DAISY EDGAR-JONES
22, actor
Normal People catapulted Daisy and her block fringe (which rivals co-star Paul Mescal’s silver chain when it come to Twitter followers: @mariannesbangs) into stardom. She landed an agent at age 16, and kicked off her TV career in Cold Feet.
This autumn, she returns to our screens in BBC sci-fi drama War of the Worlds.
Being an only child prepared me for an career in acting.
I had a lot of time to play on my own, so I would make up imaginary worlds about fairies. It made me great at meeting new people – on family holidays, I was used to making a beeline for other kids playing.
Not going to drama school taught me to think on my feet.
I’ve had to learn on the job, which made me determined. I’ve worried about missing out, but I know there’s no one right path for actors. The National Youth Theatre led me to my first open casting at 16.
I owe everything to my fringe.
In true break-up style, I got it after being devastated about a role I didn’t get. Then I landed parts in War of the Worlds and Normal People. My flatmate had to cut it during lockdown – it was a lot of pressure.
I’ve conversed with Gloria Gaynor through emojis.
I’ve always loved I Will Survive – its lyrics can turn around any down day. I mentioned that in an interview and she reached out. We exchanged flexed bicep and heart emojis via text. It was totally surreal.
I’d love to be in a Wes Anderson film. Marianne will always be my first love, but living in Wes Anderson’s symmetrical, sepia-filtered world would be brilliant. The fashion alone would be magical.