Exclusive Interview

‘Sense and Sensibility’ Star Herbert Nordrum on Colonel Brandon & Marianne’s Meet-Cute

Sense and Sensibility‘s Colonel Brandon is one of Jane Austen‘s best romantic heroes. He’s honorable, respectful, and quietly devoted in his love towards the younger, passionate Dashwood sister, Marianne.

And in 2026’s Sense and Sensibility, from Focus Features and Working Title, Brandon (played by Herbert Nordrum) has only gotten better, as he broods over his unrequited feelings for Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles) for most of the film, all while being a reliable friend to the Dashwood women. From his tragic backstory, to his romantic inclinations, let’s just say, Brandon is particularly swoonworthy.

Below, we chatted with Nordrum about the biggest challenges of the role, getting to portray that duel scene, and more.

Tell us about your experience shooting this film. You’re in the beautiful English countryside. Was it truly a beautiful experience?

Herbert Nordrum: For me, as a Norwegian theater actor, it was a dream come true to get to be in this production. Jane Austen is so ingrained in the English culture. I felt so honored to be a part of it. And the ensemble was just amazing. I felt so lucky to be put together with the other actors. And also to travel around England in that way. Every week was a different castle, different, beautiful landscape. [But] to be very honest, after like three weeks, I lost track of where I was. [Laughs]

Did you watch any other adaptations of Sense and Sensibility to prepare for Colonel Brandon?

Nordrum: I had seen Ang Lee‘s version a long time ago. It’s my mother and my sister’s, one of their favorite films. No pressure, right? I didn’t want to revisit it. I decided very early on to only have our script and [director] Georgia Oakley as my main references.

Did you feel any pressure following in the footsteps of Alan Rickman, who played Brandon in Ang Lee’s version? Those are big shoes to fill.

Nordrum: Very big shoes. [Laughs] I tried not to think about it. I don’t know if that was a smart move, but everything [Alan Rickman] did, like, Die Hard and Harry Potter and Love, Actually and Sense and Sensibility, somehow he made all these characters iconic. [But] I tried to find Colonel Brandon, and bring myself to the character, and not try to look at what anyone else did.

How would you describe your Colonel Brandon? Is he more reserved? A bit warmer?

Nordrum: I think he’s perceived as cold and reserved. But my interpretation is that he has too many feelings. He feels too much. That’s his problem. And he doesn’t know how to communicate that, or how to express himself. I think he fully falls in love in the moment, the second he sees Marianne.

And the few times I’ve fallen in love, I get very nervous, and I’m very afraid of what to say, and I can’t really express it. I get bamboozled, if that’s a word I can use. So that was how I thought about him, that he completely falls for this person and doesn’t know what to do with it.

Focus Features

Can you describe the moment that he and Marianne first encounter each other?

Nordrum: He sees her in the woods. He’s [riding] and she jumps in front of his horse. It’s a chaotic meet-cute. I think he just sees this person [who], to him, seems completely free. Marianne wears her emotions on her sleeves and has this immense passion about everything she talks about and everything she wants to do. I think he falls in love with the way she sees the world.

Of course, we know that it takes awhile before we get to see these two come together, but what is it that you think eventually draws Marianne towards Colonel Brandon?

Nordrum: I think when she understands that he’s actually a very warm person. I don’t want to spoil anything, but in our film, you kind of just see the potential that’s there. In the adaptation in the 90s, you see them get married. In this one, we just set the table for something to grow.

And I think that’s very good way to tell that love story because they have both gone through so much. She’s just gone through this rollercoaster [with Frank Dillane‘s John Willoughby], her first love experience. So I think it’s very good to not push her into anything too soon. And we know that this is going to grow into something beautiful.

Something else that’s different is that we see the duel between Willoughby and Brandon, right?

Nordrum: We do.

Can you tell us about the experience of filming that?

Nordrum: We had a day where we learned how to shoot the guns, walk 10 steps and count and turn around and shoot. They were these real guns, from the 1800s. That scene became very cool. The location is so cinematic, and that’s a thing I think Georgia Oakley has done so well — everything feels so heightened. It’s a very cool scene.

Was there anything else that you had to learn for the role that you hadn’t already done acting-wise? Did you know how to ride?

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Nordrum: I had no horse riding experience. And I thought in my naive little brain, that I would be a natural. [Laughs] I was not. But it was so much fun, and I learned from truly the best people. And my horse was like a superstar movie horse. He was like the George Clooney of horses. They made me this beautiful riding jacket. I know this isn’t a superhero movie, but I did feel like a superhero in it.

But the biggest [thing to learn], for me, was of course the language. I’ve never played an English character before. This was the first time I had to actually try to convince myself and the people around me that I was British. And the language is also like old English. It’s almost Shakespearean. So that was my main focus all the time. I worked a lot with a dialect coach, and I had to learn every line like a song, you know? The melody and the everything. That was really hard work, but so much fun.

Sense and Sensibility, Friday, October 16, In Theaters