What To Expect From Miss Austen, According To Synnøve Karlsen

On Sunday evening, a new BBC drama will breathe fresh life into Jane Austen’s legacy in the 250th anniversary year of her birth. Based on Gill Hornby’s bestselling novel, Miss Austen moves between past and present as Cassandra Austen grapples to protect the legacy of her late sister, Jane. Starring as young Cassandra is Synnøve Karlsen, who we sat down with to hear all about the show.

Cassy Austen (Synnøve Karlsen) in Miss Austen. (Robert Viglasky/Bonnie Productions/MASTERPIECE)

Synnøve Karlsen On Miss Austen

Hi Synnøve, how’s life going at the moment?

It’s good! I’m starting a play on Monday, so I’ve just been prepping for that and getting ready.

What’s the play?

It’s a Headlong play, called The House Party. It’s an adaptation of Miss Julie. But I haven’t done a play before, so it’s a bit daunting and I’m getting a little bit nervous. But I’m feeling good about it as well.

You are about to star in Miss Austen – can you give us an elevator pitch for the show?

Miss Austin is a lovely, honest portrayal of the love between two sisters. It’s mainly about Cassandra, Jane Austen’s sister, and the way that she protects Jane Austen’s legacy after she’s died by deciding to take action upon some of the letters that Jane wrote when she was alive. We flash back and forward between older Cassandra, who’s deciding what to do with these letters, and Jane and Cassie’s life when they were younger that influenced Jane’s work – which was often based on the life that they both had, and the relationships they both had. But at its heart, it’s just a beautiful story about sisterhood. And also about this brilliant writer, Jane Austen; a reimagining of her life, and the way that real life affected the work that she wrote.

You play young Cassandra – how would you describe her in those early years?

Cassie is a wonderfully hopeful and supportive person, really. She’s like the apple of her parents’ eye, in a way; they’re very proud of her. Jane is the slightly more reclusive, bookish type who sits on her own and isn’t really interested in men or pursuing marriage in any way, particularly. Cassie is just a wonderful character, really. She makes a lot of sacrifices for her family and for her sister. She has a really strong sort of moral values, and it’s a really interesting part to play.

Did you work with Keeley Hawes, who plays older Cassandra, to develop the character and her mannerisms?

We didn’t do all that much mapping and planning together, which I’ve done before when I’ve shared a role with an actress. Because Keeley and I know each other so well and we’ve worked together before, there was an unspoken trusting of each other and what we were doing. She shot her scenes before me, so I watched some of what she did sometimes to make sure that we were at the same pitch. But it didn’t feel really necessary to try and make her the same, because people change and develop so much in a lifetime. Keeley and I have played mother and daughter before, so we’ve got a familiarity with each other that felt really easy to slot into. It felt like we trusted each other to go off and have our own stab at that character, which we’ve hopefully married together in a real way.

Did you know much about Jane Austen’s life before coming to the project, and did you do any research to prepare for the role?

I didn’t know much about Jane Austen, to be honest! I spent a bit of time in Bath when I was younger, and I remember there were days where people would go around dressing up as Jane Austen! I had no knowledge of Cassandra: the impact she had, or how important that relationship was. I love when you get a period story like this, because there is so much there to go off. You can really delve into the time period. I read an amazing book called Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England, and it was all about the small specificities of living in that time period: how you go about your day, the first thing that you do in the morning when you wake up, the way that you get dressed, the way you travel, whether you travel on your own, whether you go out on your own. Details like that I find so helpful – just familiarising yourself with a different world, and the way that these women would have existed in those worlds.

Cassy Austen (Synnøve Karlsen) & Jane Austen (Patsy Ferran) in Miss Austen. (Robert Viglasky /Bonnie Productions/MASTERPIECE)

You spend a lot of time with your on screen sister Patsy Ferran, who plays Jane. How did you go about creating that sister relationship on screen?

Patsy and I met before a few times, and we connected really quickly. When that happens, it’s utter relief. You just don’t have to worry. We just understood each other and trusted each other. We both loved Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility. I wanted to try and capture Emma Thompson’s performance in that, because it is just so beautiful. We were talking about how the language can be a challenge sometimes, because it feels so formal, but what they did so well there was using the language in such a natural, authentic, familiar way. That was quite key for us. We found some more references together, and I think we managed to find a real softness between the both of us. 

A lot of the time, it felt like doing theater – perhaps because Patsy is such a brilliant theater actor. It was beautiful working with her, because it felt as if I was on stage with her. That’s why I’ve been so keen to try and do a play after working with her.

How did it feel to get dressed up in the time period?

I really love dressing up in those clothes. It was such a specific time period where dresses became more column shaped. I also read about the history of fashion and the shape of clothing; things loosened instead of being really tight waisted, and the big bum looking dresses became more of a narrow column shape with a higher waistline. It all reflected the freedom of the time. It was like a real fashion revolution. And it was quite comfortable! They were wearing stays, but they’re not super tight around your waist, more elongated. I’ve done some corset work in the past, which has been a bit of a nightmare and means you can barely really eat lunch, because if you come out of them you’ll never get back in.

