Stars of ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Jeremy Irvine and Hermione Corfield have excellent manners… when they want to. In this episode of “Common Courtesy,” the duo weigh in on how to navigate awkward real-life scenarios with poise—from discourteous plane passengers to ill-timed fan encounters. Jeremy may take some creative liberties with our questions, but together, he and Hermione respond with the kind of sharp wit and composure only a time-traveling romance can teach.
00:00Your American co-star already problems, already issues.
00:04Hello, I am Jeremy Irvine.
00:06And I'm Hermione Caulfield.
00:08And this is Common Courtesy for Town and Country.
00:11Do I have good manners? Absolutely.
00:15I do when I want to.
00:16That makes you sound horrible.
00:20You are up for the same role as a close friend,
00:24but ultimately learn they have been selected over you.
00:27Later you discover they're romantically involved with the director.
00:30Jesus, this is good.
00:32This is juicy.
00:33Do you speak up?
00:34I think that was right.
00:35But speak up to who?
00:36I think speak up to them, I don't think I would.
00:39I think you look salty.
00:40So the only thing really would be to go and shag the director as well.
00:44That is the only answer in this scenario, isn't it?
00:46I think that's the only answer.
00:47And use your manners, so say thank you afterwards.
00:49Be polite about it.
00:51You're asked to deliver a toast at your friend's wedding,
00:55but you privately disapprove of the marriage.
00:58How do you proceed?
01:00I would deliver the toast if I'm being honest.
01:03I don't think you can ever say that you don't like someone close to you's partner
01:07because ultimately they'll always choose the partner.
01:10Yeah.
01:10So you've got to be smart about that.
01:12If you want that person in your life, you've got to keep...
01:15Yeah, or a mistake that I've made, which is they break up.
01:18You then slag off their partner.
01:19Yeah, that's a good one.
01:20Tell them you've always hated them.
01:21Yeah.
01:22And then they get back together.
01:25You observe your co-star engaging in flirtatious behaviour with several extras on set,
01:29despite being married.
01:31You share a close relationship with their spouse.
01:34Do you address the situation?
01:36Well, firstly, we don't call them extras anymore.
01:38That's...
01:39They're called the supporting artists.
01:40So already bad manners.
01:42Impolite.
01:42Bad manners already.
01:44I've seen someone exchanging numbers with essays before.
01:48Just try to see the good in people.
01:49Maybe the marriage isn't working out.
01:50Yeah.
01:51You know, maybe they've found true love.
01:52But is that just an excuse not to say anything?
01:55Yeah, it's maybe...
01:55Oh, God.
01:56Actually, that scenario fills me with a bit of fear.
01:58Yeah, I feel like we've all seen that.
02:00I'm sweating.
02:00Far too many times.
02:01Yeah.
02:03An industry friend begins giving you unsolicited acting advice.
02:08That is a good one.
02:09What is your response?
02:10I think other actors giving each other acting advice is more of an ick.
02:15I wouldn't go into you in a scene, hey.
02:17I think you should do it.
02:19You should get punched.
02:20Yeah, I think I'd get slapped.
02:22Get hit.
02:22The fury that that ignites is quite extraordinary, isn't it?
02:26Yeah.
02:27I get it from family a lot.
02:28Do you?
02:29We finished watching the first Outlander, Blood of My Blood with my wife.
02:34And it finished.
02:35She went, told you.
02:36Told you you shouldn't have done it like this.
02:37You should have done it like that.
02:39I went, you're joking.
02:40I'm far too honest.
02:43Anyway, she was wrong.
02:44Yeah.
02:45Olivia Williams gave me really good advice when I did the house scene when I was about 22nd.
02:49Oh, yeah, I did my second film with her.
02:50When I was 22.
02:51I found her advice really helpful.
02:54I can't remember any of it, but I remember it being good.
02:57Your American co-star, already problems, already issues.
03:01Right, your American co-star asked to run lines saying they've modeled their British accent after yours.
03:07But the accent is a bit more.
03:09How do you approach this?
03:11I wouldn't dream of it, I don't think.
03:14And you go positive reinforcement.
