EMMA interview with Anya Taylor-Joy & Johnny Flynn: "A kiss is a big deal"

So, congratulations on the movie. Thank you very much. I just kind of wanted to know, are you fans of Jane Austen? Did you know the story beforehand? And what do you think the appeal is of Jane Austen after kind of 200 years? I had read it when I was 11, and I really think it's a book that merits rereading because every single time you go through it, you find something different, and it kind of just, you know, shouts her brilliance, really. And as an actor, having the opportunity to say those witty lines and to get to play around with them, it's a real gift. Cool. It seemed like such a kind of fun character to play. So, was that accurate? What was your kind of favourite part about playing this role? I mean, one part is too hard. I can tell you my least favourite part about it. Austen was very adamant that I was not to be touched ever. So, and I'm Latin, so I like hugging people a lot, and anytime someone would try and give me a hug, I'd scream, don't touch her! So, by the end of it, it was nice to be able to hug people again. The costumes also are incredible in this. How much did you kind of enjoy getting into character? How much did they help you getting into the character? So much. What's your favourite look? Ooh. There's a few. There's some that I love for sentimental reasons, like I love the proposal dress. And then there are other ones that are just like absurd. I mean, the amount of pep talks I had to give myself to be able to walk out in some of those bonnets and be like, I own this hat, it does not own me. But no, our costume designer, Alexandra Byrne, is so fabulous, and she really tells a story through the costumes, and so it was a different way of acting altogether, because Emma's quite vain, and so if a coat has a really particular back, you know, she's delivering scenes this way, so you can really admire the glory of it. So that was really fun. And so Johnny had some fun looks as well. How did you? He did, yeah. I like your boots. The boots were good. Your boots are the ones I wanted to keep. The boots were hard to get off. I had to basically leverage against somebody's bum while they pulled them between their legs, which was fun. Yeah, and they were really painful as well. The first day I wore them, I was horse riding, and I couldn't squeeze. You have to be able to squeeze the side of the horse to get it to move forward and things like that, and I couldn't do that, because it was, like, bruising. Oh, no. Anyway, yeah, it was a lot of dressing up, which just helps to be in that world and in that character and to have their social status, and it, you know, and also there's a lot of rules in this period, and, you know, you can't touch people. You can't, you know, there's not, you know, a kiss is a big deal. A really big deal. And holding hands is a big deal, so, you know, it just helped with all of that sense of the world.