Q&A with Hannah Murray of Skins

6 June 2013

We haven’t seen Cassie in five years, where do you think she’s been and what has she been up to?

Cassie has been in America and she’s been drifting around. When we see her in London again, she’s working in a café. I don’t think she’s really worked out what she wants to do with her life yet. She’s also been with a boy in America. I will leave it up to the audience to decide who that could be. It’s quite nice to leave that ambiguity because it could potentially be anyone. I quite like that this story doesn’t give you too much information about where she’s been, I like that level of mystery and ambiguity.

 

How is this Skins different to past series’?

The main difference is that it’s not a series, it’s three two-part stories which completely stand alone and the characters don’t overlap at all between them. Instead of making a TV show, we’re almost making three mini films or two-part dramas. It’s got a very different and more grown-up feel to it because of where the characters are now. It’s not trying to capture a group of friends, it’s trying to capture three individuals and there’s a lot less of the crazy hedonistic fun that we’ve seen in the past. It’s a bit more serious.

 

Was it an easy decision to return to the character?

I never thought I would come back. I was really clear in my head about that part of my life and playing that character being over. There had been a few suggestions to bring people back and I didn’t think it was her that they’d choose. I had a meeting last year and I had an inkling that Bryan was going to ask me to come back. I was thinking this is going to be really awkward I’m going to have to say no! Then as soon as he pitched the idea to me for this story, my immediate gut feeling was that I wanted to do it and that really surprised me.  The ultimate process of making the decision was quiet simple, because I had such a  strong gut reaction to do it. Even though I took a little while in properly deciding, I think I always knew that I did want to come back.