Even before Sofia Carson was named “Netflix’s first bona fide movie star” by Vanity Fair, her My Oxford Year costar Corey Mylchreest was certain acting with her would ensure their project’s success. “As soon as I knew Sofia was involved, I thought, ‘Here's a Netflix number one,’” Mylchreest tells Teen Vogue, laughing.
The pair bring yearning and fun to My Oxford Year, a new Netflix romcom with a funny twist and the kind of banter that’s bound to have you kicking your feet and giggling.
The story follows the character Anna De La Vega (Carson), an ambitious Type A woman who chases a childhood dream to move to the UK and attend Oxford University. She’s got everything planned accordingly for her future — until she meets a captivating and witty local professor, Jamie Davenport (Mylchreest), who profoundly changes both of their lives.
The film is based on the novel by Julia Whelan, adapted from Allison Burnett’s original screenplay, and it incorporates humor, vulnerability, and poetry into the romcom format.
The two stars start a romance that challenges the importance of growth and stepping out of your comfort zone, which brings the film to life while also gazing at the beautiful scenery that is Oxford. Below, Teen Vogue caught up with Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest to talk about their undeniable chemistry, reciting poems and the adjustment to Type A plans.
Sofia Carson: I have been a fan of Corey since I watched him in Queen Charlotte as King George, and I think we all just were so in awe of him. I was really so impressed with his work. When we were diving into the casting process, I always knew it was going to be him. I traveled to London to meet with a couple of really talented actors, and I think Corey was one of the last ones we met with, and it was instant. As soon as he walked into the room, we just kind of became Anna and Jamie, and that's such a gift when that happens.
Corey Mylchreest: To trust, once you've done that, then even on days where you don't feel good about what you're doing, the script slightly changes or the schedule changes, you can just ride the wave [and] that only really happens when you've got a partner that you trust and that you've already done the work.
CM: I really do love the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem, which [Sofia] read so eloquently in the first scene that we shot. Which is “My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—It gives a lovely light.”
SC: Writing has always been one of my favorite outlets since I was a little girl. Literature was my favorite class in school, and very much like Anna, I've always been such a studious nerd, so I loved being able to tap back into that and to rediscover poets that either I had forgotten or I hadn't discovered yet. Like Emily Dickinson once said, "Forever is composed of nows." I think that to me really just captured Anna's journey in this film, and for me serves as a reminder for the rest of my life as well.
SC: Anna is fearless, and she walks into every room so confidently, and she's just so comfortable in her skin. She always moved through Oxford with such purpose and such intention. That's such an admirable way to live, especially as a young woman who's probably faced adversity, as most women do, and especially women of color, so I loved bringing that on because so often in life I think you forget about that girl who's fearless and has dreamt big dreams and believes truly that she can do them. Sometimes anxiety and fear kicks in, but Anna doesn't carry that with her, which is kind of remarkable and beautiful to kind of live in that skin for a period of time.
SC: I am so Anna in my real life. I'm very type A, a scheduler and a planner. I need control in my life, so the Anna that we meet in the movie, who believed that living deliberately means to plan every moment, is very much how I've lived my life, and in falling in love with Jamie and finding herself, I think she learns that, as Jamie taught her, that the messiness of life is the most beautiful part of it. Oftentimes in the planning, we forget to live. I think that's such a needed reminder that I needed, and I think so much of us need.
CM: I think the lesson that Anna learns from Jamie is the lesson that I, as Corey, learned from Jamie, because you have to meditate on those philosophies that Jamie holds so dear, and in order to embody someone who believes them so strongly, you have to really try to understand them.
SC: I think that was the brilliance of Iain Morris, our director. He is a legend in British television. Because the story matter is so heavy and so often in life we use laughter as a way to cope or to shine light on the darkness. It might be my favorite part of our movie is that in one scene you can cry and fall in love and then laugh hysterically. I think it brings Jamie and Anna's love story to life in a far more powerful way.
CM: I think the message of the film is to live for now, because everything else is going to either happen or not happen. The only thing that is guaranteed to happen, at every point, in every second, is the present moment. You're never going to not be in the present moment. We spend so much time outside of it in our heads. Someone could live a really, really long life. If they're never in the moment, then they don't live at all, so even though there are people that live for a much shorter time than others, that doesn't mean that you can't live as fully, and if you live in a positive, present way then your life can be much longer than most people's.
SC: This is Corey's first movie, which is unbelievable to me, and I'm so excited for the world to see him in this light. I mean, they already saw him in King George, but he's such a star and he's so talented, and I'm just really, really excited and happy to see what this does for you.
CM: [Sofia] has already sort of taken over the world [laughs], and I am excited for the world to keep on experiencing Sofia in the quantity and quality that we have this year.
