Romeo & Juliet gets a makeover in Rosaline, which premieres on Hulu on October 14. The new film flips the story of two tragic lovers on its head and takes a much more comedic approach to the proceedings, modernizing the language and following Juliet’s cousin Rosaline as she seeks to win back the heart of her ex. An unseen but canonical character in William Shakespeare’s play, Rosaline turns into the heroine thanks to Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber’s screenplay and Karen Maine’s direction.
Though it is based on Rebecca Serle’s novel When You Were Mine, Rosaline still takes place in the 1400s and thus subjects its titular character (played by Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick) to the rules of that time. But antiquity won’t stop her from being a modern woman who goes after what she wants, which is part of the comedy. After her lover Romeo (Kyle Allen) falls for Juliet (Isabela Merced), Rosaline concocts a romcom-worthy scheme to win him back—unaware that the right man for her (played by Sean Teale, The Gifted) may already be right beside her.
Screen Rant spoke to Dever and Teale about how they learned more about their characters through Rosaline‘s comedic beats, why they were drawn to the film, and why their characters are drawn to each other.
Kaitlyn Dever & Sean Teale Talk Comedic Timing In Rosaline
Kaitlyn, I love this take on Rosaline. Having been a Shakespeare aficionado in my youth, I was always wondering what her story was. What aspect of her did you want to emphasize with your performance?
Kaitlyn Dever: I was really, really excited to take on this role. It’s a story that I had read years ago; the script had existed for several years, and I read it and fell in love with it. It’s something that never went away. I always was thinking about her and that role.
I think what’s so great about our movie is that it really is a lot of fun. I wanted to make sure that, in my performance, I was landing all of the comedic beats and the sarcasm and the timing of it all. Because it really does make a huge difference on who she is as a person. And because we don’t know much about Rosaline, it could go so many different directions. It was so exciting as an actor to be able to think, “This could go really anywhere you want.”
Obviously, we had such a brilliant base to go from. The script was so incredible. Scott [Neustadter] and Mike [Weber] are amazing writers, so that was really helpful. And just building off that, she’s super fierce and such a feminist. She’s so dedicated and determined and driven. I loved playing all of those elements of her, and the nuances in more emotional scenes as well. I think the levels of her are really fascinating, and I just loved it.
Dario is a character that Jane Austen would write into a Shakespeare play because she wanted to spice it up. What was your way into him? And his boats, because I love that he’s a big boat man.
Sean Teale: Yeah, there was some ad-libbing where I hugged that boat a lot in the back of shots. [laughter] It was like, “It’s funny, but no.” It says a totally different thing about the movie. [laughter]
My love for Dario started when I read him. I really just loved him. And I think there was a space to have him in a movie that is about young, brilliant women being empowered and fighting against the social norms that are so archaic and wrongfully persecutory. I liked that there was a man that was still a strong man in his own way, but was completely not what anyone—or Rosaline even—perceived him to be. There doesn’t need to be this machismo, [though] he has a metal that he wears. I guess that’s sort of an egoistic thing that he does, but that’s a status thing in a world like that.
He’s actually really fascinated by [her]; he’s not threatened by Rosaline. He’s fascinated by how brilliant and sharp-witted and driven and diligent and [completely] charming she is. I like that he’s a stern man; a serious man to a degree, but really a good guy. And he even doesn’t want to look like he is one when he is. So, as soon as I read him, I was like, “I have to give this my best chance.”
About Rosaline
Rosaline is a fresh and comedic twist on Shakespeare’s classic love story Romeo & Juliet, told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever), who also happens to be Romeo’s recent love interest. Heartbroken when Romeo (Kyle Allen) meets Juliet (Isabela Merced) and begins to pursue her, Rosaline schemes to foil the famous romance and win back her guy.
Check out our other Rosaline interviews here:
- Minnie Driver
- Kyle Allen & Isabela Merced
- Director Karen Maine
Rosaline premieres October 14 on Hulu.
