Twenty-two years old, a recurring role in the BBC One period drama “Poldark” and a burning passion for acting, the art that allows her to explore other people’s personalities: Ciara Charteris who plays Emma in the second series of “Poldark” is back with an expanded role and love story, as well as in theatres with “Mary Shelley.” Ciara flaunts a natural confidence on the screen, while in the flesh, when we met her in London, she immediately won us over with her spontaneity and likeability. Don’t miss our interview and, most of all, don’t miss the new season of “Poldark.”
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Coming from a family who has worked in the industry for generations, what are the pros and the cons? And have you ever considered another career growing up?
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I mean, the pros are that it really opens your eyes to everything the industry has to offer, good and bad. I always kind of say when people ask if there was anything bad about it and if it was going to put me off, and I’ve definitely seen it and just wanted to go for it anyway so yeah, there’s never been any kind of making out that it’s better than it is, you know? It is a fantastic industry but it’s also really tough.
When I was growing up I danced a lot but I was never really cut out for it. I don’t think I was born with a natural gift, but I trained really really hard, I used to dance at least 6 times a week, and I would still to this day chop off my left arm to suddenly be a ballerina if I could, but at 5’2’’, and with quite a different kind of figure, it doesn’t really work that way. But yeah I got to quite a high level and I loved it and that’s all that matters really. Then, when I got to about 17/18 I realized it probably wasn’t going to take me as far as I wanted to go with it. So it was a hard life lesson to learn, but I still love it.
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Do you dance now?
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My life just moves too fast and on another level that I never really get round to it, I always told myself that maybe one day I’ll go back to it. Because, you know, I wasn’t awful but I was never going to be a dancer and such but, as I said, I did love it.
“…you know it is a fantastic industry but it’s also really tough.“
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Do you see yourself exploring like directing o writing, and what would it be your genre of choice?
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I’m not sure if I would ever write. People always say to me, “give it a go and see what happens, just explore the page” but I’m not sure if I’m ready in my own head yet to start pouring my thoughts out.
I think directing is really interesting, as is producing: having a say and driving your own work is amazing and it would be an incredible point in my career if I ever get to the point where I get to produce other people’s stuff or my own stuff. And I can’t even say if I have a favourite genre at the moment, I think there is so much to explore and what is so wonderful about this industry is that it’s so broad, a kind of endless pool of things to explore and ideas to pitch and stories to write…
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And every time you can discover something new that you like.
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Yeah exactly, there is always a new angle, a new way to interpret things.
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And were you aware of the success of the first series adaptation of “Poldark”?
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Yeah! I mean, it is hard not to be if you are in the industry and you’re caught up in it. So it was quite overwhelming. I had been for other parts before I got Emma, so I kind of got to see bits of the show grow from the start. And I watched from the first series. It was an incredible opportunity, and I was more excited than anything else.
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After appearing in season 3, your character is going to be even more central next season: after a very intense first episode, what we can expect? What can you unveil about that?
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We are definitely going to see a new side to Emma that’s slightly softer, see that she’s got a lot of heart. And that she might not be the crazy man loving woman we all love her to be, and never has been. You are going to see a new side of Emma, just as interesting and just as wonderful, I think.
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And what about the relationship with Sam (Carne)?
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They definitely hear more about each other and there’s a lot of love there about to happen.
We have to wait and see. [laughs]
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What’s your favorite period drama movie or series?
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I’ll have to say “Poldark.” I love the show and I love everyone in it, most importantly. They are an amazing group of people. I’m biased towards it!
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And if you could time travel to the past where would you go?
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That’s so hard, I don’t know. Maybe the ‘20s or the ‘50s. There’s the little kid inside me who is obsessed with “Grease” and loves it a lot: dressing like Sandy and being whisked around the dance floor by John Travolta. So I don’t know, maybe the ‘50s, but the ‘20s seemed pretty cool as well.
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Speaking of “Mary Shelley,” how was the experience?
