Revealed to the general public by the series “Normal People”, Daisy Edgar-Jones quickly established herself as one of the most prominent British actresses of her generation. From “Where the Crayfish Sing” to “Twisters”, the 28-year-old star navigates with ease between independent cinema and major productions, while favoring characters with complex emotions. She plays the reasonable Elinor Dashwood in the new adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility,” with Esmé Creed-Miles as her impetuous sister Marianne. Facing them, Jane Austen finds an astonishing modernity: that of a work where love, sisterhood and the quest for balance between reason and feelings continue to resonate with our times.
In “Sense and Feelings”, we talk a lot about love and the place that a young woman must occupy in society. Why do these themes still resonate today?
Well, I think that’s the magic of Jane Austen. She was obviously writing 200 years ago, but I feel like her stories are incredibly fresh and timeless. Its themes, its humor around romance, love and social dynamics, but also love between sisters. I think that deep down, what she wrote were the issues of human life. And everything explored in this film can still be felt today, because we still fall in love and we still experience heartbreak. Obviously, the context has changed, but human existence and the way we understand our emotions remains largely the same. So yes, even though the book was written 200 years ago, it seems more current than ever.
What do you think of the 1995 version and do you fear comparisons with your sisters, Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet?
I love the 1990s version. In fact, I love all adaptations of Jane Austen’s works, because I think that’s the magic of such brilliant writing: it can be adapted again and again. And I think it’s great that the films complement each other. They are both love letters to Austen’s world, celebrations of her work. And inevitably, when we adapt a work, the sensitivity of the director, just like that of the actors, will always lead us to look at certain things differently. But I actually find that they complement each other very well. So I don’t feel any sense of competition. I’m just very proud to participate in a new adaptation of such a wonderful work. And I hope there will be many more over the years, because this is how we keep Austen and her memory alive.
Playing a character who controls his emotions so much while having a real inner turmoil, a particular challenge for you?
The challenge with a character like Elinor is that she doesn’t verbally express everything she feels. A large part of his emotions are internalized, repressed. So you need a director and a camera capable of capturing that, of staying close enough or long enough so that you can see the inner tumult playing out inside her without being expressed. This requires a lot of trust. Cinema is always about trust: you have to trust the other actors to catch the ball when you throw it to them, and the director to notice what you’re doing and capture it. So it’s always a gamble when you do something like this. But I never felt like I was taking a risk with director Georgia Oakley. Her work, particularly her first film, “Blue Jean,” is a magnificent observational story of a character who is going through a lot while being very limited in what she allows herself to say, express and feel. So I knew that she would be able to do justice to a character like Elinor and not forget everything that is going on inside her, even when she doesn’t say it.
What is striking when watching the film is how contemporary Elinor and Marianne seem, even though the story is over 200 years old. Why are these women still so close to us today?
I think one of the things that struck me was that the Dashwoods are quite bohemian women. Mrs. Dashwood is someone who really wants her daughters to marry for love, at a time when marriage had a completely different meaning. They have just lost their fortune and, often, the marriage was then a marriage of convenience. Likewise, Elinor is a painter and designer, while Marianne plays the piano. There is something very free, very wild about these women, which Georgia really explored and highlighted. So I think there is a lot to learn from the way we approach love: some people are more outgoing and passionate, wearing their hearts out in the open, while others keep their emotions more hidden. And I think it’s wonderful that this story explores the balance between these two approaches, without saying that one is better than the other. Rather, it’s about asking yourself if it’s possible to find a balance: letting your passionate side express itself, while finding a way to protect yourself and others. So it’s, in a way, a beautiful journey toward balance.
What do you think Elinor and Marianne would think of romantic relationships in 2026?
It’s really hard to say. In any case, it was interesting to go back to that era, because obviously, romantic relationships were much less immediate. If you were physically, geographically distant from someone, you just couldn’t talk to them. You had to write letters and wait for a response. There was this expectation, this desire, this desire… This is particularly why I think that films adapted from Austen still resonate today: people like what it creates on a cinematographic level, this rise in tension between two characters. So yeah, it’s impossible to say, honestly. I feel like Elinor would still write letters, to be honest. And would Marianne still go to balls? I think so. She loves to dance. In love and in your relationship to emotions, do you personally identify more with Elinor or Marianne? I would say I’m definitely more Elinor. I feel a lot of things but I hold them back a lot.
Aside from “Sense and Sensibility,” do you have another Jane Austen novel that you particularly like?
It’s difficult to choose. I’ve always had a soft spot for “Emma.” I think he’s a fun character. She kind of puts obstacles in her way, and I really like her for that.
