If there’s one word to describe Sophia Brown, it’s versatile. Kicking off her career on EastEnders and Casualty, she quickly gravitated to the world of prestige thrillers, with roles in the underrated Guerrilla, Giri/Haji and The Capture under her belt. What’s Sophia been doing since? Well, she’s been off filming her leading role for Netflix‘s Christmas present to all, The Witcher: Blood Origin.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Brown remembers her first fantasy-related project came in the form of a role in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast: “It was definitely an introduction to the scale of being able to drop into these big worlds. It enticed me into wanting to do more, then the opportunity to join the world of The Witcher came around and it was a no-brainer,” Brown explains.
“I’d already watched the series, so I was familiar with the world, and I rewatched it after I got the job – but ultimately, I parked that all to the side and tried to dedicate myself to just Declan [de Barra, showrunner]’s text, and the resources of the cast and crew that have been a part of The Witcher already.”
Brown plays Eilé, known to many throughout the Continent as ‘The Lark’, a former warrior of her clan’s Queen’s guard who exiled herself to begin anew, grappling with the difficulty to fully come to terms with that decision.
We’ve met travelling musicians in The Witcher before, such as Joey Batey’s meek-but-charming Jaskier, but Eilé quickly proves herself to be a very different kind of bard to Dandelion, which Sophia was more than happy to get stuck into.
“I’d had some experience with fight scenes in the past on Giri/Haji but this was on a completely different level. I mean, The Witcher is so known for its fight scenes, so I knew the bar I had to hit coming in. One of my favourite moments was in the first episode, we called it the ‘Assassin Fight’, where it’s me versus eight other people, and I just get to tornado through all the stunt guys.”
The character of Eilé takes on a special meaning for Brown – not only was it a leading role in a huge, acclaimed franchise, but it was the role that saved her from quitting and pursuing a new career entirely. “I was going to stop acting. I’d made that decision weeks before getting the job, so there was a real synchronicity in me playing Eilé, with these ideas of walking away from something huge and battling that loss.”
As a result, Brown put everything into embodying Eilé as best she could, working with an acting coach to understand minuscule daily rituals that she’d perform, understanding what comes naturally and what is difficult for her to grasp – the result is a richly layered performance that Brown disappeared into.
“I think by the time we were camera up, I really felt like her, so it became so difficult to let her go. It’s been a journey now getting to see it, because to me, that’s Eilé on screen and there’s a part of me that feels as though she’s still within me somewhere.”
An important through-line of Blood Origin is music, something that showrunner De Barra is deeply connected with, being a musician himself who has also performed on The Witcher’s soundtracks.
Both de Barra and Brown shared a love for a particular genre. “I really love folk music – one of my favourites is Damien Rice – so I just resonated with the style of music that Declan [de Barra] brought. I just love singing, and I’m so grateful that it’s come in a character because that’s the way I love to be doing music.
“I tend to create playlists for the characters I play, so I had an Eilé playlist that evoked the types of feelings and thoughts that I believed she’d have, and I deep, deep dived into her family history to build a world of her life growing up.”
The weight of stories and the importance of the survival of culture, and the power they imbue groups with lies at the root of Blood Origin, whose fundamental themes lie in colonisation and the ripple effects that has generationally. Many of the relationships in the spin-off are complicated by divisions of class and clan in some form or anything, creating an overarching oppressor that none are able to escape from under.
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“The hat of the villain moves because they’re all the villain and yet none of them are at the same time. The ‘real’ villain is the system that’s been created within the Continent – this beast they’ve created, something that’s never spoken about. All of them are in some way a slave to it,” Brown notes.
It’s undeniable the impact that Blood Origin has had on Sophia – it’s not only revitalised her interest in acting, but it feels as though she’s on the precipice of truly blowing up because of it. As a parting gift, she was bestowed a version of Eilé’s training blades they’d used throughout the production. “I need to get one of those boxed frames to put them in, they’re just hanging on my door right now.”
As we know in the world of The Witcher, elves can live for an awfully long time. Could that mean we may see a return for Eilé in the future?
“I had the greatest time on Blood Origin – so to come back would be a journey massively welcomed, I think it just depends on where people want to go with it. It was one of the best rides of my life – why wouldn’t you want to do it again, right?”
Read more:
- The Witcher season 3: Release date speculation, cast, plot and latest news
- The Witcher: Blood Origin review: Punchy performances elevate prequel
- The Witcher: Blood Origin star details scene which made her sick
The Witcher: Blood Origin is streaming now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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