I’m a little late in picking up on this, as I’ve had pretty well zero time for surfing, posting or anything else much lately. But, anyway, I have just caught up with the news that the BBC has finally announced its cast for the new production of Austen’s Emma, scripted by Sandy Welch.
Or, at least, they have announced most of the lead actors – as yet there is no news on who will play two of the key roles, Jane Fairfax and Harriet Smith, though they must have been cast, as filming starts next week in Kent. Here’s a link to the BBC press release.
Romola Garai, who starred in Atonement and the BBC Daniel Deronda, takes the title role, with Jonny Lee Miller, who played Edmund in the 1999 Mansfield Park, as Mr Knightley, and Michael Gambon as Mr Woodhouse – he was so brilliant in Wives and Daughters and a host of other dramas that I just can’t wait to see him in this part! There is only a ten-year age gap between Garai and Miller, but I don’t suppose that will matter too much. Jodhi May, who played alongside Garai in Deronda, plays Miss Taylor.
Thought I’d add links to a couple of newspaper reports – here’s one from the Daily Telegraph , mainly focusing on Romola Garai, and another from a Kent local news website, Your Canterbury, mainly about the location and how the period look is being recreated there.
Just updating this posting (April 18) to say that more cast members are now known - many thanks to Charley from the Enchanted Serenity blog for alerting me to this. The BBC still hasn’t confirmed any of the new names as far as I’m aware, but the imdb page for this production has now been updated to add the extra names – Blake Ritson as Mr Elton, Christina Cole as Mrs Elton, Rupert Evans as Frank Churchill, Dan Fredenburgh as John Knightley, Louise Dylan as Harriet Smith and Laura Pyper as Jane Fairfax. The best-known to me out of these is Blake Ritson, who I thought was excellent as Edmund in the recent ITV Mansfield Park. Rupert Evans had a small part as Frederick Hale in the BBC’s North and South and Christina Cole played Blanche in Sandy Welch’s adaptation of Jane Eyre as well as Caroline Bingley in Lost in Austen.
Thank you for telling us about it on ECW. As you said there the casting of Lee Miller, Garai and Gambon is good news :)
And even if it is not 6 parts, only 4, remember how rapid are the cuts and shifts and how scenes and montage are used to epitomize so a lot more content can be got in in a short time. This does omit the long subtly developed psychologized dialogue in the play-drama way and that’s a loss, but it is a technique that is nowadays associated with plays and seen as “too slow” and Not Filmic (I am teasing now and making fun of cliched language used to cover up not thinking).
Ellen
I’m looking forward to it, Ellen, and agree they can now get more into a short space than in some older adaptations – though I also agree that I miss the longer passages of dialogue too, even if they are seen by some as “too slow”.:)
Hi Judy!
C19 listed the names of the other actresses for Harriet and Jane Fairfax. I was eager to find out who all the players are too! There seems to be a lot of people not eager to see Jonny Lee but I’m looking forward to this!
Thank you very much, Charley! I’ve just taken a look at your blog, along with C19 and Austenblog, to catch up with the news.:) Just editing to say that I see the imdb is now listing all the extra “unconfirmed” names, too.
I just checked IMDb but I find it odd that they still aren’t listing Romola although BBC already made that announcement.
I think the BBC is getting just as bad as Hollywood now, casting so many big-name actors all the time. I love Michael Gambon, but I am tired of seeing him in (it seems like) every old man role on TV or in a British film. Garai, too, I’ve seen in so many period dramas. Aren’t there other actors out there? The answer to this question is obviously yes, because whenever the BBC does use a fresh face, as they did with with Claire Foy in Little Dorrit and Ruth Wilson in Jane Eyre, the actors give fantastic performances. Also, why is there now a trend for cutting age differences between characters (Amy Dorrit and Arthur Clenham and now Emma and Knightly)? Older guys still marry younger women all the time, so I don’t know what the problem is (unless they’re just afraid to cast someone truly MIDDLE AGED as a romantic lead any more). Well, I suppose they aren’t quite as bad as Hollywood yet, but if they start casting actors with obvious plastic surgery or Americans putting on bad English accents, it will be the death of the period drama. So look for them to start doing precisely that next. I don’t mean to sound so negative, but I love period dramas so much and the lead cast in the new “Emma” does not impress me at all — it’s boring. I feel as if I’ve seen it all before.
