She perfected an Irish lilt for hit TV show Normal People and debuts a Deep South twang in new film, Where the Crawdads Sing.
But actress Daisy Edgar-Jones reckons Geordie and Welsh accents might be just too much for her to master.
The 24-year-old, who plays Kya in the new movie based on the bestselling book of the same name, says: “I do love accents. My mum is from Ireland and my dad is Scottish so I grew up in a house full of different accents.
“Maybe that helps, I don’t know, but I do seem to play a lot of characters with very different accents to mine.
“I’m not sure I could do a Geordie accent and Welsh would be tough but this one I really enjoyed because the North Carolina accent is so strong. The more neutral accents I find much harder.”
Daisy, who found fame alongside Paul Mescal in the acclaimed adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, Normal People, had an accent coach to help her become Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing. She also learned how to fish, pilot a boat and draw – just like her lonesome marsh girl character.
The movie, which was released in the UK earlier this week, was written by Delia Owens and produced by Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon, who Daisy is a “huge fan” of.
She says: “She was on set a lot and really hands-on. It was an honour to work with her.”
But filming in the bayous of the Deep South didn’t just involve close encounters with A-listers – Daisy also got up close and personal with insects and alligators.
“I stood on a [cockroach] in the shower which really freaked me out,” she admits. “But the wildlife was unbelievable.
“One day, I got to actually kayak through the bayou. It was just amazing. We came back at night and you could see an orange glow from the eyes of the alligators – thankfully from a distance!”
Daisy read Delia Owens’ coming-of-age novel before she even landed the role of Kya and couldn’t get enough of it.
“I loved her incredible way of writing straight away,” she says.
“The theme of isolation really stuck with me, especially with everything we have been through because of the pandemic.
“Being able to escape into Kya’s world and see how she finds comfort, solace and love through the connections she makes with the natural world around her was incredibly comforting and moving.
“I feel so lucky that I was given this chance to play her.”
Daisy did not let the pressure of living up to the beloved book get to her too much though.
She says: “Before we started filming, I spoke to Delia Owens about it and she just told me not to worry and to have fun. That’s what we tried to do.”
