It’s not often we get to watch an actress grow up on-screen, but we’ve watched a career blossom in real time with The Witcher’s Freya Allan.
From the moment she made her first TV appearance on Into the Badlands as the young Widow (aka Minerva), a talented martial artist who adopts the blue-winged butterfly as her baronial symbol, Allan cemented herself as a rare new talent in the world of genre fantasy. Graceful but scrappy, hopeful yet naive, she imbued her early roles with a sense of mystery as a fresh-faced ingenue who wasn’t afraid to be prickly if the scene required it.
At just 20, Allan has landed what many might see as the character of a lifetime, after filling numerous roles that have often taken her off the beaten path into action-oriented films. From smaller parts in short films like 2017's Bluebird and Christmas Tree to her foray into The Witcher, she's explored a variety of genres throughout her surprisingly short acting career.
That’s why Allan’s role as Princess Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, better known as Ciri, in The Witcher makes total sense. Given her diverse roles and acting chops, her metamorphosis speaks to the growth she has experienced as an actor and a young woman. Take, for instance, her youthful appearance in Season 1 versus her wizened appearance in Season 2. From a shy, emerald-eyed chrysalis to a beautiful and determined butterfly, Allan has undergone a transformation on- and off-screen, just as Ciri has grown throughout Witcher lore.
When we last saw Ciri in Season 1, she hadn't yet undergone the profound changes that we would see in Season 2. Allan brought a luminous, ethereal quality to the young woman we met in the first season of The Witcher, who was determined to join the ranks of those powerful fighters at any cost.
For Allan's return to the role, she now dons an outfit more befitting of a Witcher-in-training instead of the royal garb she used to wear. There’s a lot more that Ciri knows about the world around her, outside of royal life. Allan has grown in a similar way, taking on roles with uncommon themes, such as Captain Fierce’s bravehearted Linda and Gunpowder Milkshake’s younger version of master assassin Sam. While she was a girl of 16 when she made her on-screen debut, Allan has settled nicely into a role that seems tailor-made for her. Just as Ciri will work to prove herself to Geralt and work to doff his binding chains of near-parental concern, Allan has risen to match each challenge set before her with each new role.
What's next for Allan now that audiences are finally getting more of The Witcher? She'll be starring in a feature-length version of Alberto Corredor's horror short Baghead alongside Bridgerton's Marina Thompson. And just like Ciri, Allan certainly shouldn’t be underestimated. Her list of acting credits may presently be small, but her ambition is mighty.
