Miss Austen's breakout star: meet Synnøve Karlsen

Synnøve Karlsen is 1 of London’s hottest talents, a erstwhile Screen International Star of Tomorrow who has been successful 2 Netflix series, Bodies and Medici; yet her “shouting astatine a TV prima successful the street” experiences inactive revolve astir her relation successful 2017 BBC intelligence thriller Clique, which she bagged astatine 19.

“Probably a mates of times a week, idiosyncratic volition travel up and say, ‘Oh my deity Holly! Hey Holly!’,” she tells me. “It’s bully that radical person a representation of the show.” In Clique, Karlsen played a pupil — Holly — who recovered herself drawn into the shadowy satellite of assemblage concealed societies.

Her caller relation could not beryllium much different, and should pull a antithetic level of thoroughfare shouter. She’s sharing the pb successful caller BBC1 bid Miss Austen, astir Cassandra, the older sister of novelist Jane.

The highly anticipated play skips betwixt years, with Keeley Hawes portraying Cassandra aboriginal successful life. It’s a reunion for the pair: Hawes played her parent successful 2022 Sky amusement The Midwich Cuckoos. “I’ve played her girl but we hadn’t shared a relation before,” says Karlsen.

The star, present 28, knew from a young property that she wanted to act. Born successful Glasgow to an American parent and half-Norwegian father, the household moved to London erstwhile Karlsen was 12.

“We utilized to spell to Norway each summer,” she says. “All my friends would spell to Italy oregon determination blistery and I was ever truly jealous. But present I’m rather arrogant of my Norwegian summers.” She besides has Norway to convey for her name. Does she get asked however to pronounce it a lot? “Oh god, each the time. All the time.” The close mode is “Sin-er-va”.

Her acting ambitions crystallised erstwhile she signed up to look successful Chekhov’s The Seagull astatine school. “I fundamentally stopped doing each my homework due to the fact that I had this play that was successful beforehand of maine and I conscionable studied it and studied it and studied it and became obsessed with it.”

She had a stint astatine Lamda and won a spot astatine Guildhall, but near erstwhile the portion successful Clique came along. The roles person kept coming since then. She starred successful Edgar Wright’s movie Last Night successful Soho and pursuing Miss Austen there’s an under-wraps Apple TV+ amusement she’s conscionable finished filming successful Prague.

She’s backmost astatine location successful northbound London for present — and attending a batch of shot matches. “I’m a large Arsenal fan,” she explains. “It’s precise large and fun, but it tin besides get rather intense. It’s a bully mode to shriek and fto retired your frustration.” A satellite distant from the bonnets of Miss Austen...

Miss Austen is disposable connected BBC iPlayer now