Freya Allan definitely nailed the role of Ciri in The Witcher live-action series. But did you know that she wasn&#039;t the first choice

Ciri in the Witcher Series Was Originally Written as an 11 Years Old Girl and Freya Allan Wasn’t the First Choice

After having seen Freya Allan play Ciri in two seasons of The Witcher
live-action series, we really cannot imagine anyone else playing the part so
well. But were you aware that Allan, in fact, wasn’t the first choice for the
role? The actress was cast for a much smaller role while the creators were busy
looking at other younger people for the role of Cirilla. That is, until they
weren’t. Watch showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich talk about the same in the
video below:

https://youtu.be/BwMM3JfKWN8?t=372


WHY WASN’T ALLAN THE FIRST CHOICE?

Anyone who has read the Witcher books will know that Ciri is supposed to be much
younger. Writer Andrzej Sapkowski intended for Cirilla to be an 11-year-old. Not
only did this fit in the Pavetta-Duny-Law of Surprise timeline better, but also
made fans sympathize with Ciri even more. Having gone through things Ciri had
gone through during her time on The Witcher and before that made her a tragic
character of sorts.

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]https://netflixjunkie.com/watch-destiny-is-a-beast-the-witcher-2-trailer-is-here-and-so-is-jaskier-netflix-news/the-witcher-season-2-release-date-netflix/

The showrunners wanted to continue this on the live-action series on Netflix
[https://netflixjunkie.com/category/news/] as well, but there were many
obstacles in the way. First, working with an 11-year-old would mean a lack of
experience. No child of that age would be able to deliver the kind of soulful
performance that Allan did. Then came the limitation of legal hours on set that
comes with a much younger child working on set.

ALSO READ: EXPLAINED: Who Is Nivellen in the Witcher Season 2 Played by a GOT
Actor
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-explained-who-is-nivellen-in-the-witcher-season-2-played-by-a-got-actor/]


HOW DID FREYA ALLAN COME TO PLAY CIRI IN THE WITCHER?

Despite the showrunners and creators deciding to look for someone older to play
the role, they did not come across anyone they liked any time sooner. It wasn’t
until Sophie Holland, the casting director for the series, suggested Hissrich
take a look at someone they had already cast.

Remember Marilka from the very first episode of The Witcher
[https://www.netflix.com/title/80189685]? For the readers who do not, here’s a
refresher: Marilka was the child Stregebor had sent to fetch Geralt when he
wanted the latter to kill Renfri. Now that the name has rung a bell, fans would
also remember that although wholesome, the interaction Marilka had with Geralt
was very short. Compared to the screen time and plotline Ciri and Geralt share
in The Witcher, the former was essentially inconsequential.

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-the-witcher-is-ciri-geralts-daughter/wallpapersden-com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1/

Well, Allan was cast for the role of Marilka until Holland came up with the
ingenious idea of having Allan play the role of the warrior princess in the
Netflix Original [https://netflixjunkie.com/category/originals/]. This decision
could certainly not have been a better one. There is no other actor that could
have impressed fans of the Witcher in the role of Ciri as much as Freya Allan.

ALSO READ: “A Subverted Version of Beauty and the Beast” Says Henry Cavill on ‘A
Grain of Truth’ in the Witcher
[https://netflixjunkie.com/a-subverted-version-of-beauty-and-the-beast-says-henry-cavill-on-a-grain-of-truth-in-the-witcher/]

Safia Khanam

Comment

Ciri in the Witcher Series Was Originally Written as an 11 Years Old Girl and Freya Allan Wasn’t the First Choice - Netflix Junkie

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A writer at Netflix Junkie, Safia Khanam is a Business Administration student with a passion for writing. Having been an avid reader and cinephile all her life, she enjoys sharing analysis and insights. The Intern, Dead Poets Society, and Anne With An E are her top preferences. When she’s not watching or reading anything, she likes to traverse the fields of calligraphy and other liberal arts. With an appreciation for culture and linguistics, she wishes to travel extensively and experience art and architecture firsthand.

