English actress, Mecia Simson, best known for her role as Francesca Findabair (Queen of the elves) in the hugely popular NETFLIX fantasy drama series The Witcher, is no stranger to the acting world.
Being introduced to the industry at age 8, the actress has built up an impressive portfolio from Britain’s Next Top Model (2009), Brave New World to current role in The Witcher.
The Witcher follows the story of Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter, who struggle to find his place in a world where often people are more wicked than masters and beasts. The much anticipated third season is due to TX in two parts, this June and July.
Inspired by the likes of Meryl Streep, Joaquin Phoenix, Cate Blanchett and Margot Robbie – Mecia is making huge moves within the industry and is following in very similar footsteps.
We sat down with the actress to discuss her breakthrough moments, what it was like to win BNTM in 2009 and how she gets into character for her current starring role…
Watch the trailer for The Witcher Series 3…
Read the interview now…
Hi Mecia, Could you tell us a little bit about your introduction into the acting world?
My intro into the acting world was around age 8 when I begged my mum to allow me to go to stage school. So I joined a summer school back at home called PlymKids, I was a very shy child and only lasted that summer, but long enough to do my first play which was The Fiddler On The Roof. We actually have that performance hidden away somewhere on tape. I was playing two roles where I had to switch between a male and female character throughout the play and to make that transition clear I had to take my hat off every time I switched to the female character. But one time I forgot to take the hat off and you see the look of absolute horror on my face as I realised I still had the hat on, you see the whole thought process go through me where I thought if I slowly take it off nobody would notice, but nope, didn’t work, its there plain and clear on the tape for all to see. My family found it hilarious – me not so much haha.
Who and what inspires you in your work?
There are so many actors I love to watch and study but my favourite type of actor are character actors, I’m obsessed with Meryl Streep, Joaquin Phoenix, Cate Blanchett and Margot Robbie. When it comes to preparing for a role or an audition I always find myself drawing from real people and real stories. I like to get into the psychology of why people are the way they are. YouTube is my friend, theres endless videos and documentaries of people from different backgrounds that you can get lost into. I love it so much because I feel like I’m constantly learning about people and the world that we live in.
We first saw you back in 2009 winning Britain’s Next Top Model, how did that impact you and your career looking back now?
I feel like it impacted me in a very positive way because it gave me a confidence that I didn’t have before. But also because I moved away from home and entered a career that had no stability at such a young age it meant I really had to learn how to fend for myself, it was go hard or go home and going home was out of the question for me. Being a model has some similarities to acting on a business level in the fact that you get seen for so many castings but you’re constantly getting rejected, which can be really disheartening on a personal level but also on a financial level so I had to learn fast how to keep myself afloat and develop a tough skin. I think that is the reason I’m able to have a calm about myself now and to know that a lot of this is completely out of my control and to remember there are always opportunities on the horizon if I keep pushing myself.
How did you spend the years between your appearance on that and your emergence as an actor?
I spent a good few years building my career as a model being lucky enough to work with clients such as Stella McCartney, MaxFactor, Debenhams. I had an amazing time travelling the world and getting to work abroad as a model meeting lots of cool people, going to parties. But it wasn’t always as glamorous as it sounds because there would be so much space in-between booking jobs, I had to find a way to keep myself afloat so you’d always find me working in bars and restaurants alongside all of that. It got to a point where I felt like I wanted more in life and that’s when I started attending Acting Workshops, after a few years I wanted to take it seriously and eventually signed up to a three year acting degree.
Brave New World is incredible, how was it being a part of bringing such an iconic book to life?
It was such a privilege because it was my first job coming out of drama school and it was such a cool story to get my teeth stuck into. It’s always a blessing when you’re playing a role that you can research in the book that came before.
How did you first get the role on The Witcher?
I had to audition three times! In the beginning I had no idea what it was for I could tell that it was a fantasy by the writing. I love fantasy so I was super excited from the start. Three weeks later I got a callback and had to audition some more sides, still not knowing what it was. They really threw me in at the deep end too because they wanted to see my emotional range, so one of the scenes I had to prepare was a dummy version of Francesca finding her bloodied murdered baby. Such an awful scene and I had to really go there in that tiny casting room. I had to wait a few more weeks before being told that i’d made it to the chemistry read, by that time they revealed it was for The Witcher and that I’d be playing the Elven Queen. My chemistry read was with the super talented Tom Canton who plays Filavandrel, this was my first time acting opposite a professional actor so I was slightly nervous, but it was such amazing experience and I felt proud of myself for getting that far. The wait to find out the outcome of that audition was so painful!! The Time dragged so much, it was all I could think about.
The Witcher has a huge legacy with the video game. How does it feel to be involved in such a high-profile series so early into your acting career?
I still have to pinch myself. There are so many times when I’m on set with the other actors where we have a little freak out moment like ‘aaaaaah we’re in The Witcher’ and then we snap out of it and get back to work. It really is a dream come true and I’m constantly counting my blessings.
We love your performance – how did you get into the mindset of Francesca?
Thank you so much, that’s really nice to hear. We are so fortunate on the show to have the books at hand, so as soon as I found out I got the part I read all of the books and fully immersed myself into the world. Although there was plenty of information on Francesca in the way that she was and how she held herself, I gained more awareness of her mindset after learning about the elves as a race, throughout the books you get a real sense of who they are and how they have been treated. I think it was in learning about the poor treatment of the elves that I was really able to get into the mindset of Francesca because she really cares about her people and she would have been around for a-lot of the atrocities, the wounds of their history really cut her deep. So I had to really put myself in her position and imagine this was being done to myself and the people that I love.
How was it working with the amazing cast?
It has been such a lovely experience working with all of the cast. Everyone is so lovely and supportive of each other. They are all super talented and I’ve learned so much by working with them.
What can we expect from the upcoming third series of the show?
It’s a very strong season and I think people are going to love it. I wish I could give you some spoilers but we have to wait until the release in June.
What would your advice be to anyone wishing to get into the acting world?
Go for what you love, keep practicing and never stop learning.
Have you got a dream role?
My dream role is to play a character in any A24 film. I love the films they produce.
What else have you got coming this year?
I have things in the pipeline but for now my lips are sealed.
