Erin Doherty, who plays clinical psychologist Briony Ariston in the Netflix drama, has opened up about one of the scariest moments from the series
Erin Doherty, the star of the hit series Adolescence, has shared her experiences on set, including a particularly “scary” encounter with co-star Owen Cooper.
Erin portrays the role of clinical psychologist Briony Ariston in the Netflix four-parter, which premiered on 13 March.
In the drama, Briony is tasked with conducting a pre-trial assessment of Jamie Miller (played by Owen Cooper), a young man accused of killing a female classmate. While Jamie initially presents as friendly, his demeanour quickly shifts to manipulative and hostile.
Describing the intense scene where Owen’s character turns menacing, Erin admitted to Variety that it was “genuinely scary,” praising the 14-year-old Owen for his performance, especially considering he had no prior television acting experience before Adolescence.
“It was genuinely scary,” she recounted to Variety. “It’s every actor’s dream to get to a place where you forget yourself and you are in this strange reality that you’ve created. It sounds bizarre, but you genuinely do believe it in the moment.”
She continued to commend her young co-star: “I’m so proud of Owen because I got to see him push himself as an actor, to really go there. Back then, he was this kid and he didn’t want to be this scary thing, especially with someone he just met.”
Additionally, Erin opened up about her preparation for playing Briony, revealing that she reached out to her former therapist to gain insight into the daily life of a professional in that field and to “get in that head space”, reports Surrey Live.
In a conversation with Metro, Erin explained: “I think particularly psychologically, people who are in that line of work are very in the moment.
“I was conscious that what you needed to see was someone who was present rather than having that context. So I basically did my research and then let it all go, in order to serve the piece as best I could.”
Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham, who portray Manda and Eddie, Jamie’s parents, join Erin and Owen in the cast of Adolescence.
The series’ synopsis reveals: “In an English town, police break down the door of a family home and arrest Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy, on suspicion of murder of a classmate, Katie Leonard. Jamie is held at a police station for questioning and then remanded in custody at a Secure Training Centre.
“Further investigations at Jamie’s school and interviews with a forensic psychologist uncover that Jamie has been deeply affected by bullying via social media, centred around incel subculture.”
Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix