Women, Power!

Time to tune in to some empowered women characters. On your watch list: The Witcher and Sex Education which are both on Netflix.

- Lina Esa; Aina Nur Sarah

If somebody ever told you that adapted films or series are a far cry from te books, Netflix ’s The Witcher is a total gamechanger. You’ll be following Henry Cavill (who plays Geralt) running around the woods (sometimes shirtless...) and killing monsters. There are also two very important women in his life — Princess Ciri (Freya Allan) and the powerful sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra). We got a chance to chat with the two main ladies and spoke about their characters, how they got bitten by the acting bug and female empowerment.

Can you give us a little background about yourselves?

Freya: When I was 11, there was a touring ballet company doing an interpretation of Rapunzel. That was like my first ever audition and I got in. That was when I got the bug for it. When I was 14, I sent out emails and got an agent by myself. From there, I just went through auditions and made sure I work hard.

Anya: I started out in musical theatre, really. That was what my school offered. Acting really helped with my confidence. After deciding that acting was my thing, I did a year at LAMDA and then three years at Guildhall . I ’ve got the opportunity to learn for eight months on the job. It has been an amazing experience.

How does it feel to be Ciri and Yennefer in the age of women empowerment?

Freya: Playing Ciri, I got to explore a different way of showing a kind of strength in the fact that you very much see her strength through how vulnerable she is and how she chooses to fight despite the horrific things she goes through. You get to see her strength through how gentle she is. She has to have a certain kindness to be able to put herself in other people’s shoes despite the fact that they might have views that may be opposing to her own.