Freya Allan served as Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (better known as Ciri to her pals) in Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher for eight years across four seasons, with one concluding season remaining.
Ciri was close to getting a replacement for seasons 4 and 5, according to Allan, who says she spent a “solid amount of time” thinking about leaving the show, accompanying original Geralt actor Henry Cavill after season 3. Cavill was substituted in seasons 4 and 5 by actor Liam Hemsworth.
“Season 3 was a really difficult season for everyone. I cried because I wanted to finish the show with the guy that played my adoptive father,” Allan told NME. “For the first time, I was seeing what life away from The Witcher could look like, and then the lead moves on… It was very weird. He’s the Geralt I grew up with.”
Cavill’s exit surprised not only viewers but also the cast, as Allan admits that she first realized he had quit the show a day before the announcement. There has been some conjecture that Cavill quit the show to reprise his role as Superman before James Gunn and Peter Safran founded DC Studios, altering the Man of Steel’s norm with David Corenswet in his place.
When Allan decided to stay on Ciri, she claims she “made the most of every moment,” even picking up Cavill’s baton as a proponent of closely rendering The Witcher’s primary sources, particularly the bona fide novels by author Andrzej Sapkowski. “I really want to give the fans what they want,” she remarks. “I’d also seen Henry, who was so knowledgeable and loyal to the books, push for certain lines to be included. When he left, I was inspired to take on that role.”
Ciri joins a band of vicious lawbreakers known as The Rats after mistakenly teleporting far away from her foster parents, the gloomy pawn hunter Geralt (originally played by Henry Cavill, now Liam Hemsworth) and wicked wizard Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), and surviving a treacherous desert trip. In addition to eliminating the rare beasts of hell, she gets embroiled in violent bar confrontations and daytime robberies.
“Ciri’s no longer that innocent child we first met [in season one],” says Allan, locked up in a swanky central London hotel restaurant. “She’s trying to figure out who she is, and that unfortunately involves making some mistakes along the way. It’s basically a heightened version of a typical coming-of-age.”
