From left: Laurie Davidson and Ella Bruccoleri in 'The Other Bennet Sister.' Courtesy BBC/BritBox/Bad Wolf Logo text Ella Bruccoleri sheepishly admits to not being much of a Jane Austen fan growing up.
“We were just more of a Brontë family,” begins the English actress to The Hollywood Reporter. “And because I’m from North Yorkshire, that was the world that felt more familiar to me.”
The weather is just starting to brighten here in London after a dismal winter, which makes the arrival of the BBC and BritBox‘s The Other Bennet Sister decidedly apt. The show, from writer Sarah Quintrell, adapts Janice Hadlow’s bestseller about the forgotten Bennet sister of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The final product is refreshing, airy, and promises a satisfying character bloom for this neglected wallflower.
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It’s Bruccoleri’s first time at the top of the call sheet — a responsibility she hasn’t taken lightly — and thankfully, the Call the Midwife, Down Cemetery Road, and Bridgerton star is hooked on the 18th-century writer now. “I think she has her finger on that pulse so skillfully, and does it in such a way [that] there’s loads of levity in it,” muses Bruccoleri to THR, “but it’s this dry wit that Jane Austen nails. No one’s ever really done it as well as she has.”
The 10-part Bad Wolf series, now airing in the U.K. on BBC iPlayer and coming to BritBox imminently, boasts a wealth of British talent, including Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey) and Richard E. Grant (Saltburn) as Mrs. and Mr. Bennet, alongside Maddie Close, Poppy Gilbert, Molly Wright and Grace Hogg-Robinson as Jane, Lizzie, Kitty, and Lydia, respectively. Dónal Finn (Young Sherlock) and Laurie Davidson (The Girlfriend) form Mary’s unsurprising love triangle, while Indira Varma and Richard Coyle star as Mrs. and Mr. Gardiner.
Mary’s struggle with not being as vivacious, beautiful, or quick-witted as any of her four sisters is tackled head-on when she is asked to come to London for a period of time. Suddenly, the middle Bennet sister is scooped out of Longbourn and thrust into a social circle of like-minded peers, who appreciate more than just Mary’s brain.
“From a young age, she’s seen as not having the same desirable qualities as her sisters,” explains Bruccoleri about the dynamic between her character and the wider cast. “She comes to believe that she’s innately unlovable. And then the minute that she steps away from her family, she begins to see things differently. I mean, she has setbacks all the time, but it’s a story about the transformative power of kindness, really.”
Below, Bruccoleri discusses her emotional reaction to The Other Bennet Sister. She talks about feeling overwhelmed by fan responses so far, what she finds particularly relatable about Mary, and why this is so much more than just a romance: “It’s disguised as a love story. I personally just don’t see it that way. I think it’s a love story between Mary and herself.”
I’ve started the book, and also the show. Now I don’t know which to finish first.
It’s hard doing it that way round, isn’t it? What I’ve been very reassured by is that — I don’t know, maybe I’m only seeing the positive stuff — but I feel like people who are mega-fans of the book have taken to this quite well. That’s the sort of fear, isn’t it, with any adaptation — that you’re going to lose people because they’ll think it’s not as faithful as they want it to be. And my mum really loved the book, like really had a very emotional reaction to reading the book, and she seems to be happy with the show. [Laughs.] So that’s been my gauge of whether it’s good for fans of the book.
Ella Bruccoleri leads ‘The Other Bennet Sister.’ BBC/Bad Wolf/James Pardon You’re right, though, that is indicative of how brilliant the show is, whether the book fans are happy. Because it’s daunting to have to try and impress them, isn’t it? Did you feel that pressure when you signed on?
Luckily, I just didn’t think about any of this stuff when I signed on. Because you’ve got the pressure of adapting the book, but then you’ve also got the pressure of it being this world of Pride and Prejudice, which so many people feel so strongly about. And then you’ve got all the Jane Austen fanatics, the historical accuracy fanatics.