Any standout moments from rehearsals or filming?

I don’t want to give spoilers away, but there is a beautiful scene at the end I did with Patsy. It has stayed with me. And lovely days filming down on the coast. I had a beautiful relationship with the actors who play my mum and dad. We got a Jane Austen jigsaw puzzle and Phyllis Logan – who plays our mother, Mrs. Austen – found an art mat and we carried it around with us to every location we went to. We had a really lovely family dynamic. Honestly, it was such an enjoyable shoot. It’s very rare that something just clicks across the board. It felt like everyone knew exactly what we were making, and we wanted to be there so much.

You’ve also got Foundation coming up, which you’re joining for season 3. What can you tell us about that?

I can tell you a bit about my character. I’m playing a character called Bayta, and she’s a new part in season three. I would describe her as an intergalactic influencer. She’s there with her husband, and they brought back this idea of marriage – it isn’t very fashionable, and now they’re bringing it back. They’re the most famous people in the galaxy, and they just have a riotous time and get caught up in this whole saga that happens. They’re just such fun characters – so different to Miss Austen, and so different to anything I’ve done! I’m excited for people to finally see it, because we’ve been shooting it on and off for a couple years now.

It’s worlds away from Miss Austen – literally. How did you prepare differently for the role?

Really just fake it until you make it! Bayta is really just the most confident person I’ve ever come across. I think I’m kind of confident, but I can kind of go between the two. So it was a good lesson for me, taking her on. She’s just so powerful. Doesn’t take any shit from anyone, and she knows who she is. It was quite empowering, being her – but it was hard some days, too. When you’re burned out but she’s this sparky, confident thing, a big ball of energy. Preparing for her was a very different beast. Joining a show like that is very daunting, but she was like a vessel of confidence that took me into the project.

You’ve also starred in Clique, Last Night in Soho and Bodies, and I’d love to talk about the latter – it was so wacky. What is that like to look back on?

When I went to my first costume fitting, I had accepted the job, but I didn’t really know what it was. I don’t think I’d even really read the last episode. I didn’t know who I was going to be playing opposite until the costume designer was like, ‘Oh, do you want to meet your husband? Do you know who he is?’ and I was like, ‘no…’ and she was like, ‘It’s Stephen Graham!’ and took me next door to say hi. I think that will be a memory that lasts: going to work with him every day. We had so many really tough, intimate scenes, but he’s just a legend – not just a huge name, but such a brilliant actor. Such a thoughtful and intelligent actor. I was really intimidated. I think I actually just said to him, ‘I’m really intimidated and worried and scared’. And he was so generous and made such a point of coming to me every morning and making me feel so welcome. 

The experience on that show was so magical. I made so many brilliant friends. Amy Madison, who played my mother, is now one of my best friends. It was another example of something just fitting and working. And you never know what a show will be or what it will do, but the end result for that was so successful. People absolutely loved it. It’s really exciting when you’re a part of something like that, even a small part. I loved my role. I really loved her, and learned a lot doing that. I’d love to do more stuff like that to be honest.

Any roles in the pipeline that you’re excited about? (If you’re allowed to tell us!)

I’m starting the play, and then I don’t know! It depends whether I go back and do another season of something else, whether that gets announced or not, but I think we should know in the next few months. I’ve had a desire to do theater, to be honest, and it just didn’t, because I got Clique and then I started working. The snowball effect of being an actor, you just go where the wind blows you, really. But it’s nice now to be able to make a conscious choice. I think I’ll gain a lot from doing a whole play, having a full character arc and telling a whole story on stage. So that’s where all my energy is kind of going. And then who knows what’s next?

What’s a genre you’d like to do more of?

It’s so hard to say until it’s in front of you. Something might not even have been imagined or written yet. Then it comes to you and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is exactly what I’ve been waiting for’. There are people that I would love to work with, and I’d love to do more films. Hopefully some more theatre, too, and have that variety. I think that’s what I’m looking for now: variety. That’s kind of what I’ve had in the past year or two, and I’ve really enjoyed that, so hopefully that continues.

Photographer – David Reiss
Stylist – Anna Hughes-Chamberlain
Hair Stylist – Davide Barbieri
Makeup Artist – Joey Choy

Synnøve Karlsen Recommends…

I’m currently watching… The Traitors

What I’m reading… Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

The last thing I watched (and loved) was… Babygirl

What I’m most looking forward to seeing… Fargo, A Complete Unknown, The Seagull at The Barbican

Favourite film of all time… Reservoir Dogs

Band/singer I always have on repeat… Billie Eilish

My ultimate cultural recommendation… Go solo travelling 

Cultural guilty pleasure… The Traitors

WATCH

Synnøve Karlsen stars as Cassie in Miss Austen, starting Sunday 2 February at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.