by: Josh Newis-Smith
18 JAN 2018
Persistent, determined and an unassuming role model, meet Georgina Campbell, one of Britain’s brightest acting talents according to our Fashion and Celebrity Director, Josh Newis-Smith
Georgina Campbell is certainly an actress of our time. Beyond her indescribable talents Georgina is actually just the kind of girl you immediately want to make your best friend - for life. Grounded, furiously intelligent and seriously funny, Campbell’s teenage ambition to work in Topshop may have never materialized – leaving her working the tills at Peacocks - but this young Brit has blossomed into an over achiever.
The 25 year-old actress shot to fame after winning the BAFTA for Best Leading Actress in 2015 for her heartbreaking performance in Murdered by My Boyfriend. Her visible disbelief as she beat the likes of Sheridan Smith to grab the gong, soon made way for some seriously great roles including scene-stealing turns in Broadchurch.
WATCH: Georgina Campbell FROWing at the Topshop show during LFW
However, seriously good roles don’t come much better than starring in Charlie Brooker’s sartorial Netflix series, Black Mirror starring alongside Charlie Brooker in an online dating themed episode. But her biggest role is yet to hit screens, playing the female lead, Lyta Zod in Krypton - a big budget all American take on the planet that infamously gave birth to Superman.
As international fame beckons for our very own Superwoman we talk about how early BAFTA success can be a blessing as well as a curse and just how keen she was to be cast in Black Mirror. Plot spoiler, the term ‘Eager Beaver’ springs affectionately to mind…
Josh Newis-Smith: Did you have any reservations about signing up for Krypton given the intense fandom that will surround it?
Georgina Campbell: No, (laughs), not at all! I guess because it’s before Superman was even on the planet Krypton, we’re not really covering anything that’s been done before. You’ve seen Superman’s story being told before, like with Man Of Steal for instance but this is completely new, so with nothing to compare it to I felt far more relaxed about it. But as it went along, as it gets closer to it coming out, the pressure has built. I’m starting to realize that it’s quite a big deal, that there is a lot of people that are interested and have their own ideas of how it should be, so I guess we’ll see when it comes out!
JNS: From one fan obsessed franchise to another, 'Black Mirror'. Were you a mega fan already?
GC: I was such a big fan and I actually auditioned a couple of times for different episodes before so I’ve been really keen. Every time I heard that the auditions were starting again I would contact my agent saying, ‘oh my god is there anything that could suit me?’ So I had auditioned a few times and had not got anywhere so when the last one, Hang The DJ came about I told my agent, ‘this isn’t happening, I know it!’ But because each episode has different directors and a different cast I knew there could be a chance – persistence does pay off!
Netflix
JNS: Your episode, 'Hang The DJ' tackles the perils of Internet dating. What do you think we can learn from it in the real world?
GC: The episode shows that now we’re in an age, because of online dating, because of Tinder, that there are so many options and there’s an increase in the amount of people we feel that we can date. It shows that you should still be looking for that connection with someone and that you should allow yourself time to develop that connection rather than jumping to the next thing straight away.
JNS: How was starring alongside Joe Cole?
GC: He was so lovely as was the entire cast actually. We all got on really well and it was only a three-week shoot so it was really quick. So there was not enough time for there to be any real drama or for anything terrible to happen or for anyone to get bored of anyone. So it was a really lovely short, ‘little job!’
Photographer: Tom Leisham and Hair&Makeup: Sophie Crossley
JNS: You had to film a lot of sex scenes in 'Black Mirror' – how does one prepare for that?
GC: I don’t really think about filming sex scenes too much. I knew from the script that there was quite a lot of sex in it but the way it was written meant the scenes weren’t that extreme – they weren’t graphic - so I knew that it wasn’t going to be filmed in a really graphic way. But yes, it’s always quite strange! When we filmed those scenes it was so unsexy - as there were so many people in the room - so you just get on with it and no really cares that much.
JNS: You have never shied away from tough roles or difficult subject matter – what informs your decision process when accepting roles?
GC: That’s a difficult one. If you read the script and the character’s got something in it that you relate to then I am keen. But I really think a lot of the time my successful auditions are those where I really care about the characters. It’s pretty much mostly about the material and then who’s involved including who’s directing it and the other cast members.
David M. Benett/Getty Images
JNS: Some of your previous roles shine a light on very vulnerable women – do you ever feel any pressure to be a role model?
GC: I don’t know if I ever really think about being a role model. But I guess if you’re in the public eye and people are looking at what you do, you do want to be a good role model and you want to kind of be seen in a good light. But no I don’t really think about it too much because if I got wrapped up in that too much it would be crazy!
JNS: You were on the judging panel for the BAFTA rising star award, which is major! Who are you tipping for success?
GC: I am allowed to say now since it’s open to the public… Daniel Kaluuya is, I think, so fantastic and really deserves it this year- his career is just on the up. Get Out is one of the best films of last year and his performance is beautiful in it. So yeah, he’s my favorite to win.
JNS: As a BAFTA winner what advice would you give to the nominees?
GC: What’s funny is that most of them are way beyond me in their careers right now so I’m not sure what advice they’d specifically need from me! I guess just around the BAFTAs themselves and the award I would say just enjoy it, enjoy that moment, don’t wonder about it too much and about what it means or what comes next – just be in that moment!


JNS: Having won a BAFTA so early into your career how would you say you have dealt with early success?
GC: I think it was quite difficult. I was still really young, I had just finished university and being an actress was just an option, something I could possibly, maybe, do full time. To be honest it was quite overwhelming with all the expectations, the things that were said at the time and the assumption I was going to be getting role after role after role. Then it set me back a little bit when I realized that’s not quite what awards do. Awards do get you ‘that profile’ but then you have to do the rest of the work - it’s not just a case of now you don’t have to do anything. It definitely has had a major impact on my career; it has really affected where my career has gone and what I’m doing now so it all definitely relates back to the BAFTA.
'Black Mirror' is streaming globally on Netflix now and 'Krypton' follows later this year