IN CONVERSATION WITH POPPY GILBERT
interview by JANA LETONJA
British actress Poppy Gilbert continues to build a dynamic career across stage and screen, bringing intelligence and nuance to every role she inhabits. Most recently seen in the Netflix romantic drama My Oxford Year opposite Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest, she is now preparing to step into one of literature’s most beloved characters as Elizabeth Bennet in the upcoming BBC series The Other Bennet Sister. Alongside her screen work, she continues to make waves in theatre, most recently earning praise for her performance in Theo Jamieson’s play Flyby, which critics have described as a revelation. With a growing body of work spanning major streaming projects, classic literary adaptations, and the stage, Poppy is emerging as one of the UK’s most compelling rising talents.
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You are portraying Elizabeth Bennet, one of literature’s most iconic characters.What was your first reaction when you learned you’d be taking on that role?
I was delighted. Lizzy Bennet is one of my favourite characters in literature, which is remarkable considering I had to study the life out of Pride and Prejudice as a teenager. The joy of the book stayed bright through all 27.845 16-year-old essays I wrote about her.
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How did you approach interpreting Elizabeth for a modern television audience?
I can’t remember if it was a conscious decision or something that happened by osmosis, but I actually didn’t zoom out and consider what the modern audience might think. I delved straight into who I felt her to be, what I knew about her, how she spoke to me, how best to play her truthfully. I think a modern audience is no different from an audience from any other time in that we only want to see honest, heartfelt portrayals of human beings that we feel we already know on some level.
What aspects of her personality resonate with you the most?
The moment in Pride and Prejudice that always catches in my throat is when Elizabeth overhears Darcy dismissing her at the Netherfield ball, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me”. Immediately Lizzy’s defences go up, and she frames every subsequent action of Darcy’s as negative. I recognise this behaviour in myself all the time. I feel embarrassed, I feel as though someone has wronged me, and my walls go up, I lose the ability to see the bigger picture or to apply context to subsequent situations and dive headfirst into a pessimistic spiral. I think as I’m getting older, I am getting better at interrupting this pattern, but when I see it in Lizzy, I get it.
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Did you revisit Jane Austen’s original Pride and Prejudice while preparing for the role?
Absolutely. But this was no great chore. The book is a joyful escape for me.
What makes The Other Bennet Sister a fresh perspective within that familiar literary world?
In the simplest terms, we get to see the story we know and love through totally different, unexplored eyes, those of Mary Bennet. And in addition to that, it feels like you get to see the behind the scenes of Pride and Prejudice. For fans of the story, it is such a treat to see the sisters in those moments in between Pride and Prejudice story points, like we are getting to see our favourite celebrities “at home”. It also scratches an amazing itch to meet these sisters in their lives after Pride and Prejudice, well and truly settled into married life and discovering their adulthood.
You’ve also been performing in Theo Jamieson’s Flyby, where critics called youa “revelation.” What made that role particularly meaningful to you?
Emily Baker, the character I play, is a hurricane of a human being. She is so direct. She is unafraid of so many things that I am afraid of myself, and playing her is requiring reserves of confidence that I have had to dig deep to find. She also has phenomenal access to language and rage, two things that as a gangly, overexcitable young person don’t feature heavily in my day-to-day life. It’s exciting.
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How does the experience of performing live theatre compare to working on screenfor you?
Wow, they are totally different beasts. Live theatre requires such dedication to getting things wrong in different ways over and over and over again until you can marry technique, stagecraft, truth and charm. It is a messy, exhausting, inspiring process. You then have to get onto a train for 2 hours or so during the performance and tumble through their story with huge momentum.
For me, TV is much more solitary in the preparation and construction of your character. You sit alone with her for hours, learning lines, reading around the story, building her history and her habits, her idiosyncrasies, the minutiae of her life. There can be no broad-brush strokes, then you bring this person to set. You have some time to discuss and hone performance with your director, but then you get a few goes and you move on.
The thing I love that you can find in both mediums is the ensemble. When you’re on stage, you have the rest of the cast and the amazing stage managers. Then on set, we have the crew who become a giant, beautiful, dysfunctional, exhausted family.
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Acting often involves stepping into very different emotional worlds. How do you stay grounded between projects?
I have terrible emotional hangovers after shows. I often escape to Ireland to visit friends and family and spend a lot of time in the sea. Most of my friends are not in the industry and I love being with them. They are my sanity and my joy. Each job I do, I am trying different tactics for leaving work at work, to varying degrees of success.
Outside of acting, what kinds of creative or cultural experiences inspire you?
I love moving my body, especially outside. I grew up playing sport and I really feel the benefits of a long run or walk or a big cold swim. It clears my mind and I find it both calming and inspiring. I love being in or near water, perhaps I was once a fish. I also love cooking and being cooked for. Sharing food with my people is so special.
I also go to the theatre as much as I can, normally to see my mega talented friends and colleagues shine. The moment when the lights go down still makes my heart leap with excitement.
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What kinds of roles or stories would you love to explore next in your career?
I always find this question hard to answer because I like not knowing. I love the idea that the person I am to play next will find me right when she is supposed to. A little bit witchy? I like it. Also, James Bond.
With both screen and stage projects on the horizon, what excites you most aboutthis next chapter?
Well, I am certainly pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone at the moment. I feel stretched in every direction. I am hopeful this stretching will mean I am a more flexible human and artist. I can’t wait to apply what I’ve learnt in this last year to what comes next. I feel fizzy.
TEAM CREDITS:
talent POPPY GILBERT
photography CONNOR HARRIS
styling HARLEY GRAHAM
makeup VICTORIA BOND
hair JOHN KATSIKIOTIS at Carol Hayes Management using Color Wow
editor TIMI LETONJA
editorial director & interview JANA LETONJA
