An Interview with Eleanor Tomlinson from ‘The Outlaws’

Eleanor Tomlinson is a highly accomplished actor that has been featured in a variety of silver and small screen projects, and currently she plays Lady Gabriella Penrose-Howe in The Outlaws on Prime Video, and we here at Nerds That Geek were able to speak to Eleanor about Gabby and the show.
 
John Betancourt: What was it that got you into acting in the first place?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: Oh, wow, goodness. Um, so my family, I come from a family of actors. So, my mum is a singer. My dad is an actor, and my brother is an actor. So, it's something I've grown up around, I always loved it. And for ages, it was just a dream. You know, my parents would say, “it's so competitive,” you know, “don't do it.” It's, you know, it's so hard to make a living doing it. So, I wasn't going to listen to them. I just decided that was where my heart was. And I got very lucky when I was younger playing the young Jessica Biel in a film called The Illusionist, and that was that just set the fire in my belly. I just… there was nothing else that I wanted to do.
 
John Betancourt: Now what was it that attracted you to the role of Gabby?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: Well, I think it was a mixture of incredible scripts that I laughed out loud when I was reading this character that was so flawed, but fabulously unaware, and outrageous. And this, this journey that I could take her on, I've not done a lot of comedy before but the opportunity to work with someone like Stephen Merchant who I've admired for so long. And then obviously, when Christopher Walken came on board as well, that was just an extraordinary, extraordinary thing to happen. And I just thought, “Wow, I can't quite believe my luck.” I still pinch myself.
 
John Betancourt: Now you mentioned that Gabby has flaws, and I was wondering how as an actor, you get into the mindset of playing someone who is at times so messy and at other times, so bubbily?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: I think it's all on the page, to be honest with you. You know, there's so many layers, there's so many reasons as to why she behaves the way that she does, which we then discover in the series as you realize her relationship with her father, and you know how that has created her anxieties, but also this need for attention and need to feel loved, which I think she hasn't for so long. Because they've had… on what we know what appears to have, you know, everything that anything that money can buy, but it hasn't bought her any happiness. So, I think to get into the mindset of something like that, it's just a question of reading the scripts and making sure that you play every level of the character, so you know exactly why she's responding to something in a certain way. And obviously, with Gabby, she's, she's quite mad at times, and she'll just fly off the handle.
 
But that was just so fun to be able to create, because I think there's a part of us all, that just wants to be as honest as she is and fly off the handle like that. But obviously we don't because we're not, you know, we're not completely bonkers, like she is, but it was just, it was just fabulous to have the opportunity to be able to play a character that has these different, you know, core emotions running through her all the time, and you're just never quite sure which version of her you're going to get. And, and this unawareness as well, you know, she's come from a life that for most of us is just completely, you know, unheard of, you know, it's the kind of thing we see in magazines, but it was just it was fascinating to be able to create my idea of that and what I think it is, she is like, because of that. So, it was yeah, it was it was incredibly fun to play her.
 
John Betancourt: Now you bring up a couple of good points about Gabby there that lead me to my next question. Because you mentioned she’s searching for happiness and love, ideally at her core, what do you think Gabby is searching for?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: I think she's looking to feel wanted and needed and loved. I think that she has basically been handed around to her father's staff and raised by them more than by him because she lost her mother at a young age. And so, I think she's actually looking for validation. You know, she's always trying to be noticed, because she feels like that's missing. And she feels like that's lacking and so she's trying so hard, but actually at the center of her is someone who's very lonely and very tortured, and she's turned to alcohol and drugs to fill that void.
 
John Betancourt: Now I was taken aback by the fact that this series has so much messaging layered beneath the comedy, and I was just curious as to what message stood out to you the most when you were reading the scripts.
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: I think it's about a group of very unlikely people coming together and creating this unlikely friendship. And I think that's, that in and of itself is very powerful. You know, they, they're all from such different walks of life with such different experiences. And somehow, they become embroiled in this already unpleasant situation of community service. But then as well, on top of that, they find this enormous bag of money, and what do they do with it? Do they use it for their own ends to save themselves and the things they care about, and they're passionate about, or do they do the right thing? And so, it's very interesting. But I think that's what that's what stood out to me about it is it's about community and it's about, it's about friendship.
 
