Daisy Edgar-Jones Prepped for Austen by Belting Dolly Parton

Daisy Edgar-Jones listened to Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again" to find Elinor Dashwood — and she has been singing it since her school runs. The actress shared her "Sense and Sensibility" character playlist ahead of the film's release, telling Variety the Parton track is the emotional key to Austen's most composed heroine.

The film premiered Oct. 7 at the United Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. Edgar-Jones stars as Elinor Dashwood opposite Esmé Creed-Miles as her sister Marianne, with Caitríona Balfe as Mrs. Dashwood. Georgia Oakley directs from a script by Diana Reid.

Edgar-Jones arrives with a track record in literary adaptation. "Normal People" and "Where the Crawdads Sing" made her a proven hand at pleasing book loyalists, and "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is still to come. Austen, though, is a different beast — and a personal one.

What did Austen mean to her growing up?

"My mum gave me all the books when I was at a very formative age," Edgar-Jones told Variety at the premiere. "It's a rite of passage to read them all when you're a teenager, and you're finding yourself and falling in love for the first time and experience that personal growth. So, yeah, I read them in one fell swoop."

She connected early with the eldest Dashwood sister, the one armed with good sense while Marianne runs on passion. The role suits her stated taste in characters.

"I really enjoy playing characters that have a deep well inside that maybe other people overlook, and finding ways in which to express that," Edgar-Jones said. "She's somebody that has such a strength and this deep well of emotion that she's learned to button up. And I love the journey she goes on where she becomes more comfortable with embracing that wilder side of herself. I was just so excited to sink my teeth into playing her."

Why Dolly Parton?

Edgar-Jones builds her characters through music. The "Sense and Sensibility" playlist runs from Billie Holiday, Minnie Riperton and Dolly Parton to contemporary names Alice Phoebe Lou, Julia Jacklin and Jessica Pratt.

Parton's "Here You Come Again" earned its slot through autobiography. Edgar-Jones used to belt the track in the car on the way home from school.

"It just epitomizes what it is to like love somebody — that heartbreak and slight female rage inside that you just want to let out," she said. "I really could imagine, if Eleanor lived in a time with Dolly Parton, she'd be belting that around her bedroom in Barton [Cottage]."

That image — Regency restraint punctured by a country-pop chorus — is a fair summary of the character's arc. Elinor spends the novel suppressing what Parton lets out.

What about the off-screen sisterhood?

Creed-Miles, named one of Variety's 10 Actors to Watch on the day of the premiere, admitted the attention takes some adjusting.

"It's a bit scary," she said of the scrutiny. "I just really care about filmmakers, and Georgia [Oakley] is a really special one. I was a big fan of 'Blue Jean,' so going into this, I wasn't thinking about that side of it. I've never experienced anything on this level of like support, and that's really special."

Screenwriter Diana Reid — also a Variety 10 to Watch honoree — adapted the script to center the bond between Elinor and Marianne more firmly than the novel does. Creed-Miles said that amplified sisterhood extended behind the camera.

"I'm family with these women: Georgia, Diana, Daisy is one of my absolute best friends, everyone," Creed-Miles said. "Amazing women were involved in the making of this film. There was something cathartic and really rewarding about having a family making something — and a family of sisters, as well."

Austen built the novel on two sisters and a inheritance that leaves them with almost nothing. This adaptation's wager is that the sisterhood, on screen and off, is the whole story — and the playlist suggests Elinor had more Dolly in her than Austen ever let on.