Appropriately enough for a globetrotting show like Hanna, the virtual press junket included representatives from outlets across the world. Sci-Fi Bulletin was part of a group including journalists from Ireland, India, France, Italy and Brazil and chatted on Zoom with the series’ stars Esmé Creed-Miles and Yasmin Monet Prince, who play Hanna and Clara…

Previously Esmé you said that Hanna enabled you to challenge societal norms about gender and sexuality. Is that true for both of you and your characters?

Esmé Creed-Miles: I think that, when I was saying that I was speaking more in reference to having grown up, as she did in season 1, without the influence of the male gaze being thrust in her face throughout her life. I think that really made an impact on who she was as a character. She’s much more neutral and she doesn’t gender herself so much; I wish I had that (laughs). Overly insecure as a result of seeing models and people all the time and just generally the male gaze. So that was what I was referencing, talking about season 1.

But I think with regard to season 2, I think that watching all of these girls becoming themselves, becoming friends, it’s really wonderful to see those relationships play out. I think it’s just fantastic entertainment.

The way teenagers are portrayed has evolved immensely over the past decade or so and the show is moving more in that direction. What do you feel about that?

Esmé: Speaking to my character, I think that she’s so unique that… and actually all the young girls are so unique, so I think it’s difficult to make a comparison between them and your regular teenage girl because they really aren’t and they’ve grown up in an environment that’s sort of unimaginable.

The Meadows, I think is a kind of example of what stereotypes mean and what they’re being exploited for, as opposed to an accurate portrayal of what teenagers are like.

Yasmin Monet Prince: Yes, I don’t think you really think about the age either, I think it’s all about the mission. With these girls, you don’t look at them and think that they’re teenagers to be honest.

Esmé: Yes, 100%. You’re not watching it like, oh, this is some teen drama.

Obviously these are highly demanding roles in terms of physicality – so what’s the hardest thing you’ve done on set? Where you were like, “Oh my God, that was tough to grind out? I didn’t think I was capable of that?”

Yasmin: I think the hardest one for me was the first scene that I have in episode 1. With a lot of the kicks you’ve got to do a lot of high kicks but with a lot of force – you can’t just be flimsy with it . So that was a challenge but I got there in the end.

Esmé: For me, running. You know, she’s always [running]..and you have to do it over and over again, take after take, I hate that.

Who likes running? Nobody likes running.

Esmé: Nobody likes running! (laughs) Anyone who says they do, they’re lying.

Esmé, Dermot [Mulroney] just said you were enigmatic and fascinating on the set. How was working with the new faces on the show?

Esmé: How very nice of him. Do you know what, I loved, loved working with them, especially Yasmin and Mireille because I didn’t really get to work with Mireille that much in season 1.

It’s really great to work with people who are actually good at what they do. If you’re an actor and you’re trying to do a scene and the other person is really hammy or not quite bringing it, it’s harder to your job because you’re having to suspend your disbelief that much more. So when you’re working with Mireille or Yas, and I had a lot of scenes with them, the chemistry is so great, it’s really fun to actually enjoy your work like that. They weren’t necessarily new faces because they were in season 1 but I was working with them a lot more.

Yasmin, what a heart-breaking performance in season 2. You convey so much in your eyes.

Yasmin: Thank you so much.

Do you have a favourite moment or scene to shoot together?

Yasmin: I really like our scene that we did on the last day where we were in the arena and Hanna comes to Clara. You definitely see that caring relationship again; you see that Hanna is like, not like a mum but she’s here to protect Clara and you’re going to do what she says and you know it’s right and that’s what you should follow. That was a really beautiful scene to shoot because it was really natural and Esmé’s amazing.

Esmé: I wasn’t amazing that day. Do you remember? I forgot all my lines over and over again. It happens sometimes, you just have a brain meltdown so embarrassing. But the scene is good yes. (laughs) I channelled out the frustration into my performance.

Yasmin: Yes (laughs)

Esmé: I was really crying.

I wonder if you shared some of the confusion about identity as teenagers, that your characters have to live through? And what did you bring of your own personality to your character?

Yasmin: I think me and Clara are completely different. Clara’s very confused with who she is because she has no idea who she is, where she comes from. It’s a kind of clean slate, she has no idea. What is her real last name? She doesn’t know.

With me, personally, growing up I think I’ve always known. I’ve had a very strong relationship with my parents as well, so that’s had an impact on who I am as a person and my character. I’ll never change.

