How ‘Sense and Sensibility’ Stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles Made a ‘Love Letter to Sisterhood’

For my tenth birthday, my dad bought me a full set of emerald green, leather-bound Jane Austen novels. For many years, those books and the characters in them were my dear friends. But Elinor and Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility occupied a particularly special place—Elinor, the eldest sister, is written to be ruled by logic and reserve, while Marianne is driven by passion and sensation. Cue: Inside me there are two wolves.

I always felt like a wayward Marianne in this life, moved by nature and art and feeling to the point of tears, (what would have been seen as “indelicate” expression in Regency times). As someone who would later be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, I found a kind of communion in this young woman swept away by the grandiosity of her emotions. Her lessons later became my own.

While the 1995 film adaptation of Sense & Sensibility—starring Emma Thompson, pre-Titanic Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, and Hugh Grant, to name a few—will remain one of my most-watched films of all time, I was chomping at the bit to see what new life could be breathed into this seminal novel through Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles in the new movie adaptation, now in theaters.

From a sunny Regency set in London to my Zoom window in New York City, we sat down to talk about how Edgar-Jones and Creed-Miles embodied their characters, how Austen is a part of the very fabric of English existence, and what true Janeites can really sink their teeth into in their new film.

Teen Vogue: Tell me about the audition process. How did it all start? How did you first hear about the project?

Daisy Edgar-Jones: I first heard about the project [when] my agent told me that Georgia Oakley and Working Title were going to adapt Sense [and Sensibility] again. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, anything you can do to put me in the ring would be amazing." I got a general meeting with Georgia and it was just meant to be a general meeting to kind of get to know her and talk about film, and I got a call the next day that she wanted to offer me the part. It was sort of an audition that I didn't even really realize. I got sent the script and I read it immediately in an hour and just fell in love with it: Diana's adaptation, Georgia's moodboard, and I was so excited. And so obviously my first major question was “Who is going to be Marianne Dashwood?” And Georgia [said there was] “one person that we want and it's Esmé.” And I was like, “No way I know Esmé,” because we worked together on one of my first jobs when I was 19 and Esmé was 17. And then we had a chemistry read and it was magic.

TV: What was the chemistry read you two did?

Esmé Creed-Miles: It was a scene of us where we're on the bed and we're gossiping after Edward [Ferrars] has come and it's when I'm sort of like, "My God, you can't be serious. You fancy him."

DEJ: We did that and then we did their kind of fractured scene where [Elinor and Marianne] fall out. So it was two really significant scenes, and it was just so magic to see Esmé again and do that. It felt immediate, our chemistry. It felt like we didn't even have to work at playing sisters. It was really special.

TV: How familiar were you with the characters when you got the roles? Had you read Sense and Sensibility? If so, when was the first time?

ECM: Luckily in school over here [in the UK], I think Austen is part of the canon. I think for my GCSEs we had to read Austen… But what got me really excited about this film was less the history behind it—it was more Georgia actually, because I felt that to do a fresh re-imagining of an Austen was so exciting. I just knew having seen Blue Jean that she was going to do something different with it, because we have so many wonderful Austen adaptations already.

DEJ: I first read it when I was young. My mom was a big Jane Austen fan. I feel like I have a very early memory of her giving me Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and being like, “Get going, let's get you started.” I can't remember exactly how old, but obviously like Esmé said, it's just part of the fabric of growing up here, both Jane Austen and also adaptations of her work. [They’re stories] that I've always loved to watch and read. And also Working Title [had signed on], who obviously did one of my favorite adaptations of Pride & Prejudice, so I was like, “No way, this is amazing.”

TV: What was it in each of these characters that you really wanted to bring forth, maybe a new dimension that you hadn't seen before, or something that felt really resonant for you?

DEJ: I think it's always really exciting when you have works as incredible as Jane Austen's—there's always a chance to find new things because the writing is so beautiful. What I love about Jane Austen is her observations of society, her wit, [and] her observations of sisterhood and love.

I read and re-read the book. I felt very immersed in it. I wrote down all my favorite quotes. I really tried to think about what I felt I chimed with Elinor on, but then I also kind of wanted to just focus on the character and the person. And I think for me, what I love most about Elinor is her strength of character and the fact that she is full-to-the-brim of sensibility. She knows how to tame it. It was just so fun to really just lean in and follow my instincts on who I felt this character was for me.

