If Outlander: Blood of My Blood is a step back in time, then the same can be said of Hermione Corfield’s childhood in the English countryside. The British actor, who plays Julia Moriston, Claire’s mother, in the prequel series, grew up in Cirencester, which is a slightly less touristy but still quite idyllic part of the Cotswolds. (I myself stayed there last year and fell in love with it.)
“We are 10 minutes outside of Cirencester in the valley with no phone signals,” Corfield tells me from her home base in London. “It was very country, but so beautiful, so peaceful, and such a great place to grow up. We had chickens and a vegetable patch. I miss it.”
Corfield’s mother, who is a shirtmaker with a factory in nearby Gloucester, still lives there with her husband, Richard Corfield, and their family tortoise named Sheldon. “Super aggressive, so aggressive,” Corfield says with a laugh. “My mom sends videos of Sheldon attacking her feet quite a lot.”
It’s all very normal for Corfield, who has already established quite the career leading up to Blood of My Blood (which premieres its first two episodes on Friday, August 8, on Starz). Her first role was in the 2015 mystery-drama Mr. Holmes alongside Ian McKellen. That same year she appeared in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation with Tom Cruise. She’s also starred in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword with Jude Law, XXX: Return of Xander Cage with Vin Diesel, and as an A-Wing pilot in 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. On the TV side, she was on the ITV period drama The Halcyon about a bustling five-star London hotel during World War II.
Now, with Blood of My Blood, she gets to explore the period during WWI England as she and costar Jeremy Irvine (who plays Claire’s father, Henry Beauchamp) make a life for themselves. But all is not as it seems, as Corfield says Julia gets herself into a number of extremely precarious situations. “She has to dig deep and use her wits in every possible way to get through,” Corfield says. “There’s also some interesting overlapping of storylines with characters as well. The characters you might not expect to be involved.”
We’ll be watching, of course. Until then, get to know the woman with an uncanny resemblance to Caitríona Balfe’s Claire and her fascinating entry into the Outlander universe.
Glamour: First things first, the rest of the Glamour staff would like to know if you’re named after Hermione from Harry Potter. I say no.
Hermione Corfield: You know what? I get that question every time I go to the States. I was in Los Angeles recently and when I ordered a coffee, I heard the baristas being like, “Wait, what?” Because they obviously say, “Can you make a latte for Hermione?” And they’re like, “Her name’s what?” I heard one guy go, “Yeah, and she’s British.” So I get it, but I also get every variation under the sun. I get Harmony, Marnie, Marley. It always gets misconstrued. But, no, I wasn’t named after her.
My grandpa actually had a friend—during World War II, I think—who he met in the army called Hermione. There was some kind of link to a woman called Hermione, so that’s who I’m named after. Also, she’s Helen of Troy’s daughter in Greek mythology and she’s in The Winter’s Tale as well. But obviously, the name has been taken over by Harry Potter. I did read a lot of Harry Potter growing up.
Let’s talk about Outlander: Blood of My Blood. What was it like when you saw yourself as Julia Moriston? The resemblance to your onscreen daughter, Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe), is uncanny.
So I had short red hair for another role when I auditioned for Outlander a year or two before Blood of My Blood. I think they saw me with the short red hair and thought, Oh, she looks like Caitríona. Before that, when I had long blonde hair, no one really saw it, and then suddenly I had this dark hair. When I went from red and then to dark brown to match Caitríona’s color, that first dye job was quite strange. Claire Harris, who’s the hair and makeup designer, was like, “You look so similar to Caitríona.”
But it’s funny, isn’t it? I think sometimes you can’t see it yourself, if that makes sense. I look at Caitríona and think it’s a huge compliment to be compared to her.
So it’s not a wig you’re wearing, then. They dyed it for the role?
They dyed it, yeah. But for the 1920s time period, I needed that short hair, and my hair was obviously growing, so I have a ’20s wig now since I’m not going to cut it. I’m going to stay long, basically.
Did you watch Outlander before getting cast as Julia in the prequel?
Actually, I screen tested ages ago and ended up not being available. So when that happened, I watched it, but it was quite early on. In the UK, it has a fan base, but it’s nothing like in America. And then when I got this job, I started watching from the beginning to refresh my memory.
Are you able to say what role you auditioned for in the early days of the series?
I auditioned for, I think, Brianna, but I ended up not being able to do it for another job.
When did you first meet Caitríona and Sam?
Caitríona I met for the first time at drinks with the cast. And then I met Sam at a press day. But otherwise, I hadn’t met them before this.
What advice did Caitríona give you about the role or the fandom?
She said to both me and Harriet Slater [who plays Ellen MacKenzie, Jamie’s mom] to enjoy it and take every element of it in. She was very generous with her time, and she gave me her number and said, “Text me whenever.” She’s been great, very welcoming. It was nice to have another woman who’s been through the whole process be able to tell you exactly what’s going on and that kind of thing.
