IF YOU THINK those Jane Austen fans are hardcore, doubtless you missed last year’s tweet storm – that’s a flame war in old-world net speak – down by Kaya Scodelario’s official Twitter feed. Emily Brontë fans were forced to reach for the smelling salts as the Skins star shared her good news: “I’m gonna be in the new Wuthering Heights film!” wrote Scodelario. “As Cathy! Should probs read the book…” She never did. Director Andrea Arnold forbade the young actor from reading the source novel and from watching any older adaptations. Hours before the film’s London premiere, Scodelario has yet to crack the spine on the third Brontë sister’s only surviving tome.
“I read a lot, but never came across it,” says the 19-year-old. “And I’m quite a technical person. I like to research. It was hard to stay away. But I understood. She wanted us to be very raw. Actually, I never read a whole script. The first time I found out what happened to the characters was when I saw the film.”
Bright, opinionated and wise beyond her years, Scodelario made it through the casting process where other more recognisable stars, notably Natalie Portman and Abbie Cornish, failed to stay the course. Her achievement is all the more impressive when you consider she failed to show up for her audition. Believing she was wrong for the part, Scodelario stayed away, turned off her phone and hid.
“The script had been going round for about two years before it went into production,” she says. “And a lot of people were attached to it like Gemma Arterton and Natalie Portman. I was intimidated by that. They’re both very beautiful, both very talented. And I felt too young.” It took Arnold to convince her otherwise.
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