ECM: I was thinking about that era of authorship, and I was thinking about Dickens and historical novels that are very plot-driven. They [typically] have these big events like the French Revolution and people die. There was a funny meme going around that [was] like, "I love Pride and Prejudice, but aren't Austen films just people going to each other's houses and talking?" It's really funny, and it's true actually, but the reason why they still work and translate and are so adaptable is that she zeroes in on the interior worlds of these people; she's able to create plot through character, which is actually really masterful. [She has] really well thought-out, intentional characters to sink your teeth into, which I think sometimes in plot-driven filmmaking or writing, that can get lost.

TV: How did you prepare for the roles?

DEJ: We did loads of really fun prep for these roles. I think part of Georgia’s prep for us was to do a lot of team bonding. We did a lot of crafting actually. Esmé and I went to a ring-making workshop and we both made a little ring and then we gave our ring to each other. We did a day out in Norland, which is [where] our family home that we lose at the start of the film is. And all the cast had to draw or paint Norland together and that was really, really fun. We had loads of dancing in the films, so we did loads of dance rehearsals. You get so much by just feeling comfortable with one another and actually creating bonds and friendships. It meant that when we walked onto set, it didn't really feel like, “Oh gosh, hello family that I've just met. I need to try and orchestrate this sense of love for you.” It felt like it was already there.

ECM: We [also] did some things that are specific to our characters, as well. I did quite a bit of horse riding.

TV: Let’s talk about the costumes. What was it like being in a Regency-era period piece?

DEJ: I grew up loving Regency films and Jane Austen adaptations, so it felt really wild to suddenly go for a costume fitting and see all the detail and the thought that had gone into the costumes for this film. Grace [Snell], our costumer, is so unbelievably talented in her attention to detail. I mean, you have to have a petticoat, your corset tied up for you, your bum roll. There were so many layers to it, which really had a kind of fun way to start each day because you almost felt yourself getting into the character as the clothes were being put on you.

I have to say the color palette in this film is so beautiful and even the attention to detail and the fact that all the costumes were naturally-dyed. We also had pieces that were re-imagined later on in the film in a slightly more updated style, as if these women who don't necessarily have expendable income to spend on new clothes are adapting and recutting old dresses they'd had anew. And then we also shared items of clothing, which was really cool.

TV: What was one of your most memorable days on set?

DEJ: Oh, it's really hard to choose for me my best day on set, but I really love shooting the ending with you, Esmé, but it actually didn't make it into the film. It's a slightly different ending and I think it's the right ending, but we had a day on the beach together nearing the end of the film and that was just so joyful because it had been an amazing experience to shoot the film, but also really challenging. We were shooting in these wild conditions in the Dartmoor Mall and also in costumes every day and really fast paced. And so to kind of spend a day together just -

ECM: Frolicking around.

DEJ: Yeah, it was so much fun. That and I also think the scene where I plait your hair. I love that scene because it just felt like Elinor and Marianne just really in their natural habitat.

TV: Which characteristics of both Elinor and Marianne feel close to you as individuals, and which felt distant?

ECM: There's a kind of soft feminine-ness to Marianne, and she's also very outgoing and very adventurous. Those are things that were really outside of my personal comfort zone, because I would say, although I relate to her attachment style, which is definitely either anxious or disorganized, I experienced that kind of urgency of feeling more often than not from the comfort of my apartment. You'll rarely find me at a ball or anything like that.

DEJ: I feel like Elinor is probably the most like me of any character I've ever played. I really relate to her wanting to look after everybody, and her tenderness. I also think she's somebody who [appreciates a] slow burn, although I think she sees Edward and it's love at first sight. But she's very principled with how she deals with it. [Insofar as differences,] I don't have any sisters in my life. I'm an only child. So, for me, that's where I'm quite different from Elinor. This theme of sisterhood was one I was really excited to explore in film, and I found a sort of second family in the Dashwoods, especially with Esmé. It's one of the most special parts about this film—it’s kind of a love letter to sisterhood.