May Garland

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From leader of the rebel Cloud Rider in Solo: A Star Wars Story to her period drama debut as Éponine Thénardier in the BBC’S Les Misérables, Erin Kellyman is continuing her guild of strong female characters with her new role starring as the resilient heroine in Netflix’s upcoming series Willow. 

A native of Tamworth, Erin Kellyman appeared on our Zoom meeting basking in the glow of a sunny day in Birmingham and the success of the much-anticipated new show Willow. Erin took time away from sword fight training to share with me how she got her big break in some of the most popular film franchises and her takeaways from playing empowered heroines. 

“I feel very fortunate to have played badass women who I would have looked up to as a kid,” says Erin whilst reflecting on the previous roles she’s acted in. Her latest role as the knight-in-training, Jade, in Willow is based on Ron Howard’s original film, set 20 years on from the original movie. Legendary sorcerer Willow leads an unlikely group of heroes on a dangerous quest facing their inner demons to come together to save their world. With mystical creatures and enchanting sets, Willow promises to be the ultimate form of escapism. “I think this series is going to change a lot of people’s lives,” enthused Erin. “I think people are going to really see themselves and be taken on this journey. I’m so in love with the project and Jade. It’s something very special.”

When speaking of this passion project, I couldn’t help but see Erin match the tenacious spirit of her character Jade. “I got the debrief of the character, what she was about, her story, what she stood for and I was like, oh my gosh, this is going to be so fun. It’s nice to play characters who are strong women. I love that with Willow there isn’t a spotlight on it either, you just accept that there are strong women in the show, it’s just how things are in this world.”

Empowering female figures also play an integral part in Erin’s life. From an early age, her mum was supportive of any of her interests: “My mum was great. If she had any sniff of something that we wanted to do, she’d be like, let’s 100% go for it.” These interests first sprouted in gymnastics and modelling but it was acting that really resonated for Erin. “At the age of 13, my mum put me into modelling. Although I didn’t like it, I remember an audition I went to that included improv for an advert. I came out and was so ecstatic. I said to my mum whatever that was I like it and I want to do it. From then on I felt most comfortable playing characters and pretending. I guess for me playing pretend meant I didn’t have to grow up straightaway.”

Alongside her parents, Erin describes the Nottingham Television Workshop she attended at the age of 14 as instrumental in developing her skills as an actor. “It was honestly the best experience I had and it was the best thing for me at that time. I think the people there are so talented and work so hard. The idea was always to get the most natural and realistic performance through breaking everything down to try and make it real, believable and relatable.”

Despite her early acting success, Erin admits she occasionally lacks self-belief when it comes to preparing for a new role. Her audition for the role of Enfys Nest in Solo: A Star Wars in particular gave the actor mixed feelings. “I really messed up my audition. I came out and was like, forget it. I’m never going to work again. So, when I found out that I got it, I was so shocked. It was my first film too.” Proving that things are rarely as bad as you think, Erin’s audition disaster turned triumph has put her on a path of success. “I was very overwhelmed when I got the news, I’d never been on a set like that before and working with Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke was very surreal. It just goes to show you can be your own worst critic. No matter how bad you think you’ve done, it’s never going to be as bad as that.”

Starring as another powerful female lead, Kellyman took on the role of Karli Morgenthau in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Solider series. “The production side of the Marvel shows is immense. I really loved that character, because in her head, she’s doing the right thing but ends up becoming so corrupt, and all consumed by it. It was a really interesting journey to play.” 

Kellyman likes to pick apart the characters she plays to understand their motives and decision-making. Delving into a character’s consciousness means that finishing a project and saying farewell to a character can sometimes be a challenge. “It’s sad knowing that I might not be able to play that character again but once you’ve worked on a project from start to finish there is also a sense of closure and excitement that it exists out there now,” says Erin. 

Through playing powerful characters in Star Wars, Marvel and now the fantastical series Willow, Erin’s preparation for these roles has involved channeling a warrior mentality during her sword fighting lessons. “I love with this job that you’re learning new things alongside challenging yourself as an actor. It was interesting learning how to fight on camera and which angles to use to make it look believable. That was quite helpful from other characters; although, my training for Willow was probably the most intense I’ve done for a role. We had two hours of stunt training, two hours of personal training, and two hours of horse riding every day for a month, which was insane. I was so ripped. It also meant that we could pick up fight routines quite quickly.” Although, on camera Kellyman plays her combat roles convincingly, she admits “if you were to put me in a real fight, there’s no way I’d survive”.

Erin’s complex, choregraphed fight sequences in action-packed projects are starting to become second nature; however, she also proves that she’s not limited to one movie genre. Kellyman demonstrates her versatility as an actor in her period drama debut, starring as Éponine Thénardier in the BBC series Les Misérables. Erin admits that after taking on projects set in fantastical realms, alternate realities and dystopian worlds, she did not consider travelling back to the past with her acting. Born from a multiracial family, Erin also reveals that growing up watching TV, she noticed a lack of diversity in period dramas. “From watching TV growing up and seeing period dramas, there weren’t many people of colour, so it wasn’t even on my radar. But it’s great to see more and more people of colour acting in period pieces. I’ve honestly loved playing Éponine so much. From seeing Les Misérables for the first time, I’ve always wanted to play that character but I never thought it would happen because I can’t sing. When the audition came for this I thought I have to get this!”

Erin enjoys breaking the mould with her acting and has more exciting projects to follow including a role in Alan Friel’s directional debut and sci-fi thriller Woken, as well as a new film in the making. We can’t wait to see what she does next.