In the new film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, coming this October, George MacKay steps into the formidable riding boots of Edward Ferrars, a role made iconic by Hugh Grant in Ang Lee’s 1995 version. It’s the classic Austen setup: Ferrars is a floppy-haired, reserved, but morally upstanding gentleman who falls for the suddenly destitute Elinor Dashwood, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones. Throughout the film, MacKay and Edgar-Jones have to do a lot with little dialogue, as Edward and Elinor bumble around each other, their feelings bubbling just beneath the surface of what they are willing to articulate. “Even against the lofty expectations set by Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson 30-odd years ago,” writes benappetit1, “MacKay and Edgar-Jones really nail it, and the movie succeeds on the strength of their romantic tension alone.” MacKay’s immersive work on the film involved sending letters back and forth with Edgar-Jones in character, and decidedly not watching the 1995 version...