03:15Yeah.
03:16So you go, I think the effort's great.
03:19Maybe we try one in American accent.
03:20You're a natural accent, so we've got one of those, we've got one of those, and yeah.
03:24And then secretly go and talk to the director about recasting.
03:28Yeah.
03:29You discover that your colleagues have a group chat that excludes you.
03:32When you bring it up, they deny its existence.
03:34How do you choose to respond?
03:36That would be soul-destroying.
03:37I honestly don't know what I'd do.
03:38I think that would be soul-destroying.
03:39I think I'd burn everyone's houses down.
03:40I don't know.
03:41I would be so upset.
03:42I would choose violence.
03:45I would maybe convince myself it's because they're organizing like a prize for me.
03:49Yeah, surprise for me.
03:50If I thought it was like a group to organize my birthday.
03:52Yeah, that is what you'd have to think, isn't it?
03:54Until you find out that's not, until it gets the end of the job, and then you still don't know why.
03:57Don't go looking for things you don't want to see.
03:59Yeah.
04:02We do.
04:02We've got a couple.
04:03We've got several.
04:04We've got one with Hermione and one without.
04:05The passenger seated behind you on the plane is replicably kicking your seat.
04:13Do you use the life jacket or the air mask to strangle them?
04:17No, it says, how do you manage the remainder of the flight?
04:21The thing is, I always like to think in these scenarios I speak up, but I've had it, like when people play videos loudly on their phone and that kind of thing in public transport, I've never told them to stop.
04:31No, I've never told them, no, I know.
04:31And I just sit there fuming.
04:34So I imagine with this it would be a similar scenario.
04:36Actually, if they're kids, you turn around and you passively, aggressively smile at the parents like that.
04:41Yeah, I think I'd be getting escorted off the plane at the other end.
04:49First time I came to New York to do a press tour like we're doing here, I had some bad shrimp or something on the plane and got aggressive food poisoning.
05:00That's miserable.
05:01Then had to land, go to, it's when David Lessman was doing his late show, go on to that, first chat show I'd ever done.
05:09And I vomited just off before going in to the most white knuckle.
05:15I just thought, great, the first time I'm on American TV and I'm going to f*** myself.
05:20Perfect.
05:23You've brought a date to an exclusive industry event, only to notice that their primary interest appears to be engaging with your famous friends.
05:31How do you address this with them?
05:33I think you'd get dumped.
05:35I think, like, if you're a star f***er, no.
05:38Well, I've got mates who get quite excited and go and ask for photos from people.
05:42That's different.
05:42But, like, I think there's, like, you know, there's a sweet version of that, which is being excited.
05:47And then there's ditching you to go and work the room, which is big ick.
05:51And they're ditching you to go and do it.
05:53But as long as they're still with you, my mum's pretty bad at that.
05:55Is she?
05:56I don't know why she doesn't think that people can't see her with her phone out.
05:59She did it right in Paul McCartney's face once.
06:01She looked at it and I thought, what am I going to f***ing do?
06:06While dining at an upscale restaurant, a fan approaches your table and asks for a photo, drawing attention and causing a commotion.
06:13Do you oblige?
06:15Yeah, normally.
06:16Yeah.
06:16I think if I'm eating, I'd say, let's do it after this.
06:18Well, I'll do it when I finish this.
06:20Yeah, yeah.
06:21Sorry, that's not an open invite for people to come up to me when I'm eating.
06:24Where's the greatest place you've been asked for a selfie?
06:27I was doing a film in Abu Dhabi and we got, for some reason, we ended up losing our location and we were standing in the middle of the desert.
06:34That was nearly a sense of humour failure, actually, because it was so hot.
06:37But that was probably, in the middle of the desert, was quite mad.
06:41I was dating someone much more famous than me.
06:43I remember sort of literally having one of those sort of break-up dinners and people kept coming up and that was...
06:49Oh, no.
06:50Yeah, I could have done without that.
06:51But you were breaking up and they were asking for selfies.
06:55Yeah.
06:56That is grim, isn't it?
06:59Thank you for watching us play Comic Cursity with Town and Country.
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