With a repertoire of acclaimed films and shows under her belt, Emily Carey has stepped in the shoes of many characters. She’s played the thrill-seeking Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, portrayed a young Alicent Hightower in the GOT spinoff House of the Dragon, and most recently depicted the social pariah but incredibly clever teen, Harriet Manners in Netflix’s Geek Girl.
But what’s special about the latest coming-of-age drama is that it tackles a rather grave subject that we barely get to see on-screen these days.
Emily Carey-Led Geek Girl Confronts An Imperative Matter
The glamorous world of teenagers in many coming-of-age films and series depicts life through a rose-tinted glass, coveted by many but that which exists solely in the realm of fiction. Geek Girl, however, refrains from veiling reality behind a tantalizing facade and instead acknowledges quite an important issue – humans aren’t flawless.
The Netflix show – which is based on Holly Smale’s Geek Girl series – stars Emily Carey as the titular ‘geek’ Harriet Manners, a conscientious student but woefully unpopular girl who gets mired in the uncharted territory of fashion and modeling.
Speaking to BBC about her experience, Carey, 21, appreciated the show for making her feel truly “seen.” Smale, the author, remarked that it was a conscious choice on her part to make the on-screen version of the YA novel stand out from other teen dramas. What she strove to depict was a realistic rendition of life, not a quixotic, polished version of it.
“We’re all flawed in multiple ways and for me, regardless of what character I’m writing, it’s really important to show people react in ways they regret later or say things they wish they hadn’t said. That’s human and it’s really important for teens to know they’re allowed to be imperfect, they’re allowed to be unlikeable sometimes.”
It’s safe to say she was successful in transcribing her vision on the screen.
Playing Harriet Manners “Healed” Emily Carey’s Inner Child
Much like the show’s protagonist who is bullied by her peers for being a diligent student, which in turn, earns her the ‘geek’ label, Carey too, had undergone a similar experience during her school days.
“I was bullied and teased for similar reasons to Harriet in the show, for wanting to try hard in school and get good exam results,” the Anastasia star confessed. But as an adult who had been a teenager at one point, Carey has gained a much broader perspective on things, which helps her understand the idiosyncracies of teens.
It felt comforting and healing to my inner child to play Harriet.
Interestingly enough, the House of the Dragon star “loved” Smale’s Geek Girl series as a child and picked up the first novel when she was only 10-11 years old. Now, after all this time, she got to play the character in the adaptation on-screen, almost as if it was fated.
Geek Girl is available for streaming on Netflix.
