Haunting of Bly Manor star reveals Dani’s powerful coming out scene was cut short in the Netflix smash
Dani’s love story is the tragic heart of the Haunting of Bly Manor. (Netflix)
The Haunting of Bly Manor star Victoria Pedretti has revealed that her character Dani’s powerful coming out scene went even further than what fans saw on Netflix. Warning – spoilers.
In the hit Netflix series, Dani is a young American woman who comes to England after an engagement ends in tragedy, and takes a job working as an au pair for two orphaned children.
A memorable scene sees her breaking things off with her fiancé Edmund during a heated argument in a car while alluding to her queerness, only for him to step out and be run over.
Pedretti said to NBC News that while the car scene that made it to Netflix was a sort of coming out for Dani, originally, there was even more to it.
“She’s also coming out as a feminist and somebody who’s interested in existing beyond what’s expected of her as a woman in that place, in that time,” Pedretti explained.
“It’s more that this isn’t her truth, that’s she’s not living fully in her truth. Part of that is her sexuality, but another part of that is her capabilities and utilising her capabilities to the highest degree.”
The Haunting of Bly Manor quickly becomes a queer love story, as Dani and Jamie (Amelia Eve), the gardener, find themselves falling for one another. Ultimately the pair share a loving, yet heartbreaking relationship that wraps up the ghost story in a tragic bow.
Haunting of Bly Manor star was inspired by Timothée Chamalet.
Discussing her character, Pedretti said that she found inspiration from Timothée Chalamet’s Elio in Call Me By Your Name.
She noted that the two characters may be “very different” but she found that Dani shared the same “curiosity” that Elio had.
Above all, Pedretti said that she seeks to play characters and be involved in projects that challenge audience expectations.
“Every character has a voice and has an issue and is privileged in some way and oppressed in another, and there’s a conversation to be had there about how they exist in the world,” she said.
“I can’t feel passionate about a project unless I feel like it’s saying something.”
