already seen. It’s colourful and unapologetic, there’s a lot more details, all the characters get that which is really fun to play. It’s gonna be a delight. I can’t wait!

What do you think makes the show really special?

I’m a fan of the show even though I’m in it. I think the writing is like the core of all of this, the reason it works well is because it’s well-written and the concept is completely unique. But it makes so much sense. You say it’s really realistic and you’re right, but I think that’s what we’re trying to do and what we’ve achieved are creating a world that is fictional, and very colourful and very Netflix but the core of it is all of our lives.

Do you think you and Maeve have a lot of similarities?

I guess so, but really all I’m doing is interpreting the words on the page and giving the audience a version of what Maeve could be. A lot of it is being left with amazing scripts and having a character, and then I get to bring it to life. I’m not like her, I don’t present myself like her but I certainly learnt from her.

You mentioned in an interview that you’ve an interest in directing, how did that come along?

When I moved to university, the first thing I learned to do was to direct a play. I never had the chance to do it back home. It’s interesting because that was the first thing I leaned towards as opposed to acting. Directing a play is very different from directing a film. I really love the technical side of things — I love lighting and the cameras. I love the idea of just working with a script and seeing it turn into a screen baby.

The best advice you can give?

Take your work seriously, but not yourself seriously. Also face your front is another one. Focus on your path. Don’t look left, don’t look right, don’t compare yourself to other people. It’s not going to bring positive energy into your life. Be good to people, work hard and good things will happen.