I hadn’t read the book until I was into the audition process. So my first connection with it was Sarah Quintrell’s scripts. I just read them, cried my way through them, [and] thought, ‘Yeah, I love the way she’s written this, and I love this character, and I would like to do this. I would like to get an opportunity to play this character.’ I didn’t question any of the stuff until almost now, when it’s coming out and I’m facing those groups of people and those audiences. I haven’t overthought any of it, really. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. [Laughs.]
So what was your own relationship with Jane Austen like before this came up?
I mean, I hadn’t been hiding under a rock, so I knew of her and I knew of her body of work! But [I didn’t] properly, shamefully, delve into Austen until I started prepping for this job, because I just didn’t think she was a writer for me growing up. I’ve said this in so many interviews, but we were just more of a Brontë family. And because I’m from North Yorkshire, that was the world that felt more familiar to me. I thought Jane Austen was about posh people, to be quite honest. And I realize now that it’s not. It’s so not that — a lot of it is about people who are quite hard up on their luck, really, and it’s about class disparity and the ridiculousness of so many societal norms that still feel really prevalent today. So I obviously read Pride and Prejudice when I was preparing for the role, and I’m sort of hooked on Austen now. When I finished filming, I read Sense and Sensibility and I loved that, and now I just want to make my way through her. I mean, it’s a small body of work, isn’t it? But I want to read all of it, because I think she’s incredible. It’s a nice treat for me to come to this later in life.
You also get the joy of watching all of the other adaptations. There’s been some brilliant ones, like Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet.
I started watching that on a flight recently! The flight ended before I got to the end, but I’m going to watch the end of it because that one’s great.
There’s so much Austen coming out right now. A new Sense and Sensibility film, Netflix’s Pride and Prejudice, The Other Bennet Sister… There’s something about Jane Austen that keeps her so culturally current. What do you think it is that people love so much?
It’s kind of incredible, isn’t it? It’s depressing how little has changed since those times, for women, and that class disparity is still huge. I think British people are obviously obsessed with class, but in her books, I feel like there are so many people who are obsessed with wealth and materialism and trying to present this view to the world that they’re better than they are. Now, people are still obsessed with appearances and materialism. I just find all of that stuff quite farcical. I think she has her finger on that pulse so skillfully, and does it in such a way [that] there’s loads of levity in it, but it’s this dry wit that Jane Austen nails. No one’s ever really done it as well as she has, which is amazing.
Did you have conversations with Janice about depicting Mary?
She couldn’t come to the U.K. when we were [shooting], so I’ve had messages passed on from her. I think Sarah Quintrell, the writer, speaks about how trusting Janice was with letting her crack on and not trying to ever rein her in, or steer her in any particular direction. Sarah was just left to get on with it, which I think we’re really lucky with, because I think it must come from [Hadlow’s] background in television. She was a producer, or I think even a developer for years. But I think she understands really well that you need someone to come at something with fresh eyes, because it’s such a big book. It’s really hard to distill it down into 30-minute episodes. I personally feel like Sarah has kept all the stuff that you really, really, need, and Janice’s book allows you to go into the character development a bit more. But I feel like we had to hit the ground running with it.
It’s perfect, and there’s so much about Mary audiences will find endearing. What did you find most relatable about her?
That’s a really good question… With Mary, she doesn’t understand the rules of the game. She tries incredibly hard to be something that is pleasing to other people. And she does that through study — really extensive study, because that’s what she knows. That’s how her brain works. She studies how to be as appealing as her sisters, [and] to her mother, mainly. But just goes about it completely the wrong way. It still doesn’t work. I think I really related to that in Mary, the industriousness of her. That’s the way I approach my job as well as — I do it through study rather than instinct. And I can be quite obsessive with the amount that I prepare for something.
