Erin Doherty Talks the Emotional Drain of Adolescence

When Erin Doherty got the call for Adolescence, she knew she had to take it. Well, it was technically a voice note, not a call—from Stephen Graham, co-creator and costar of the hit British miniseries about a young suburban boy accused of killing his female classmate. Since its debut on March 13, the show has broken Netflix’s streaming records and sparked a global conversation about the harmful effects of social media and toxic masculinity on teens and tweens (U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for the series to be shown in schools, and its writers were invited to Parliament to discuss raising the age of consent for social media platforms). Of course, at the time she was cast, Doherty had no idea such a reception was on the horizon. In fact, she screened Graham’s initial call, hence his voice note. “I’m just really avoidant of the phone, and he knows that,” Doherty tells W over Zoom with a laugh.

In the North England-set series, the actor plays Briony Ariston, a psychologist assigned to assess Jamie, the 13-year-old murderer at the story’s center (played by strikingly talented newcomer Owen Cooper). It’s a grim task, given that despite Jamie’s declarations of innocence, CCTV footage of him committing the senseless stabbing confirms his guilt. The high-stakes “chess match” of a scene between Jamie and Briony was also the first one the cast and crew shot. Like all four episodes, it’s a self-contained hour, shot continuously in one take—an impressive feat of tech and talent that gives the series its urgent edge.

For 32-year-old Doherty, participating in such a project was quite literally a dream come true. Although she’s best known for her breakout role as the sardonic Princess Anne on seasons three and four of The Crown, Doherty’s background and first love is theater, and she called shooting the one-take, hour-long scene a “beautiful marriage” between the two mediums. After shooting two takes per day for five days, their final effort was the one chosen to air. “I was just gagging to have my piece of the [one-shot] pie, and it didn’t disappoint,” Doherty says. “The minute they called action, I could just be Briony. It was so freeing. ”

It’s been a while since a series has had such a sudden impact (last year’s Baby Reindeer comes to mind). Though Graham has said that Jamie is an amalgamation of boys he read about in similarly tragic news stories, his storyline (and that of the series’ imperfect victim, Katie) has struck a nerve. Doherty says she’s “speechless but not surprised” that we’re “ready to look at this subject matter.”

“It’s terrifying and scary, but this show proves that we finally hit a point where we can no longer allow our younger generation to slip through the cracks,” she says. “My brother is 11 years younger than I am, and watching him navigate social media gives me so much empathy for school kids now.”

What did you think when you first read the script?

I was elated when I read that I got to explore this story from Briony’s perspective, because I’ve been on a therapeutic journey myself. I’d also read a ton on therapy before this, because I’d always been fascinated by it. I have such respect for people who commit their lives to this work. It’s the most emotionally draining thing and surpasses anything I do as an actor on a given day.

You’ve said that you reached out to your old therapist to give you some tips.

That was so formative for me. I wanted to bring as much nuance to the role as possible. I didn’t want to fall into the trap of the cliché psychotherapist who sits there with their guard up. That’s an aspect of what they do, but it doesn’t tell the story of the mental and emotional agility they have during a 50-minute session.

What assessment do you think Briony gives Jamie after the session?

It’s not a whodunnit story—as an audience, we know from the footage that he has committed this horrendous act. Briony essentially knows that too, but she’s a human being, and she’s hoping for the best. But by the time he leaves and the camera sticks with Briony, any hope that he might prove her wrong is gone. That moment is her grieving the loss of everything she wanted this boy to be. She’s thinking of the inevitability of what he’ll have to endure for the rest of his life, knowing that she will have to be the middleman that says, “Yes, he is guilty.” We’ve all had a moment when, no matter what we wish for someone, it's completely out of our control who they choose to be.

This particular story is already very heavy, and then there’s the added weight of the show’s broader messages about society. How did you, as a cast, navigate that?

We all knew what we were a part of, but when you turn up to rehearsals, you have to forget the bigger subject matter and focus on the purity of the story. There’s a danger in getting lost in the reverence, almost, of what it is you’re reaching for. It wasn’t until the week before it was released that they sent me all four episodes on my Netflix, and I realized, “Okay, this could be epic.” I’m just so overwhelmed with how people are responding.

You’ve had two big breakout TV moments so far, with The Crown and now Adolescence. How are you choosing your roles, and what’s next?

It’s really early days for me in terms of my screen infatuation. I spent the majority of The Crown just trying not to lose my absolute head at being in the same room as these amazing people. Only now am I starting to get comfortable trying different things. There are so many stories, personas, and facets of our being, it’s like, why would I ever want to sit in one corner? I’m so excited about exploring the scope of what it means to be human.