When I think back to the 1995 classic version of Sense and Sensibility, directed by Ang Lee, I always think fondly of the youngest Miss Dashwood, Margaret. The plucky and tomboyish little sister to Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson’s characters was charmingly played by Myriam François, who joined HELLO! to reflect on her time making the beloved adaptation ahead of the new version hitting cinemas.
© Alamy Stock PhotoStarring alongside Hollywood greats, sword fighting with Hugh Grant and quizzing Alan Rickman, Myriam held her own alongside the A-list cast - and now, 31 years on, the hugely successful presenter of the award winning YT show The Tea with Myriam Francois discussed the movie’s legacy, Emma’s mentorship and shared her mixed opinion on the new adaptation…
On Emma Thompson’s mentorship
Myriam was full of praise for Nanny McPhee star Emma , who won two Oscars for both writing and starring in the production.
“It's such an overused word to say somebody's an inspirational person, but in almost any interaction with Emma, you will walk away with something to learn or to think about,” she said, fondly.
“What was amazing was that she and I stayed in touch for many years after that, and she continued to be somebody who was very supportive without being pushy about the route that you needed to take. I haven't stayed in the industry for a variety of reasons, and she was somebody that I could talk fairly openly with about the challenges that I saw as a young woman.
“There's a huge transition when you go from a child actress to a young woman actress, the expectations of you, and the types of roles that people are sending your way. I really, really struggled with the sexualisation and objectification... I'm a 15-year-old girl, I've barely kissed a boy, and I'm just like, ‘Oh my god, why do I have to do this?’ It was really important to have [Emma], who was like, ‘You don't. You don't have to do this. It's fine, you don't have to do this.’”
On Kate Winslet’s struggles during the production
The star also spoke poignantly about learning from Kate, who was only seven years older than her at the time of filming, but struggling with her partner Stephen Tredre’s terminal illness. Stephen tragically passed away in 1997, and Kate ultimately opted out of the premiere of the movie to spend time with him.
© Getty Images“I'll always remember when we had the royal premiere of Sense and Sensibility, Kate's partner at the time was really sick and he was actually dying of cancer,” Myriam explained. “She was debating whether to attend the premiere because he was dying. Her biggest film, her biggest role to date - I knew how much it meant to her - and she decided not to attend because she wanted to be with him.
“That stayed with me as a young girl about priorities and learning to keep things in perspective. That yes, it's a royal premiere, yes, Prince Charles is there, yes, it's the biggest movie of your entire career, but you know what's more important? The people who matter to you.”
Myriam revealed that Kate described her as a “little sister” during filming, but noted that they were from “different worlds”, and that Kate was struggling with the pressures of her public image during filming.
© Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag“Kate fainted on set from not eating because of pressure from studios around her weight,” Myriam explained. “As a 12-year-old, I was watching her go through that thinking, "Oh my god." I would run into Emma at any point and be like, "Oh, maybe I shouldn't eat," and she'd stuff a Jaffa Cake in my mouth and literally be like, "Shut up, eat the cake," in the kindest way.”
On her famous co-stars
“I initially found Alan [Rickman] very intimidating because he steps into a room and he is the room. The gravitas that he brings to any scene, but he always married that with a jovial, almost childlike humour, a very sardonic humour. He was somebody I warmed to a bit more gradually because I initially just thought,’Oh my god.’ Even more so than Hugh Grant. Hugh was probably for my generation at the time more famous, but Alan was very famous, whereas Hugh was the man of the moment at the time. Hugh was a much lighter energy.
© PA Images via Getty Images“We did have a blast. I have such fond memories of sparring with Hugh. I saw Hugh a few times after that because he lived in the same neighborhood where my school was, so I'd bump into him here and there, which was hilarious.”
The Notting Hill star has described himself as “very grumpy” while making Sense and Sensibility, but did this match up to Myriam’s recollections?
© Alamy Stock Photo“I mean, yes, but in the Hugh Grant way,” she laughed.
“Grumpy, but funny. As a kid, you just understood that that was his persona. I remember doing the sword fighting scene with him in the garden, and he was just like, "You better get the target right." And I was like, "Oh yeah, actually the implications of this going wrong are quite serious, I need to make sure I don't aim too low."