Ella Bruccoleri, star of ‘The Other Bennet Sister.’ Photographer: Lucia O’Connor-McCarthy When I was prepping for Mary, I decided I was going to read all the books that she reads. And some of them are these huge volumes. [Laughs.] Like, Catharine Macaulay’s The History of England is like five gignatic volumes. I was just like, “No, I’m going to do it.” And I realize now that it is such a Mary thing to do. Obviously, I didn’t get very far, because they’re so big. I really tried, but then we started filming, and it became impossible. But yeah, those bits of her I really, really relate to. I find the social anxiety aspect of her very relatable as well. I’ve just had longer to learn that a little bit, and put that mask onto the world. But it’s [also] her desire to be loved and accepted. It’s not just me who would relate to that. All any child wants, really, is to make their parents proud of them, isn’t it? And when I was reading the book and Sarah’s scripts, that just really tugged at my heartstrings. I thought, ‘Yeah, gosh, what a horrible experience for her to feel like she’s incapable of receiving her parents love in that way.’ It’s brutal.
It’s so tragic in lots of ways.
[But] there’s definitely a big arc [for Mary]. For me, it’s disguised as a romance when you get into the later episodes. It’s disguised as a love story. I personally just don’t see it that way. I think it’s a love story between Mary and herself, and it’s about her going on this journey towards self-acceptance, trying to lead this life of an independent woman, which was obviously so incredibly difficult to do in those times. But also [it was] seen as quite shameful to realize that you’re okay by yourself, and that’s an interesting journey to see her go on. I think she needs to arrive at that place before she’s able to let anybody else in. So I’m not ruling out the idea of her finding love, but I just think in our story, it’s really important that she loves herself before she’s ready for that.
I was about to ask how you would sell The Other Bennet Sister to audiences who hadn’t read the book, but maybe you’ve just answered that question.
Yeah. I think that’s it. Because from a young age, she’s seen as not having the same desirable qualities as her sisters. She comes to believe that she’s innately unlovable. And then the minute that she steps away from her family, she begins to see things differently. I mean, she has setbacks all the time, but it’s a story about the transformative power of kindness, really. It’s about realizing that you’re worth more than just your appearance. And it’s about found family. I think it’s ultimately going to be quite an affirming watch.
It’s been out here in the U.K. a couple of days now and it sounds like you’ve been really heartened by reaction so far.
Oh god, so much. I mean, you’re only existing in your little bubble, aren’t you? So I only see what I come across on Instagram, but people send me stuff. I am completely and utterly blown away. I feel a little bit like I’m in this dream that I haven’t woken up from yet. I have no idea of the reach of it, or anything like that, but it’s more [about] the reactions. Even if it was just a small pool of people, those reactions have felt so… I’ve been quite overwhelmed by them, because it’s people really connecting to it in a way that feels… I don’t know. It’s just exactly what I hoped for. That people see themselves in her and are finding it, yeah. I guess [it’s] quite heartbreaking but hopefully affirming. It’s the best reaction I could have hoped for.
You’ve got a wonderful cast to help soak up some of that love, too — Ruth Jones, Richard E. Grant. How was it working with such a talented bunch?
I do think the casting is perfect in this. It was weird for me, because when I was filming at Longbourn or at Pemberley, the dynamics and the vibes [were] totally different from when I was filming the scenes in London or the Lake District, with the Gardiners and with Mr. Hayward and Mr. Ryder. So I got to between the two worlds, which, because it’s a different group of people, obviously just has a completely different dynamic on set. With the family, it’s weird how much we slotted into those family dynamics really quickly. It really felt like the actual sisters together. Sometimes, as the middle child, Mary, I had to pull myself out of it a little bit. [Laughs.] I love working with them.
And then when I was filming with Indira and Richard and Dónal and Laurie, we were, I’d say, just quite irreverent. We were just giggling all the time. We were filming in the Brecon Beacons, in the mountains and on lakes, going out on little boats in the lake. Indira would come with a swimming costume and go for a swim while we were filming. We had a small crew for all of it. It wasn’t like we’re doing this big, mega thing. I’ve been on the sets of things like Bridgerton, where there are giant cranes filming everything you’re doing, and it feels like you’re on a Hollywood film set. This would feel like we were filming a short film together. It’s a cliche, but it just felt like a little family coming to work every day. I had the summer of my life filming it. I loved it.
That was the takeaway for me, watching this. I just thought, ‘God, this must have been so much fun to film.’
