Move over, Bridgerton – there's a new period drama in town, and this one promises to combine history with "fantastical" adventure.
Set in the 19th century, Washington Black follows a young boy's extraordinary journey from enslavement to freedom, invention and self-discovery.
Starring Edward Bluemel (Sex Education, My Lady Jane) and Iola Evans (The 100, Vera) – alongside Sterling K. Brown (Paradise) and Ernest Kingsley Jr. (The Sandman) – the new Disney+ series is based on Esi Edugyan's acclaimed novel and offers a powerful new perspective on the period drama genre.
Speaking exclusively to HELLO!, Edward and Iola (who play Billy and Tanna) opened up about their favourite on-set memories, stealing props and why this isn't your typical period piece.
They also shared their dream roles, how they found comfort while filming far from home and the responsibility of telling stories that are too often left untold.
Congratulations on the show! What drew you to your roles in Washington Black?
Iola: Well, I originally went out for a different show that Selwyn [Seyfu Hinds], the creator, was making. When that didn't work out, he said that this was coming up and so it went on from there.
I was really excited to be involved in something he was doing. And then I read the book, I loved the book, and then we went from there.
Edward: Billy was a character that came across my desk who just seemed so interesting and nuanced and fun.
He starts as one thing and becomes another – he has a real journey, which is really lovely for a character that's more of a supporting role.
And I knew he was going to get to wear some really fun clothes – and that's ultimately what I'm in this for!
How does Washington Black differ from other period dramas?
Iola: Probably that it's about slavery and it's from an enslaved person's perspective.
I think, at least in mainstream cinema, depictions of slavery have been more from the white oppressors' gaze, which means there has been a disproportionate amount of seeing black suffering on screen, which can be further dehumanising.
So many stories are lost from that time period because they weren't written down, so we only have a narrow picture. This feels different to do a period piece but from an enslaved person's perspective – we need more of those.
Edward: Even though it's a period drama, there's a really nice bumping of genres between this story of a slave who's escaping, but also mixed in is an almost fantastical, beautiful story of an inventor.
It feels like there's an element, not quite of fantasy to it, but a really magical side to it. And I think that combination is what makes it really unique – and why the book was unique as well.
Washington Black is based on the book by Esi Edugyan – what's one fictional character you'd love to play next and why?
Iola: My first thought was Ellie from Jacqueline Wilson's book Girls in Love, but I think I'm a bit too old! My second thought was Lisa Simpson. So probably either of those.
Edward: You'd be great at both of them. I'm actually too old for them as well, but I want to play any character from Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Any of them – just as long as I was in it somewhere. But again, I think I'm like, 10 years too old… We'll make it work.
Your characters both grapple with the tension between who they truly are and who the world expects them to be. Has that ever been something you've felt in your own life or career?
Iola: Yeah, it's a life's work, isn't it really?
You try to find your authentic self as it evolves, depending on what you do, who you're around, and specifically some of the challenges and privileges that come with being a racially-ambiguous-but-white-passing person.
A lot of this stuff was important to me, to explore challenging all of these things.
Edward: I think it was actually a really nice opportunity for me to unravel that sort of thing when it might not be as prevalent in my life personally.
But to read the script and understand what lots of the characters were going through – what Billy was going through – and really get my teeth into something that I think is a really interesting and important tussle inside of someone.
There are a lot of themes of home and coming home in the show – what's something that takes you back home when you're away filming?
Edward: Sometimes I take tea with me. I'll take it if I'm going to America – or Canada for this. I think tea is the thing that's pretty hard to come by in its true British form.
But when I was in Halifax, in Nova Scotia, I went to a shop and they had Marmite there – but it was $25 for one of the small jars! So sadly, I decided I wasn't going to pay $25 for marmite. I was going to wait for that when I got home – I wasn't that homesick!
Iola: I like tea as well – something kind of soothing, warming and hydrating is good.
Tanna has a connection to water, and you see in the show that water is a place she goes to recentre, to take her back to her home, because she grew up in the Solomon Islands, so it takes her back to her mum.
I [resonate] with that – like, whether it's a shower or a bath or being in water, it just feels good as a reset.
Do you have any favourite costumes or props that you took home with you?
Iola: The golden binoculars! They were great.
Edward: I would have liked to have taken home Tanna's piano, but they wouldn't let me take it on the plane. It was a huge, ornate, beautiful piano, but they wouldn't let me take it in my hand luggage, sadly…
Did you have a favourite day on set?
Edward: We had a really lovely day – I've got a photo of us on a bench in front of a lake. It was later on in filming and I feel like we were all really well settled and had become friends.
It just happened to be a very beautiful day, and I remember feeling very privileged to be there.
Iola: Yeah, and it was nice developing our characters' relationship. Because this is something new that the series is bringing. At a glance, it seems like Tanna would never go for wealthy businessman Billy McGee, who's stuck up – it's an arranged marriage.
But they find some kind of connection, for sure, and you see something developing there. So that was interesting to explore – what they maybe do have in common.
Washington Black is available to stream on Disney+ now