On working with Ang Lee
Calling Ang Lee’s 1995 version an “incredible” piece of work, Myriam revealed that she landed the role thanks to the state of her fingernails while auditioning.
“I was a tomboy, I used to bite my nails, and I remember going into one of the auditions. I came down the stairs after, and Ang Lee, the director, opened the door and called me back,” she recalled. “He said, "Come back for a sec, I need to see your nails." I showed him my hands, and my mum gave me this look like, "That's it, you're done, this is going to be the end of the process," because I had chewed them down to the bone. In the end, I remember him telling me that it actually confirmed for him that I was the type of girl that would climb trees.”
© Alamy Stock PhotoThe CEO of MPWR productions has fond memories of the director, who was known for being hilariously blunt with the cast, telling Kate that she would “get better” after the first day, asking Emma to “look younger” and offending Hugh Grant after calling a scene “very boring”.
“I found him to be direct, but I'm also a super direct person, so maybe I don't take directness as offensively,” Myriam explained. “It's a lot to do with personality types. There was nothing that he said that offended me personally, but I can understand as somebody who is very direct why sometimes that can be hurtful.”
“For me, it was helpful. This was my first film, and Ang gave very clear instructions on what he wanted. I think that just worked very well for me. I didn't even know that you didn't look at the camera.”
On the new Sense and Sensibility
Upon being asked about the new version of the Austen classic starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Myriam candidly shared her thoughts on the repetition of Hollywood. Although keen not to “pooh pooh” the new version, saying: “I know for these actresses involved it's such a career-defining moment, so I really wish them every success with it,” she added: “More broadly [speaking] - because I haven't seen the film - it’s a real indication of the death of imagination within Hollywood currently. It's not just Sense and Sensibility, but so many remakes.
© Alex Bailey“I saw Moana was being remade with human actors. We did not need that story! We had the story, it was fabulous, now give new writers and storytellers opportunities to give us new stories.
“As much as I love an adaptation, there are other Austen stories, there are other period pieces. From my perspective, looking at an industry that has sought to cut its screenwriters, that is trying to replace a lot of them with AI, that is convinced that you can just have a formula and apply it and audiences will credulously just continue paying to watch these things, I'm just anxious and desirous to see new talents, new writers, new stories that speak to our moment and allow new Austens to emerge.
© Courtesy of Focus Features“Austen captured the real challenges of her era in incredible stories that continue to resonate. We're going through such a profoundly challenging period in our current era, and where are the stories that reflect that? Instead, we're sort of left with a lot of pseudo-nostalgia and B-rate versions of classic films. Give us some fresh stuff!”
She continued: “That to me is Austen's genius - she found a way to take us into the world of her era in a way that made us all feel what those challenges were like… I feel like there's limited amounts of budgets and films that get made, and I just really hope that we can start making films that tell the stories of the Austens and sensibilities of today.”
© Courtesy of Focus FeaturesOn why she stepped away from Hollywood
Coming of age in Hollywood in the early Noughties was rife with challenges for Myriam, who stepped away from acting a few years after the Jane Austen classic due to her discomfort about expectations of her as a young woman in the industry.
“What happened more was I was in an industry where, partly down to how I present as well, I was getting a lot of auditions where it was like, "Walk over, bend over, look over your shoulder." I was like, "I know what this is, and no." I'm also quite a cerebral person, so I really like to engage with ideas. I'm not very good at just being told what to do, which is not ideal if you want to be an actor.
“I really, really hope [the process is different now], because I have stories! I look at the women who came up in the same era as me, and they have so many stories they've talked about publicly a lot. I think a lot about Megan Fox's stories of being a 17-year-old in Transformers, Michael Bay telling her to bend over - literally those were the audition lines.
“I'm just not very compliant as a person; I'm not a compliant person in general, and that was the case already when I was 15. So I was walking into auditions and just being like, "Yeah, that's kind of sexist, I don't think you should do that," and they're just like, "We didn't ask for your opinion." Hopefully, post-#MeToo, things have changed, but it's a tough industry.”