It’s nice that that comes across. Because the show does tow the line between being quite tragic at times, and then having loads of levity in it. I think it does that really well. I don’t want it to feel like it’s just this big misery pile-on on Mary. Because it’s not that as a show. It’s got so much brightness to it as well.
What would you tease about Mary’s romantic prospects?
She ends up with more options than she could have ever hoped for! It’s crazy, because she arrives at a place where she’s settling into life as an independent, solo woman, and then suddenly these men turn up, and they seem to be interested in her, which I think she cannot get her head around at all. I think she’s just in London to make friends. So it’s a kind of a bonus, meeting people that she gets along with. Other people are like, “Yeah, but Mary, these are really eligible, good-looking men,” and Mary doesn’t care about things like that. She doesn’t really see the fact that they’re conventionally attractive men. She’s just having a nice time with them. And then she ends up developing feelings.
It’s so hard to know what I can say, because I don’t want to give anything away. But Mr. Hayward and Mr. Ryder represent completely different things for her, and bring out different sides to her, which I think is really nice to watch. Hopefully, people will be rooting for both of them. But I will just say it is possible that she doesn’t end up with anyone. For people who haven’t read the book and want it to be a truly open ending, there are several times when you think maybe neither of these relationships are right for her, and maybe neither of them will work out. But in episode 10, the right thing for her does happen.
What was the most satisfying part of playing Mary?
I guess trying to hold on to the journey of her. Because when you’re filming out of sequence, we would be filming episode three, and then we’d jump to the end of episode 10 or something. I would try and do my [script] color coding or whatever, to see, ‘Okay, this is this Mary now.’ I worried that it wouldn’t be a cohesive journey, because hopefully you will see that she’s completely different by the end of episode 10 from how she is in episode one. That was a real privilege to be able to go on that journey with her.
I just think what Sarah’s done really brilliantly is shown a very multifaceted human being with loads of different sides to her. So I was able to explore a different side of her personality every day on the job. I didn’t ever feel like I was playing an archetype of Mary or an archetype of someone bookish and repressed. Some days I’d be raucously laughing while spinning around a ballroom. And then other times it would be her getting turned on looking at Mr. Hayward’s forearms. [Laughs.] So I just kind of loved that. You’re a bit like, “Is this all going to tie together?” But when it’s all been watched, it hopefully does.
Richard E. Grant and Ruth Jones as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in ‘The Other Bennet Sister.’ BBC/Bad Wolf/James Pardon You’ve been in so much good stuff already, but does this feel like a bigger moment for you, career-wise? To lead a show and have the weight of that on your shoulders is huge, and you’re handling it brilliantly.
Thank you. I never viewed it as such in doing it, because I’ve been working since I graduated from drama school, and that for me was the success — just getting to work all the time. I love playing supporting roles. You can have so much freedom in doing supporting roles. So I’ve never longed for a leading part. I genuinely haven’t. That might sound like a fake humble, but I genuinely haven’t. So I felt unprepared for a lot of the stuff that has come with doing this, like all the press and having to be really vocal and champion the show. You don’t often have that responsibility when you’re a supporting role. It is different. I don’t know if I could describe it as a big break, because I don’t know what [will come] from it all afterwards. I might never work again. [Laughs.] And feel like it’s the end of my career instead of the beginning. But all I can say is I feel less scared. I had trepidation when it came to being number one on a call sheet. I was like, ‘Am I ready for that responsibility?’ I do think it is a responsibility. I feel less scared of that now. I just love performing. I love playing. It is slightly different when you’re carrying the show.
Don’t worry if you can’t answer this, but does the show leave it open-ended for a season two?
It doesn’t leave it on a cliffhanger or anything like that. I would say it ties everything up quite nicely. But I do know that there is interest in doing a season two, and I know that Sarah is really keen. She has ideas, and I think she’s ready to run with something. Whenever you do shows, everyone’s always gunning for a season two, because you want to make the thing again that you’ve had a nice time making. But I think I’m always skeptical about the idea of doing another season just for the sake of doing another season. For me, there’d have to be a reason to do it. If Sarah was like, “I’ve got a reason to do this, and I’ve got something here,” I would really trust that. So whichever way it goes, I’d be happy.
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