‘Renegade Nell’ Star Louisa Harland on Wearing Both Breeches and Ballgowns as the Lead in Disney+ Fantasy Series: ‘She’s Gender Non-Conforming to the Times’

variety.com:

K.J. Yossman With swordfights, corsets, a sprinkle of magic and an array of truly magnificent hats (including one worn by a poodle), new Disney+ original series “Renegade Nell” has more than a touch in common with that other swashbuckling Disney staple “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Both are set at the turn of the 17th to 18th centuries and, as with “Pirates,” the period details in “Renegade Nell” abound.

In Nov. 2022, just as the show moved into the final phase of production, Variety was invited to visit Ealing Studios in West London where the wood-panelled Stuart-era sets were studded with quill pens and wax seals while an imposing portrait of Joely Richardson — in costume as the extravagantly-outfitted and wigged baddie Lady Eularia Moggerhangar — hung on the wall.

Rather than the louche Captain Jack Sparrow, the hero of “Renegade Nell” is plucky Nell Jackson, played by “Derry Girls” alum Louisa Harland, who dons both breeches and ballgowns to play a highway woman with superhuman strength.

On a break between takes, Harland, wearing a leather tailcoat, steps outside to get some fresh air. “I love the fact that she’s not romantically driven,” she tells Variety of her character. “She’s gender non-conforming to the times.