An Interview With ‘Miss Austen’ Actor Calam Lynch

While there have been many film and TV adaptations of Jane Austen’s work, Miss. Austen is actually about her and the members of her family (specifically her older sister,  Cassandra, played as an adult by Keeley Hawes). Based on the book by Gill Hornsby, here’s what cast member Calam Lynch (Sweetpea) had to say about working on the show:

Rachel Bellwoar: Going into this series, were you a fan of any of Jane Austen’s books?

Calam Lynch: I shamefully haven’t read loads of Austen! The only two I’d read were Emma and Sense and Sensibility, both of which I’d very much enjoyed. When it comes to watching Austen adaptations, though…I’ve seen my fair share!

Bellwoar: Tom Fowle was the fiancé of Jane’s sister, Cassandra. Were you able to find much information about him or do you prefer to restrict yourself to the scripts?

Lynch: To be honest I don’t always find it useful to look much further than the scripts. With Tom, I felt that it was important that I as an actor had a sense of the backstory between Tom and Cassie…but further than that I didn’t want to add too much on. When the writing is as good as it is in our show, I think you can risk overcomplicating things by trying to play the fact that Tom liked poached eggs rather than scrambled….(though for what it’s worth I think he DID prefer poached eggs)

Bellwoar: Miss. Austen isn’t the only period piece you’ve been a part of. Do you enjoy the experience of getting to embody and transport yourself to another time?

Lynch: Yeah I’ve definitely enjoyed the period pieces I’ve done. It’s always an exciting challenge to try to make the language, social contexts etc. feel as natural as possible. The feelings that the characters are experiencing are so primal and relatable, even though they may have been felt a few hundred years ago. So I think your job as an actor is just to play those things truthfully – then hopefully they’ll resonate with the viewer. Also the costumes are fun aren’t they?

Bellwoar: They definitely are. What was the audition process like?

Lynch: It was pretty painless as it goes! I had a bit of a relationship with Aisling [Walsh] already so she was aware of my work. She’s such a warm person, as well as being a brilliant director…so as soon as I knew she was leading the project, it was a no-brainer for me.

Bellwoar: How does Tom differ from other characters you’ve played?

Lynch: I mean I think I’m always trying to use different parts of myself when I’m playing a character, so I think Tom ends up having a few things in common with other characters I’ve played. But one thing that did strike me about Tom (which was perhaps something I hadn’t played before), was how strong his sense of duty is. There’s a duality to him in that sense…he’s clearly a romantic and completely besotted with Cassie, but that doesn’t stop him embarking on what he must know is a really dangerous journey. There’s often a bit of a softness in characters I’ve played, but Tom has a steel, I think.

Bellwoar: We really only get to see the tail end of Tom’s romance with Cassie. What was it like forging a relationship with Synnøve Karlsen (who plays Cassie as a young adult) so quickly onscreen?

Lynch: Yeah it’s a funny thing as an actor that you’re having to play all this history and context, when you might have only met earlier that day on set! It isn’t always easy. With Synnøve, though, it felt so natural. We really got on immediately and had a bunch of friends of common which probably helps…she’s such a lovely person! As well as all that, though, she’s a dream to act with. She’s so present and alive and truthful…I’d really love to work with her again.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Calam!

Miss. Austen aired Sundays on PBS and all four episodes are available to stream on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.