Dafne Keen: Lyra from His Dark Materials is “one of the greatest young female heroes in literature”

Anyone who’s been reading and watching fantasy stories for a long time can tell you that it’s becoming more common to see female leads taking charge in recent years. This is certainly the case with HBO’s His Dark Materials, which spotlights the precocious Lyra Belacqua. Played by Dafne Keen, Lyra is a complex protagonist as flawed as she is brave, and definitely one of the strongest aspects of the series so far.

And Keen has been getting attention for how well she’s played the role, even recently appearing on the cover of Teen Vogue. In the accompanying interview, Keen spoke a bit about playing Lyra, taking a moment to gush over how much she appreciates the opportunity to portray such an important female character.

"It has been one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. I get to ride on bears, talk to animals, go on hot-air balloons…. Also, I get to play one of the greatest young female heroes in literature, which is a total blessing and a great honor."

According to Keen, it took a while for her to be cast in the role. The audition process was lengthy, so much so that Keen had assumed she didn’t get the part. Luckily, she was called back in for a second interview, and things started to look up. “[The audition process] was two years long,” Keen remembered. “I did my first audition right before Logan came out and I didn’t hear back from them for a year and a half, so I thought I hadn’t gotten it. Then, one day they suddenly called me saying they needed a self-tape immediately.”

Despite being on vacation when she received that call, Keen put together a self-tape that clearly entertained the higher-ups enough that they wanted to see more. “When they got the self-tape they said they liked it and told me to audition with Ruth [Wilson] in London,” Keen said. “As soon as I walked in the room she said, ‘We have the same eyebrows.’ She was so nice and fun to act with.“

Anyone who’s seen the onscreen chemistry between Keen and Wilson — who plays Lyra’s mother Mrs. Coulter — can likely guess how things went from there. Now Keen has become the face of His Dark Materials, which is slated to drop its second season later this year. Whether fans will get more seasons after that remains to be seen, though HBO has suggested the possibility, and we’re all holding out hope.

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