Introducing... DAISY EDGAR-JONES

NORMAL PEOPLE WAS THE MILLENNIAL LOVE STORY MEGA-HIT ON EVERYONE’S BOOKSHELVES LAST YEAR. NOW, MEET THE ACTOR SET TO STEAL OUR HEARTS IN ITS ON-SCREEN ADAPTATION

Daisy Edgar-Jones is a new Guinness fan. Well, sort of. ‘I have to have it with blackcurrant juice, which is probably a bit of a sin,’ she laughs. The actor became accustomed to drinking a pint, or three, after moving to Dublin for six months to film the TV show that’s about to grip the nation – Normal People. Which, in case you managed to miss it, is the highly anticipated upcoming TV adaptation of the bestselling 2O18 novel by Irish writer Sally Rooney – ‘the first great millennial author’, according to The New York Times. The BBC Three 12-part drama, out this month, sees Edgar-Jones star as book-smart loner Marianne opposite newcomer Paul Mescal (the sporty, popular Connell) in a startlingly relatable, witty love story set in and around Ireland’s capital.

Today, Edgar-Jones is on the orange juice. We’re back in her hometown of London, sitting in Dover Street Market’s bakery midway through the 21-year-old’s shopping trip. She says that playing Marianne wasn’t so much of a job as a calling, given that she’d already read the book five times prior to shooting. ‘I wanted the part more than anything,’ she admits. ‘I really felt like I understood Marianne. I really got her sense of humour.’

One good turn... EDGAR-JONES (RIGHT) UNDERSTOOD THE ENORMITY OF THE ROLE SHE WAS TAKING ON IN BBC’S ADAPTATION OF SALLY ROONEY’S NORMAL PEOPLE – SHE’D ALREADY READ THE BOOK FIVE TIMES