When Malina Weissman was revealed to be playing co-lead Violet Baudelaire in a Netflix adaptation of the A Series of Unfortunate Events books, many fans were taken aback – because they had noticed she bore a striking resemblance to Emily Browning, who shot to fame as Violet in the ill-fated film adaptation of the series back in 2004.

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“It’s very flattering really,” the Australian actress says now of the physical similarity, telling RadioTimes.com that the experience of having a younger star play her character gave her a bit of an “existential crisis.”

And as Browning revealed to us in an exclusive video interview, although she hasn’t actually seen the new Netflix series yet she still has a surprising bit of insight into the casting – because she was actually there when it was happening.

When Malina Weissman was revealed to be playing Violet Baudelaire in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events, many fans were taken aback – because they had noticed she bore a striking resemblance to Emily Browning, who had previously played Violet in the ill-fated film adaptation of the series back in 2004.

“It’s very flattering really,” the Australian actress says now of the physical similarity, telling RadioTimes.com that the experience of having a younger star play her character gave her a bit of an “existential crisis.”

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Browning is set to star in the upcoming Amazon series American Gods, but can't help being intrigued by the Netflix adaptation of the books.

And as Browning revealed to us in an exclusive video interview (below), although she hasn’t seen the new series yet, she still has a surprising bit of insight into the casting – because she was actually there while it was happening.

“I was actually in the casting office when they were casting the character of Violet, that I played,” the actor recalled. “I was in there reading a top-secret script, and I could hear the little girls who were waiting to audition out in the waiting room.

“Someone came out and said, ‘So what year were you born?’ like they were taking down their details.

“And the girl was like, ‘2006!’ The girl playing my role is a child, and I’m 28 now!" she laughed. “Oh my God. It’s kind of terrifying. But I do wanna see it; I’ve heard it’s really incredible.”

A compelling on demand series that also gives you a painful insight into the looming spectre of your own mortality? Why, that’s just good value.

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American Gods begins airing on Amazon Prime Video in the UK on 1st May

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