I think, me personally, I’m trying to figure out who I am. You figure out stuff that you want to do and things that you’re interested in but I guess as a person I’ve always been quite strong on where I come from and who I am as a person. So, that’s the difference between me and Clara.

Esmé: I think I relate to this feeling of absolute overwhelm within the world and just feeling totally dissociated from everyone. I think that’s something that a lot of people can relate to.

Your characters evolved from season 1 to season 2, how interesting was it for you to come on the sets with that evolution and with that new interest in the story? Because it goes beyond the story of the original film now.

Yasmin: I think, for my character it’s a complete change so everyday was different. It’s a blank slate, there was nothing to go back to. So, I was well into the scene and just played what she wants, to be honest and see how her personality comes from there.

Esmé: For me, getting to play Hanna, really getting to know her as a character throughout season 1, coming back to season 2 it feels like putting on a really comfortable pair of shoes. It’s just a joy and a privilege to be able to continue evolving her and her story.

Is there a moment that you feel this season you’ll always remember?

Yasmin: I think what will stick with me are the people of the show. I definitely created a lot of connections with cast and crew. Especially compared to [my time on] season 1, season 2 is a lot more community. I think because I’m there more I got to know everyone better but that’s something that will definitely stick with me.

Esmé: Yes, I’d like to second that. And something I think I’ll take away is working with Mireille, working with Yasmin and working with Eva [Husson], the director [on the first three episodes], just some really fantastic characters.

Coming into the second season what challenges were you expecting and what challenges did you actually encounter? Were there things that you weren’t expecting to face when you went into the new year?

Yasmin: I would say the challenge I expected was yes the physicality of it, how much work I would have to put in, being able to keep up, not getting tired through the takes. I didn’t expect how emotional my character would be. I didn’t expect that, it just came on the day and how I played off on the scene with whoever I was with. So that was unexpected for me.

Esmé: Yes, I think working in television, you have a very limited time to get your performance done and done well. You have such a huge amount to shoot in such a short space of time. So, for me that’s probably the biggest challenge of working on this show. It puts pressure on you but again, it makes it worth it and a lot easier when you’re working with other talented individuals and when you have a great support network, which is the crew and the cast.

Yasmin, back in season 1 did you know Clara would have a bigger role in season 2 or was it news to you?

Yasmin: It definitely was suggested that she would have more of a storyline I didn’t know how much more – but that was what was exciting.

Did you know the plot or did you know nothing?

Yasmin: I wasn’t given the plot at all.

What did you like best about working with each other?

Yasmin: I think how natural it was. I think it was very natural and Esmé is so talented at what she does. For me personally watching her, she knows what she wants and it’s really inspiring to watch and I learn a lot from that. I think that was what was really great about working with Esmé.

Esmé: That’s really nice, thank you. Yasmin’s so funny. ’ve never once seen you say something that you didn’t mean.

Yasmin: Because I can’t lie.

Esmé: If something’s annoying her, she has this face that’s just like stone. If someone asks her to do something she doesn’t want to do, she won’t be like ‘Oh sorry, I can’t..’ she’ll be like ‘No. Not doing it.’ You know, she is who she is and I love that because it’s just so genuine. I think it’s a fantastic quality to have. Just to be real.

Does it make a difference when there is a woman director behind the camera, especially when telling a story about young women?

Esmé: I think it’s really fantastic. Because the story is written by David [Farr], who’s a man, I think it’s necessary to have a woman come on board and bring that story to life. I don’t think there’s a huge difference between working with men and women as a director; it depends more on what the story is. So, if it’s a female-led story about a female experience, it helps to have a woman because they know what they’re talking about and they can empathise with your point of view. But I don’t think that discriminates against men in general.

Yasmin: Exactly what Esmé said. I think also as well, if you were to say the differences, what women talk about together and just expressing and being more open about things that women go through: it’s easier when there is a woman behind the camera.

Is there a scene that you shot either together or with one of the other actors that you were really looking forward to seeing how it looked on camera, as opposed to how it felt in the actual experience?

Esmé: The scene that we shot in the back of the truck, such a sick scene. It was hot in that truck and also, for the record, Mireille does every single one of her stunts in that. Every single one. She’s amazing and lovely to watch.

Yasmin: I think because I know how you guys shot it, it was really interesting to see it put together. So that was really cool.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I think I have to go with Esmé’s one: that was really sick. That was really cool because I actually saw how they put everything together.

 

HANNA Season 2 launches on Prime Video today