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It was an amazing experience, we were filming in such beautiful locations, in Ireland as well. The cast was just amazing, again, it was quite overwhelming to be surrounded by such great talent and such well-known people and I definitely had to bring my A-game. But everyone was just super lovely and, as soon as you are on the job, and get to know everyone, you realize that they are just normal extremely-good-at-their-job people. It was just an incredible thing to be a part of.
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This movie is full of “girl bosses,” Mary Shelley herself, and the director of the film. Are you inspired by any girl bosses out there?
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I have so much respect for any woman that is happy and making her own way in any industry. I think that is so amazing to come across and see… I mean, even the other day I was going to an event and I worked with this incredible makeup artist. I went to her house, she had her kids there and she was holding her baby as she did my makeup. It’s so empowering to see, she is an incredible mother and she is incredible at her job. My own mother is the same.
There are huge pioneering women in our industry that are doing incredible work at the moment and that’s an inspiration to all of us women in the industry, and a lot of women outside the industry as well. But it’s also nice to see women closer to home: my mum is my biggest inspiration and she is definitely my superhero of a woman and anyone that is co-managing that kind of life really inspires me.
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What’s the last series you binge-watched?
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I’ve actually just finished binge-watching “Suits.” I’ve also just finished watching “Lovesick” on Netflix which is an incredible series, really really good, it will make you cry, it will make you laugh…it will make you feel all the feels.
“The ‘20s seem pretty cool as well.”
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A TV series where you would love to be a guest star?
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You know, all the shows that come to my mind are finished now, I’ve binge-watched all and over again “Friends,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Sex and the City.” But I don’t know, a show that is on at the moment: I would really love to do something modern, a lot of my career has been period drama, which has been incredible, I feel like I’m constantly a time traveller, and I’m kind of taking off the generations, I can say. But it would be really cool to do something modern day, sort of different from what I’ve done before.
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What are your next projects that you can tell us about?
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I’m not sure I can say anything. We have to wait and see.
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Happy Place:
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In the sea, wherever that is, wherever that might be.
There is that saying, “anything with salt makes things better” whether it is crying, sweat or the sea. And seawater is definitely my happy place, it makes me feel very at one with it. I’m so much happier if I am by the sea. Which was also so amazing about being able to film in Cornwall, because I got to be by the sea all the time.
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Life Motto:
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Everything happens for a reason.
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Who’d you rather be as a character:
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I don’t know, I’m just so fascinated by people, whatever it is that makes them tick and layered as we all are. I don’t really know if I can really choose who I would want to play. A part of my job is wanting to play as many different kinds of characters as possible, so I really don’t know.
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What have you already crossed from your bucket list?
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I’m an exciting person, I swear, it’s just that my brain has gone blank! [laughs]
I do a lot of wild swimming in cold water, which I think some people would see as quite nuts! I swim with my mum at ridiculous times of the year, when it is absolutely freezing. We have a long list of amazing spots around the country that we love to find… go on big walks and find these ridiculous pools of water. So we have our little list and we’ve definitely ticked off a load on that.
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What was the best thing about filming “Poldark”?
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The people that I’ve met. I mean, every job you are in is amazing and there’s always an incredible crew and cast behind it, but every now and again you get a really special job where you meet people you really know are going to be your friends for life, and I definitely made some incredible friends on this job.
I feel as grateful for them as for the job itself.
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What’s the beauty of acting for you?
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Again it’s exploring people, getting into the mind, the soul, the head, the heart of somebody completely different from yourself, or maybe even someone quite like yourself. But just the exploration of humankind and personality is what I find really fascinating and amazing to have the opportunity to come out of myself and experience something else I might not as just me.
“It’s exploring people, getting into the mind, the soul, the head, the heart of somebody completely different from yourself.”
Photo Credits: Johnny Carrano.
Makeup and Hairstyling: Alessandra Nicole Poiesi.
Thanks to Browns Mayfair, London.