Is it daunting to think you might be playing this role for quite some time, as has been the case for Caitríona and Sam? Or are you excited about what’s to come?
I’m not daunted about the time commitment because seeing how everyone is on Outlander and how much they loved it, I know I’d enjoy it. Also, I love the cast we have and we get on so well. So that element to me isn’t daunting. The daunting element is, of course, you want to do it justice. Whenever you are doing a prequel or something where there’s already a fan base with any of those big franchises like Star Wars or whatever, there’s always a pressure to do it justice and for the fans to be happy with whatever you’re doing. I’d say that’s the only daunting element. The actual playing of the character is exciting.
Let’s talk about your main scene partner, Jeremy Irvine, who plays Henry Beauchamp. Did you know him prior to this?
I’ve actually known Jeremy for 10 years, probably longer. We did one of my first films together [Fallen], and I played the girl that you thought he was dating. We were in Budapest for three months together and got on really well and stayed friends throughout that time. That actually made the chemistry really, really nice and easy for Blood of My Blood.
What’s something we would be surprised to know about him?
There’s so many surprising things about Jeremy. He will openly tell you all of them as well. He’s been known to show up in red lingerie at Tony Curran’s house. He’s up for a good time. He’s also very good at building things. He built his own pool in the back of his house—a natural pool that self-cleans. He’s very hands-on, good at construction stuff.
What is something that he teases you about frequently?
His nickname for me, sometimes, is Ice Queen, which is vaguely offensive. He calls me Ice Queen because he constantly tries to wind me up on set and get a rise out of me. So then I automatically shut down and don’t give him anything. That’s where Ice Queen comes from.
I was gonna say, you’re the complete opposite of an ice queen. How did you celebrate when you found out you got the role of Julia?
I was in London and got a call from my agent, who was very matter of fact about it. She was like, “It’s done.” [Laughs.] I was like, “So wait, did I get the job? What’s done?” She’s very direct, which I love about her, but the delivery was funny this time. I was like, “That’s a very cool way of telling me.” That night I went out for a drink with my boyfriend, and we raised a glass.
What is your favorite way to spend a day if you’re not on set?
Do some yoga, do some writing, and see my friends at some point in the evening. I’m writing a feature at the moment and developing it right now, so that’s my focus. Everyone always says the edits are the harder bit, but I actually prefer the edits. I prefer when someone’s got me on a specific note. I find that actually easier to execute.
How do you most relate to Julia? What traits do you most admire about her?
She has a real passion for learning and always expanding her mind, which I relate to.
What is the greatest lesson you learned on set?
I get the giggles quite a lot. I think I have a problem with corpsing. I do corpse quite a bit.
Wait, what is it corpsing?
Corpsing is when you get the giggles in the middle of a scene. So Tony, Karen, and I had quite a lot of corpsing going on. I think probably my best lesson was how to shut that down.
And how do you shut it down?
You just have to think of the saddest thing you possibly can. Or I imagine myself not having the job anymore because I can’t stop laughing.
That’s so funny. What is your choice of snack or beverage on set?
I don’t stop eating. I can’t stop eating, like, chocolate and nuts. And I drink a lot of black coffee. Slowly I’ve worked my way toward black coffee. I always begin a job being really healthy, and then by the end I’ve fallen off the wagon, for sure.
This might be hard to answer because it is a period piece, but are there any makeup or skin care products that you’ve been introduced to on set that you’ve incorporated into your own life?
Yes. Ilia has this lip tint…it’s a lipstick that goes with the color of your own lips, but it’s, like, a dark reddish color. It’s very natural looking, and you can layer it and make it deeper. That’s what they’ve been putting on me for Julia.
If there was a superlative for you on set, what would it be?
Most likely to corpse.
I will never forget this word after this interview.
There’s a really good video of Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant, and it’s called The Art of Corpsing. They talk about getting the giggles on their own show.
What do you watch on TV when you want to decompress?
I would always try to reject reality TV and watch something interesting and highbrow and expansive, but if I’m feeling like I want to just switch my brain off, I will watch Love Island or Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, or something like that.
What did being a successful actor look like to you when you were little? And what is it now?
Like with anything, the goalpost is always changing. As a child it would just be getting on the TV in any capacity, whatever that looked like. And now you get to a point where you’re like, What kind of work do I want to do, and how do I explore different roles and different people? For me, success looks like doing a range of things, whether that’s TV, film, stage, whatever. That is what I think I’d want my future to look like.
As your star continues to rise, are there any charities or causes you’d like to use your platform for?
I’ve run a soup kitchen in Brixton for five years in South London, which is part of the Refugee Community Kitchen, which started in Calais and Dunkirk in France. My sister volunteered there a lot, and then I started. There’s three branches in London—North, East, and South—and we started the South one. We serve food for people who need it; not necessarily just homeless people, but also those who are struggling to feed themselves. That’s where most of my energy goes.
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