Amy’s costume drama... with superheroes!
SHE has always been a fan of Sunday night period dramas.
Now Scots actress Amy Manson is to join some of the biggest names on our screens with a stand-out role in a historical thriller.
The 34-year-old will star alongside Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson and Grantchester’s James Norton in HBO’s The Nevers.
But unlike a typical period drama, the series chronicles the adventures of a legion of superhuman characters in a Victorian-era sci-fi spectacular.
Ms Manson, who was raised in Portlethen and Westhill, in Aberdeenshire, will play Maladie, leader of a band of renegades.
She said: ‘It’s the most exciting thing I’ve done. It’s mind-blowing and was an amazing moment to get the part.’
The show has been created by Joss Whedon, who wrote TV hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the screenplay for Marvel’s The Avengers.
Ms Manson – who worked with Poldark star Aidan Turner on Being Human and Desperate Romantics, and played Disney princess Merida in hit fantasy series Once Upon a Time – had a unique way of impressing Whedon, one of Hollywood’s biggest directors. She said: ‘When I had the audition I rehearsed the piece for weeks and put a picture of his [Whedon’s] face up so I could talk to it every day and I wouldn’t be nervous for the audition.
‘When I went in to meet him it was just like seeing a mate. Joss is the nicest human being, a total genius.
‘I’ve never been on such a happy set in my life. My Mondays are like my Fridays and that’s a great way to live.’
She added that her co-star Tomlinson is ‘one of the nicest actors I’ve ever met, she’s so gracious and brilliant’.
Production on The Nevers has been shut down due to the Covid pandemic and is now expected to hit screens in 2021. In the meantime, Ms Manson’s latest movie, Run – a street-racing drama set in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire – is on streaming services now.
She said: ‘At the moment, people are receptive to watching different things and checking out an indie film like Run. And it’s great that in places that don’t have theatres, like Fraserburgh, where we shot the film, more people will be able to watch it and enjoy a film about everyday love in little towns across Scotland.’