What was one of your favourite moments working on the series?
AC: VidCon 2012 will always be a stand out moment for me. We knew the show had a following, but when Mary Kate, Laura, and Julia walked into VidCon, we were instantly recognized and lines formed of people waiting to get photos and autographs. We’d never experienced anything like it.
It was emotional, to know that something we’d been working so hard on had an impact with people, that our art was reaching people and being appreciated – that’s a rare thing for an actor, and something I will never forget.
DVG: One of my favorite moments working on the series was probably witnessing the release of my first episode. There had been so much anticipation built up around Darcy’s arrival up to that point that people were losing their minds waiting to meet my character – and when they finally did, there was a tremendous release of emotions from the fandom of the show, and a tremendous amount of support for me personally.
I don’t even really know how to explain it. It was just a very surreal experience for me that I will always remember.
Which element of ‘The Lizzie Bennet Diaries’ are you most proud of?
AC: I’m proud of a lot of things about The LBD, but perhaps most of all the strong female characters. Despite the fact that in the source material these women can’t aspire to more than marriage, our story gave them all more than just love lives. They have aspirations for their careers and educations, they have complex relationships with friends and family, and they struggle to understand themselves and their place in the world.
This includes some pretty fantastic romance, but I’m very proud that these characters can be role models beyond that. And I’m always delighted to hear that The LBD inspired people to read Pride & Prejudice and fall in love with Jane Austen.
DVG: I think one of the things that I am most proud of from working on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, though I don’t know how much credit I can claim for this, is the way in which the show brought people together. Fans consistently tell me that one of the best things about the show for them was engaging in the fandom community that formed around the show.
Not only did people love the show, but it helped people build bonds of friendship and collaboration. It helped people not feel so isolated and even get through times of loss and sorrow. And if there’s anything that I really hope to achieve as an actor, it’s that. I am immensely proud to be part of the team that helped make that happen.
Why do you think this particular adaptation resonated with so many fans?
AC: What I hear more than anything from people is that Lizzie is a character they identify with because she makes mistakes, just like them, but she keeps trying to learn from them. Lizzie imperfections are very easy to relate to in our modern setting, and people see parts of themselves in her. I know I did.
We took a lot of seemingly antiquated situations and made them easy to understand – choosing a safe job offer over artistic dreams, prejudices that prevent you from seeing who a person really is, being preyed upon by an abusive man – these are issues that contemporary women deal with. I think too often we’re given heroines that seem to have no flaws, and that’s hard to relate to. Humans are messy and imperfect, but that doesn’t stop us from being mostly good, with room for improvement. Lizzie exemplifies that.
DVG: I think one of the main reasons that this particular adaptation resonated so much with fans of the show is that it brought this classic story closer to people’s experience than ever before. Not only did it bring Lizzie Bennet into the modern day, but it brought her directly onto people’s computer screens. Much of the show is Lizzie speaking directly to the audience. And unlike other adaptations, the format allows the audience to actually get a sense of what Lizzie is thinking and feeling much like the way a reader does in the novel itself.
And in this way, the audience really felt like they got to know Lizzie. People who were able to watch the show while it was on live almost got the sense that Lizzie and the rest of the characters were out there somewhere living and breathing, laughing, loving, losing, and, of course, tweeting, just like them. Fans often tell me that the characters became members of their family for a year. Also this is the only adaptation that I’m aware of that has presented this story as a series, and I think people really loved getting to experience it in that way.
You each played one of the most famous characters in English literature. Can you ever top that?
AC: I don’t think you try to top it. You keep doing good, interesting work, hopefully on projects you feel passionately about. One of my favorite things about being an actor is that I get to jump into the skin of other people, and part of that is playing lots of different characters.
I loved my time as Lizzie so much, and I know I’ll always be proud and grateful that I got to be her, but I wouldn’t want to be her forever. I’m excited to create new characters and tell new stories.
DVG: Oh boy, that sounds like a daunting task. Luckily, I don’t think we have to top it per se. William Darcy and I will always have a very special relationship, and I am so honored to have had the opportunity to bring him to life, and in so doing hopefully illuminating his character in a new way for people. It’s truly something I will always remember for the rest of my life (or until I lose my memory).
But it’s all part of a process – I have played other roles before and since The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, some more memorable to me than others, and hope to do so for the rest of my days. Any time I get to work on a project that inspires me, I feel blessed.
Graphic by Camden Remington
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