Emma Corrin's parents wouldn't let her quit school to become an actress

Speaking about her first experience with acting, she said: "I don’t remember the decision to be an actor. It was just … a very stark interest. I wrote a lot as a child. I had an insane imagination. I spent a lot of time outside, creating worlds; I put on a lot of plays.

"But I was 16 before I started thinking about it seriously. I had to say to my family: this is what I want to do. I wanted to quit school, and get an agent. My parents wouldn’t let me. They wanted me to have another option, to get a degree under my belt."

And Emma admits she was rejected from drama school twice so she did end up studying in Cambridge to get a degree, which she described as "the best three years of her life".

Speaking to The Observer New Review, she shared: "I remember sitting on the bed, having got the letter from Rada. There was a voice in my head that said: right, how badly do I want this? I can’t let this affect me. I need to find a way.

"I'd heard an interview in which someone said: there’s no one way of doing it; determination and harnessing your creativity are the most important things. So I ended up going to Cambridge – I studied education – and they were the best three years of my life."