Exclusive Interview: Meg Fraser on Reimagining Penny for a New Generation in ‘Angel and the Badman’

Meg Fraser brings luminous warmth and emotional depth to Angel and the Badman, reimagining Penny with a captivating sense of self. Her performance reveals the many facets of a young woman whose compassion is rooted in conviction, finding room for playful humor, stubbornness, and curiosity within her generous spirit. Through that beautifully considered balance, Meg makes Penny’s openness to love as compelling as her determination to remain true to herself.

Directed by Julio Quintana, this reimagining of the 1947 Western follows Quirt Evans (Zachary Levi), a wounded outlaw whose arrival at a ranch introduces him to an unfamiliar way of life. As Penny and her family offer him refuge, an unexpected connection begins to suggest a future beyond the violence that has defined him. But with the law and his former associates closing in, that possibility faces an increasingly urgent test.

Pop Culturalist caught up with Meg to discuss reimagining Penny for a new generation, finding the strength beneath her gentleness, and allowing humor and contradiction to shape her performance. She also reflected on the women who have influenced her, the sense of family established on set, and building Penny and Quirt’s romance through their smallest exchanges.

PC: With Angel and the Badman, you’re revisiting a story that audiences have connected with for generations. What felt essential to preserve, and where did you see an opportunity to make Penny your own?
Meg: I think the heart of the original story is really beautiful. It’s about redemption, the possibility of change, and the idea that kindness and compassion can be powerful tools. Those key themes were certainly things I wanted to preserve.

But I also felt there was an opportunity to give Penny a little more agency. In the original, Gail Russell brought such a wonderful gentleness to the role, and I really admire her performance. For our version, I wanted to explore the strength underneath that gentleness. Penny has a very clear sense of who she is and what she believes in. She doesn’t necessarily need Quirt to agree with her, and she’s certainly not waiting for him to come along and change her life. I think that independence makes their relationship all the more interesting.

PC: That really comes across in your performance. There’s a strength behind Penny’s gentleness, but also humor and stubbornness that make her feel so human. How did you bring those different sides of her together?
Meg: I think I’m always interested in the contradictions within people. Nobody is entirely one thing, and I find characters become much more interesting when you allow those different qualities to exist alongside one another.

Penny has this incredibly strong moral compass, but she’s also young, curious, occasionally stubborn, and not above getting a little frustrated when things don’t go her way. I loved finding the moments where her convictions could bump up against her emotions. She can believe wholeheartedly in seeing the good in everyone and still find someone completely infuriating.

I think the humor often comes from those contradictions, particularly in her relationship with Quirt. She’s not necessarily trying to be funny, but she’s certainly capable of giving as good as she gets. For me, it was about not treating her goodness as her entire personality.

PC: Penny is also such an empathetic character who holds space for others while lifting them up and challenging them. Who are the people in your own life who have done the same for you, and how did those relationships inform your performance?
Meg: I’m very lucky to have some wonderful women in my life who have shaped the person I am. My mum, my friends, and the women I’ve worked with over the years have all taught me different things about what strength can look like. I think what I love most about the people in my life is how grounding they are. We aren’t afraid to challenge one another, and I think there’s something really valuable about having people around you who genuinely want to see you grow.

What I loved about this project was how immediately that same sense of connection was established within the Worth family, particularly between Jean Louisa Kelly, Melissa Chambers, and me. There was something so familiar about that intergenerational dynamic between the women. From our very first day of shooting, there was a real sense of warmth, strength, and understanding between us that felt incredibly natural. I think those relationships helped ground Penny and gave me a real sense of the women who had shaped her.

PC: There’s such an immersive quality to the film, from the set design to the costumes. Was there a particular detail that unlocked something about Penny for you, whether in how she carries herself or how she moves through the world?
Meg: I think costume can be such a wonderful tool for an actor, particularly in a period film. There’s something about putting on clothes from another era that immediately changes the way you carry yourself.

What interested me about Penny was the contrast between the expectations of a young woman in that period and how capable and self-sufficient she actually is. She’s grown up in a world where hard work is simply part of everyday life, and I wanted that practicality to come through physically.

I didn’t want her to feel too precious or delicate. There’s a real groundedness to her, and I think the physical world of the film helped enormously in finding that.

PC: This is such an ensemble piece, and it feels like you’re all elevating one another’s performances. Can you share a moment when a scene partner’s choice surprised you and helped you discover something about Penny you hadn’t considered?
Meg: There’s a moment towards the end of the film when Penny is being chased by Laredo, and she runs out of the house screaming for her mother to run. It’s a pretty emotionally charged moment, and often, when you’re shooting something like that, you’re delivering the line without anyone actually standing there to receive it.

We did one take that way, but on the second take, Jean Louisa Kelly surprised me by standing directly in my eyeline, visibly emotional. It immediately provoked a much bigger reaction from me than I’d anticipated. Suddenly, the urgency of the moment felt so much more personal.

I love those little moments on set when a fellow actor makes a choice that completely changes your experience of a scene. Jean didn’t need to do that, but by being so present and aware of what the scene required, she gave me something real to respond to. I think that’s one of my favorite things about acting: those unexpected moments of connection when you’re both completely living in the scene together.

PC: So much of a compelling love story comes from the moments between the dialogue. How did you and Zachary [Levi] build that connection, and what did you want those quieter exchanges to reveal about what draws Penny and Quirt to each other?
Meg: I think what’s lovely about Penny and Quirt is that, on paper, they really shouldn’t make sense together. They come from completely different worlds and have fundamentally different ideas about how to live.

But I think there’s a mutual curiosity there from the beginning. Quirt represents a world Penny hasn’t experienced, and I think she’s fascinated by him, even when she doesn’t agree with him. And for Quirt, similarly, I think Penny offers something quite unfamiliar. She’s not particularly impressed by his reputation, and she doesn’t seem to want anything from him.

Zachary and I were interested in allowing that attraction to develop through the smaller moments, rather than always playing the romance too explicitly. Sometimes it’s just a look or a moment when one of them catches the other off guard.

I think what draws them together is that they both see something in the other that perhaps they haven’t quite recognized in themselves yet. And I like that Penny doesn’t have to compromise who she is for that connection to exist.

To keep up with Meg, follow her on Instagram. Angel and the Badman is in theaters now.

Photo Credit: Harry Hayes