Emma Myers on her role in ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” now streaming on Netflix in the U.S. and BBC iPlayer in the U.K.

Stepping into the spotlight

Emma Myers, widely recognized for her role as Enid in “Wednesday,” takes center stage in “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” as the teenage detective Pip Fitz-Amobi. This role marks a significant shift for Myers, not only because she is the lead but also because she adopts a British accent for the first time. Myers shared her experiences and challenges in an exclusive interview, revealing how she mastered the accent in just two weeks.

Embracing the British accent

Myers admitted that she was initially hesitant to take on the role due to the short preparation time. “Honestly, I was very hesitant to take the role because the time from signing on to starting to film was only two weeks,” she said. However, with the help of a dedicated dialect coach and support from the all-English crew and cast, she managed to pull it off. “I told everybody, ‘It’s not gonna hurt my feelings if I say something wrong and you want to correct me, please correct me!’ So I had people looking out for me in that way as well, which was good.”

Finding herself in Pip

Playing Pip was a unique experience for Myers, as she found the character to be quite similar to herself. “Pip’s a lot more like me, and I haven’t really done many characters that are closer to my personality,” she explained. This similarity presented a new challenge for Myers, who found it more difficult to portray a character that mirrored her own traits. “Most people assume that it’s easy to play a character that’s like you, but it’s actually way harder and I wanted that challenge.”

Adapting the book to the screen

Fans of the book have noted several differences between the novel and the show. Myers acknowledged these changes, explaining that the limited number of episodes necessitated some alterations. “Because we only have six episodes, the book is big and it’s hard to fit every single detail in there that’s not important to the plot,” she said. Despite these changes, Myers believes the adaptation was handled well. “It’s always hard adapting something from book to screenplay. I mean, sometimes it’s just not going to flow.”

Favorite scenes and costumes

One of Myers’ favorite scenes from the book that made it to the screen was the “bribery muffins” scene. “I’m so glad that made it in because I love that scene so much. It’s so fun,” she said. She also shared her experience with the star costume, which, while visually stunning, was quite uncomfortable. “You can’t sit in it because the points go lower than your hips. So when you sit, you’re kind of hunched.”

Filming intense scenes

Myers recounted the experience of filming the scene where Pip is nearly murdered. “That day was very, very fun. I always love when you get to be really filthy,” she said. Despite the intensity of the scene, Myers and her co-star Carla Woodcock managed to keep the mood light on set. “We were just goofing off the whole day, having lots of fun dragging me through caves and then two seconds later, we’re getting a cup of tea at the tea table.”

On-set injuries and night shoots

While Myers didn’t sustain any major injuries on set, she did have a close call when she fell out of the makeup trailer. “It was raining one day and I did fall out of the makeup trailer which is like — it’s a good six-foot drop! I slipped down the stairs and fell straight out of it,” she recalled. Filming the camping scenes at night also had its eerie moments. “It’s strange because you feel fine when there’s [production] lights around, but then there’s a section of the scene when Jude [Morgan-Collie] who plays Connor takes off and I go chasing him.”

Looking ahead to season two

Myers expressed her excitement about the possibility of a second season. “I’d love to see the story finished. I think Season 2 just gets even crazier,” she said. She is particularly looking forward to the more intense scenes. “I love death scenes. I love just crazy weird screaming and crying stuff so I’m excited for me and Stanley’s stuff.”

For more details and to watch the trailer, visit A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.