The new Disney+ series Renegade Nell features a cast of prominent British actors, led by Derry Girls actress Louisa Harland.
Harland stars alongside the likes of Ted Lasso‘s Nick Mohammed and stalwarts Joely Richardson and Adrian Lester.
But, behind the scenes, there was a strong Australian influence in director Amanda Brotchie.
Watch the video above.
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The Melbourne director, known for Picnic at Hanging Rock among others, helmed a third of the Sally Wainwright series – working with the cast both in the UK and over zoom.
“When I filmed with Amanda she was on set for most of it, but then we had to do some pick-ups and Amanda was on Zoom like in the middle of the night in Australia, and occasionally we’d just have to pause because she’s like, ‘Something just ran across the room’,” Mohammed tells 9Honey Celebrity, adding an Australian accent for emphasis.
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“And there’s like a snake had appeared and it was so mad …I was like, ‘Oh, just get off the Zoom, go and sort it out.’ I was terrified.”
Harland, whose character Nell puts on many varied accents throughout the series, also lovingly imitated Brotchie’s accent.
“If she didn’t like a take, she’d be like ‘naur’,” Harland jokes.
She added that her Australian accent – which sadly doesn’t get a run in the series – “was better at the time when I was bingeing Married At First Sight Australia”.
Renegade Nell follows wanted highway robber Nelly Jackson (played by Harland), who gets a little magical help in battle from fairy-like sprite Billy Blind (played by Mohammed) as she tries to avenge her father’s death, after a series of events turn her into a wanted woman.
Joining Nell for the ride is Rasselas, played by Enyi Okoronkwo, who also decided to get in on the accent action on-set, though Brotchie wasn’t as convinced.
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“I do a Scottish accent at one point and no-one asked me if I could do one,” he tells 9Honey Celebrity in London.
“We didn’t really have that time to rehearse as well, and the scene just started and I went into the deepest Scottish accent.
“It was great to see Louise’s face on the other side of the camera and she was like, ‘what?!’
“And it was great because Amanda, who was the director, she’s such a lovely, gentle – she runs the set with an iron fist whilst being so gentle and lovely – and she came over to me, she was like, ‘Well, maybe we tone it down a little’,” he adds, also with his impression of an Australian accent.
For Harland and Mohammed who have a huge fan following from their previous series’ Derry Girls and Ted Lasso, respectively, they both say part of the appeal of this period piece for them was to show fans a different side of them.
“Every element of the show was so appealing to me and I was so desperate to be involved,” Harland admits to 9Honey Celebrity.
“It’s a big change and a big challenge.”
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Mohammed agrees, saying: “It’s always nice to be challenged and do something different, sort of flex different sort of muscles, I guess, and try something new.
“It’s really fun and yeah, a big departure.”
Renegade Nell is streaming on Disney+ now.
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