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Ciri in the Witcher Series Was Originally Written as an 11 Years Old Girl and Freya Allan Wasn’t the First Choice - netflix-junkie

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After having seen Freya Allan play Ciri in two seasons of The Witcher live-action series, we really cannot imagine anyone else playing the part so well. But were you aware that Allan, in fact, wasn&#8217;t the first choice for the role? The actress was cast for a much smaller role while the creators were busy looking at other younger people for the role of Cirilla. That is, until they weren&#8217;t. Watch showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich talk about the same in the video below:
https://youtu.be/BwMM3JfKWN8?t=372
<h2>Why wasn&#8217;t Allan the first choice?</h2>
Anyone who has read the Witcher books will know that Ciri is supposed to be much younger. Writer Andrzej Sapkowski intended for Cirilla to be an 11-year-old. Not only did this fit in the Pavetta-Duny-Law of Surprise timeline better, but also made fans sympathize with Ciri even more. Having gone through things Ciri had gone through during her time on The Witcher and before that made her a tragic character of sorts.
<a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/watch-destiny-is-a-beast-the-witcher-2-trailer-is-here-and-so-is-jaskier-netflix-news/the-witcher-season-2-release-date-netflix/" rel="attachment wp-att-9729"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9729 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the-witcher-season-2-release-date-netflix.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="790" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the-witcher-season-2-release-date-netflix.jpg 1200w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the-witcher-season-2-release-date-netflix-300x198.jpg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the-witcher-season-2-release-date-netflix-1024x674.jpg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the-witcher-season-2-release-date-netflix-768x506.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></a>
The showrunners wanted to continue this on the live-action series on <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/category/news/">Netflix</a> as well, but there were many obstacles in the way. First, working with an 11-year-old would mean a lack of experience. No child of that age would be able to deliver the kind of soulful performance that Allan did. Then came the limitation of legal hours on set that comes with a much younger child working on set.
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-explained-who-is-nivellen-in-the-witcher-season-2-played-by-a-got-actor/">EXPLAINED: Who Is Nivellen in the Witcher Season 2 Played by a GOT Actor</a>
<h2>How did Freya Allan come to play Ciri in the Witcher?</h2>
Despite the showrunners and creators deciding to look for someone older to play the role, they did not come across anyone they liked any time sooner. It wasn&#8217;t until Sophie Holland, the casting director for the series, suggested Hissrich take a look at someone they had already cast.
Remember Marilka from the very first episode of <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80189685">The Witcher</a>? For the readers who do not, here&#8217;s a refresher: Marilka was the child Stregebor had sent to fetch Geralt when he wanted the latter to kill Renfri. Now that the name has rung a bell, fans would also remember that although wholesome, the interaction Marilka had with Geralt was very short. Compared to the screen time and plotline Ciri and Geralt share in The Witcher, the former was essentially inconsequential.
<a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-the-witcher-is-ciri-geralts-daughter/wallpapersden-com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-12251"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12251 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/wallpapersden.com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/wallpapersden.com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1.jpg 2560w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/wallpapersden.com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/wallpapersden.com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/wallpapersden.com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/wallpapersden.com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/wallpapersden.com_geralt-and-ciri-in-the-witcher-4k_2560x1440-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></a>
Well, Allan was cast for the role of Marilka until Holland came up with the ingenious idea of having Allan play the role of the warrior princess in the <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/category/originals/">Netflix Original</a>. This decision could certainly not have been a better one. There is no other actor that could have impressed fans of the Witcher in the role of Ciri as much as Freya Allan.
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/a-subverted-version-of-beauty-and-the-beast-says-henry-cavill-on-a-grain-of-truth-in-the-witcher/">“A Subverted Version of Beauty and the Beast” Says Henry Cavill on ‘A Grain of Truth’ in the Witcher</a>

“A Subverted Version of Beauty and the Beast” Says Henry Cavill on ‘A Grain of
Truth’ in the Witcher

EXPLAINED: Who Is Nivellen in the Witcher Season 2 Played by a GOT Actor

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Freya Allan definitely nailed the role of Ciri in The Witcher live-action series. But did you know that she wasn't the first choice?

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Freya Allan definitely nailed the role of Ciri in The Witcher live-action series. But did you know that she wasn&#039;t the first choice?

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Ciri in the Witcher Series Was Originally Written as an 11 Years Old Girl and Freya Allan Wasn’t the First Choice

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