Hello Marilee, thanks for commenting. I feel rather more positive about this production than you do, as I’m quite excited by the casting of Michael Gambon and Romola Garai – I don’t think I’ve seen her in many costume dramas, just ‘Daniel Deronda’ and ‘Atonement’ that I can think of, though there may be others I’ve forgotten. I do agree, though, that lesser-known actors can often give fantastic performances – and it’s good to see that some unfamiliar names have now been cast in some of the other roles in ‘Emma’, such as Louise Dylan as Harriet.
You make an interesting point on the age gap issue – another drama which narrowed the age gap a bit was the most recent version of ‘Jane Eyre’. Although Rochester in that version was actually the same age as he is in the book, he was younger than he is in other adaptations. I think you may be right that there is now a fear of casting a middle-aged actor as a romantic lead.
Oops, just realised that I’ve also seen Romola Garai in ‘I Capture the Castle’, ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Vanity Fair’ – and probably others too…
I’ve been wanting to see Mary Bryant! I like the fact that it’s based on historical events that I’m unfamiliar with AND seeing that it costars Sam Neill and Jack Davenport, I’m wondering why I haven’t seen it yet :)
Romola is said to be cast in another film “Nova Scotia” which sounds similar to Mary Bryant in that she’s forced to leave her homeland and start a new life abroad. However, I’m not sure if she’s really attached to that project or if plans will change.
I think Marilee has a good point about how we’ve encountered great new actresses like Claire and Ruth, however I’m eager to see what Romola brings to the table! I suppose the same could be said about our desire to see Richard Armitage as Knightley. If he had been cast, many would have said to pick a lesser known since RA is so known and beloved as John Thornton.
Romola Garai is PERFECT for Emma! Yay!!!
Hello,
I have just watched the first episode of Emma and i really did enjoy it , although i find the casting of Jonny Lee Miller slightly off. Knightley should really seem like an older man and he does not quite sit right in the character, for me.
Also with the discusssion about the BBC and ITV re-using famous actors, i agree. I myself am an actress, I trained for four years at drama school, even though i have an agent it is very hard to be seen for roles as brilliant as the role of Emma is. I used to love sitting at home on a sunday and watching period dramas but now for me, sadly it is slightly tainted, for i know that there are many ‘Emmas’ out there , trust me i am one of them, who have the same dream to be part of a period drama. The feeling is aimed at the casting, although Louis Dylan is little known as Harriet, there still is alot of the same face productions. When i watched the lates Marple it was very disheartening to see that every face was a well known actor.
Question is, if i were Romola Garai, and i had been in many period dramas would i give up the opportunity of playinga role like emma so that other young unknows could have their chance? i would like to think I would. Casting directors work so hard in casting tv and film however why is there so little risk taking in so many productions?
It is not my wish to be negative about Garai, i think she does a wondeful job in many of her parts including Emma, i lile how she plays Emma big with exciting facial expressions , instead of playing the ‘safe’ tv acting style, of always keeping things small for fear of the camera magnifying everything!! But i would like to express from a fellow actors heart how saddening it is not to be given a chance at such wonderful parts.
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Rose – I’ve now seen the episode and reviewed it. Must say I like Garai in the role and like your point about her facial expressions – I’ll watch out for those in the rest of the episodes. I’m not sure about Jonny Lee Miller as yet either, but wondering if he will grow on me in the later episodes.
I do see that it must be frustrating for less-known actors not to get a chance at parts – also a pity that there seem to be fewer TV dramas being made now so that there are less opportunities altogether. I hope that soon changes – and that you do get a role in a period drama.
I have been recording ‘Emma’ and have only just got around to watching it.
I agree with everything you say, Rose. I myself too am an actress and I am one of those ‘Emmas’ you speak of.
It is such a shame why the BBC and ITV keep re-using famous actors – I think it is exciting to see fresh, new and exciting talent.
I think it would be a good idea for the next adaptation of a period classic for them to scout the country for new actors. But the reality is it is almost impossible to be seen for roles such as this without already being a big name.
What do we think is or will be the next period drama we see being redone? I lose track as to what has not been done in a while….
Thanks for commenting, Claire. Unfortunately, from what I’ve read, it looks as if the BBC is taking a break from adapting period classics for a while now, but there is a sequel to ‘Cranford’ coming up at Christmas. I do agree that if they do more costume dramas then it would be nice to see some lesser-known actors getting a chance of a part.