John Betancourt: What has it meant to you personally, to be a part of a series that features that kind of poignant message?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: It's amazing. It's fantastic. I think, you know, obviously, that's, that's an incredibly important message. I think that it's very, yeah, very important to have close friends by you but also, to get out there and meet different people from different walks of life, never judge a book by its cover, and, you know, to, to take different experiences and to learn from different people as I did on this job. You know, we were all so different. And I learned so much by working with, with everybody involved in the project.
 
John Betancourt: If you could elaborate on that a little further, what would you say you learned personally from working on this show?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: Well, it was just wonderful. I've not done a lot of comedy before. So, to get the opportunity to work with someone like Stephen Merchant was fantastic. You know, not only has he written it, so you can ask him any question you want, you know, I just wanted to learn. I was like a sponge, and I was around him just trying to absorb everything from the way that he is on set, how he handles things, how he directs how he produces at the same time, how he writes and adapts the characters once he's written and once, he's cast, the actors. And, you know, adapts the scripts to fit the people in scenarios. And also, he was so open to us, adding little bits or making suggestions, which was just fascinating and brilliant to be able to do. So, it was yeah, to have the opportunity to work with him. And then to have the opportunity to work with Christopher Walken as well. And the rest of the cast, it was just, it was extraordinary, it was a real gift of a job.
 
John Betancourt: Now you bring up another good point that I absolutely need to follow up on. You mentioned adding your own “little bits” to the series, and since comedy shows and movies are renowned for featuring improvisation… how much improve actually happened on set?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: Quite a lot, right or not, I would say that they had probably a lot more footage than was initially scripted. And then they would have to cut it down to create what we saw. But that was what's so great about Stehen is that he was open to suggestions and open to, you know, he loves rehearsals, he loves everybody getting together and, and going through it. And then you can go away and create the final version of the scene to make it as funny as possible. So, it was just a fantastic opportunity to, you know, to learn from such a comedy genius as well. You know, it was just really fascinating. So, there was a lot of improv even in probably my audition with him. And I think that's kind of what bonded us. We were good friends by the end of it. And, you know, it's, it's a really nice thing to be able to say, I think you've just got to have the bravery to do it. But I knew that that was, you know, the best way of serving this character and that's what is the most important thing.
 
John Betancourt: What would you say you’re most proud of when it comes to your time on this show?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: I think the series that we've created, I think that it's very funny. I think the comedy, and the humor is something we don't see an awful lot of anymore. I think it's very refreshing. But I think yeah, I think we've created something that is escapism for lots of people. And I think that's, that's a really great thing for people to be able to tune into and enjoy. And their response to the show has been absolutely terrific. So… I'm so proud of everybody involved in it.
 
John Betancourt: What would say your favorite memory is from your time on set?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: Oh, my goodness. There's so many to be honest, I loved working with Jess Gunning. I think she's got to be one of the funniest people on the planet. She loves to play Diane. And she just she used to make me cry laughing, and it would just take it would take so long to do scenes with her because literally I couldn’t keep a straight face. So, it was fantastic. So yeah, I don't know if I've got a particularly favorite moment and such but there have been there have been so many because it was it was just such a joy to be to be working and to be with you know, such talented and funny and extremely brilliant people.
 
John Betancourt: Last question for you today, what are you hoping audiences take away from this series?
 
Eleanor Tomlinson: Oh, wow. I hope they've just enjoyed it. I hope they've got you know, an hour or two of depending on how many episodes they watched, of escapism and just I hope they've laughed I hope they really laughed and enjoyed it and come away you know, smiling, but also, I hope that they you know, have gone on the journey with the characters and learnt their flaws learnt their, you know, mannerisms. So, I hope they've completely absorbed the characters to be able to recognize exactly how a certain scenario will make a certain character feel. I hope that they get really invested in the characters and want to see more of them.
 
Season One of ‘The Outlaws’ is available to stream on Prime Video right now. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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