One of Mia Wasikowska’s breakout roles was in Cary Fukunaga’s haunting revival of Jane Eyre so it’s only fitting that Guillermo del Toro cast her in Crimson Peak, a gothic horror heavily influenced by the Charlotte Bronte classic and Rebecca, which was inspired by the novel.

Ahead of her time (the film is set in 1901), Edith shuns convention. She’d rather stay home crafting ghost stories in lieu of attending parties with eligible men. Preferring to be compared to Frankenstein author Mary Shelley rather than Jane Austen, Edith believes she is making a defiant choice when she marries Thomas (Tom Hiddleston), a dashing engineer and moves into Crimson Peak to live with him and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain). When she begins seeing ghastly creatures throughout the mansion, she suspects that something truly sinister lies within Thomas’ family history. She also discovers that her independence has been compromised, as her concerns are dismissed and she is largely confined to certain portions of the house. With vibrant cinematography and macabre imagery, the film is more about the cruel nature of humanity than it is about ghosts.

In my video interview with Wasikowska, we discuss the fact that supernatural tales are often a reflection of human frailties and what Edith’s attraction to such stories says about the character. The Australian born actress also touches on sexual repression in the Victorian era and why being defiant during that time period contributes to Edith’s downfall. Crimson Peak hits theaters on October 16th.

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Mia Wasikowska:

• How her portrayal of Jane Eyre came into play for a film so heavily inspired by it.
• The starlet talks about Edith’s struggle to go against social norms.
• Edith’s journey of sexual discovery.
• How she can relate to the character’s process of creating characters.