Emma Corrin: ‘It was moving to play a queer person sure of their identity’

Emma Corrin has opened up about what it meant to play a queer heroine in star-studded new fantasy movie, 100 Nights of Hero.

The Crown star, 29, plays the titular Hero, a maidservant to noblewoman Cherry (Maika Monroe) in a world where women’s only purpose is to marry and reproduce – and certainly not read or write, heaven forbid!

When Cherry’s husband Jerome (played by Amir El-Masry) makes a bet with his best friend Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine) that he won’t be able to seduce his wife in 100 days, Hero must use the power of storytelling to save Cherry from a terrible fate.

The movie, adapted by Julia Jackman from Isabel Greenberg’s 2016 graphic novel, is unapologetically queer as we witness the tender relationship between our two protagonists grow and push back against a patriarchal society.

As a non-binary actor, Emma spoke to Metro at the BFI London Film Festival premiere of the movie about the most freeing aspect of playing Hero within a queer storyline.

‘Her confidence. She so knows who she is and it’s beautiful to play, especially within a queer narrative, somebody who so knows who they are and their identity.

‘I really love that. It was quite moving for me, I think, to play somebody like that. I thought it was beautifully written and beautifully imagined.’

As for the inspiration they hope they can provide audiences in these turbulent socio-political times, as they added: ‘At the heart of this film, it celebrates storytelling and the power of storytelling as a form of resistance.

‘Stories have been around as long as we have, [as long as] we’ve had voices and experience and ways of preserving these stories and passing them down. And I think that it’s a reminder that that can really make change happen.’

Julia knew the Emmy nominee was the perfect fit for Hero for a long time, sharing: ‘I just love Emma’s work. I think that they’re incredible.

‘Isabel and I had spoken about how Hero brings a certain fluidity, this gender-fluid and androgynous and kind of magical quality to the world and Emma feels like that -although they are different from Hero – they had to me that magical quality but also that cheekiness and gravitas.,’ she explained, adding she was ‘thrilled that they wanted to do it’.

Emma was not the only inspired stroke of casting in this fantasy-comedy. This is the first of several new feature movies Charli XCX will be starring in ahead of her own movie, The Moment.

In 100 Nights of Hero, the Brat hitmaker plays Rosa, a bright young woman whose life takes a tragic turn after marrying a dastardly suitor.

Discussing the decision behind the bold choice which has stirred discourse about stunt casting, Julia shared: ‘Inevitably, she is who she is.

She continued: ‘I met her right before Brat had fully [blown up], and there’s something meta about her being in the film.

‘She felt perfect for Rosa because Rosa is someone that people project a lot of things onto and imagine what she must be like and build her into something when, in fact, all of us contain much more than that.

‘There was something so compelling and mysterious about her that I thought was perfect to play this woman that this suitor thought she had the measure of, but she was so much more than he had imagined.

‘She was incredible, and I was very lucky to have her play that role.’

Felicity Jones, who acts as the film’s narrator, Moon, put the timely ethos of the movie best.

‘People have to be strong in the face of authoritarian forces, and it’s important to be defiant. That’s what these two lead characters do, they win out in the end.’

100 Nights of Hero will be released in the US on December 5 and is scheduled for a UK theatrical release in January 2026.

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