Actress Teresa Palmer, who plays Diana in A Discovery of Witches, says that the show has a great message for everyone as it is all about celebrating who you are. By Team Viva
It’s such a dynamic character. I have fallen in love with her. You will see her go on a beautiful journey throughout the show. She is a historian and a highly intellectual woman. Diana is also an incredibly powerful witch. When I was first introduced with the character, she was running away from her true self. As the series progresses, she starts to embrace herself and embody her own spirit. She grows so much as the show moves ahead. She becomes proud of being a witch and feels empowered to have special powers. The show has a great message for everyone as it is all about celebrating who you are. That is what fascinated me about the show.
Diana has had a traumatic childhood. She was raised by her aunts Sarah and Em because her parents were killed. They were both very powerful witches. Diana’s mother descended from the Bridget Bishop, one of the first witches who was hung following the Salem Witch Trials, so her roots run very deep. She denies the powers associated with her bloodline because she was led to believe her parents were killed by ignorant humans who were afraid of witches. So naturally she is afraid to show any signs of being one to the outside world and that’s why she is so focused on her studies; it’s the one thing that keeps her grounded to a human-like quality and everything else is too scary for her.
When I first walked into the Bodleian Library set, it took my breath away. It felt like I was present in real there. The attention of the minutest detail that our designer James North has is very impressive. I have never seen a production like this. Being an actor, a set that feels so real plays a major role. It makes one’s job so much easier. I can recall one instance — I was trying to hush everyone on the set. I thought, ‘this is an actual library’. It was so easy to be in the skin of this character and to believe that I had spent every day in this library.
I have been a part of a lot of action films, so I have done so many stunts in the past. I was in a film called Number Four, where I was either flipping upside down on wires or training with a stunt team for three months of a shoot. I was all excited to be up there and flipping around. I love being physical with a role.
There is something between Diana and Matthew that is otherworldly. It is in the subconscious. They are supposed to be together. She knows immediately that he is a vampire. The first few meetings between them are probably my favourite. There is a funny dynamic between them, where he annoys her and enjoys it so much. He is charismatic and handsome but there is something she can’t explain in words. She is drawn towards him completely; as if they are two magnets. It’s that rare quality that you find in your soulmate. They are like twin flames that are meant to be together.
Lindsay’s character Ysabeau, is a tough one. She is very cold at the start, the mother-in-law from hell. She is not accepting of Diana at all. But Lindsay is a dreamboat. I love her. She is so elegant, regal and very committed to her craft. I instantly felt comfortable with her. I loved being around her, it’s so funny because it is such a polar opposite experience to that of Diana.
Malin is so brilliant as Satu. The intensity that comes through her eyes and just the way she is completely into the character is commendable. I don’t think Satu is inherently evil in any way, she is very focused on her life as a witch and developing and nurturing her powers. But there are probably a few seeds of jealousy in her too. Satu has always been known as one of the most powerful witches, yet she doesn’t have the instinctual power that Diana has. She has to work a lot harder at it than Diana.
The house that is Matthew Clairmont’s home is a beautiful place called The Old Lodge. They had peacocks walking around in the front yard and a big fireplace as you walk in. It was eccentric but I completely fell in love with it. The place is very romantic and magical. It’s perfectly like Matthew Clairmont.
It is a fictional love story, full of drama as well as adventurous. It’s enticing and inspiring. There’s so much in the show that one adjective won’t be enough to describe it. It’s a magical adventure with fun characters.
(The show airs from July 15 on SonyLIV.)