Peacemaker star Jennifer Holland reveals the hardest part of playing two versions of Harcourt

Peacemaker Season 2 has been expanding its storylines by diving into alternate realities, a move that has allowed fans to see familiar faces in new and surprising ways. One of the most talked-about developments has been Emilia Harcourt, played by Jennifer Holland.

The character, who was introduced as a tough, no-nonsense field operative in the first season, has returned in two distinct forms this time around: the mainline Harcourt and an alternate version from another dimension. The twist has brought both opportunity and challenge for Holland, who has to embody two characters that look identical but are written with very different emotional cores.

In a recent interview with Cinema Blend, Holland explained that the hardest part of portraying “Harcourt 2” was resisting the temptation to lean into comedy. She stated,

"For me, the most difficult aspect of playing Harcourt 2 was that I didn't want it to be comical. That how different she is from our Harcourt… I didn't want it to seem like a comedy routine. Like we're always calling out how different she is or something like that. So I wanted to make sure it stayed grounded and that it was real and that you could buy both that Chris found her attractive not just because she looks like Harcourt, but also that she still shares some of the similarities of Harcourt's personality."

She worked closely with director Greg Mottola to keep the portrayal believable while maintaining shades of the original Harcourt’s strength. The actress emphasized that Peacemaker’s affection for this alternate Harcourt needed to feel authentic, not just a gag about meeting a softer version of the same person.

Jennifer Holland on balancing two very different Harcourts in Peacemaker

The challenge Jennifer Holland faced in Peacemaker Season 2 went far beyond costume changes or line delivery. Playing two versions of Emilia Harcourt required her to shift tone without losing the essence of who the character is. In the alternate timeline introduced this season, Harcourt is noticeably less guarded. The actress added,

"She still has a strength to… she's not a total pushover, but she wears her heart on her sleeve. She is much more open with her feelings than Harcourt from our dimension."

She is warmer, more emotionally available, and far more willing to express vulnerability. For Holland, the difficulty came in making sure those qualities felt natural instead of exaggerated. She explained that it would have been easy to treat Harcourt 2 as a parody of the original, but that approach risked turning the scenes into a comedy routine.

Because Peacemaker often leans on humor and outrageous moments, Holland knew viewers might expect the new Harcourt to serve as a joke. She deliberately worked against that expectation. She wanted audiences to see why Peacemaker, played by John Cena, could genuinely fall for this alternate version.

It wasn’t just about her having the same face; it had to feel like she carried enough of the core Harcourt traits to make the attraction believable. That balance required careful adjustment in performance, especially since Cena’s character is written to respond earnestly to her openness.

Holland credited director Greg Mottola for helping her find the right level of contrast. She mentioned,

"Greg Mottola helped me with this a lot because he was really the one who brought Harcourt with me to the screen. So yeah, it was a delicate balance of making sure that she was grounded and real, and not comically different from our Harcourt.".

By keeping her decisive, capable, and resilient, Holland ensured the new version felt like a real person rather than a device to push Peacemaker’s story forward. The subtle shifts, softer body language, more eye contact, and willingness to verbalize feelings created differences that viewers could notice without them being highlighted as punchlines.

This careful performance also preserved the credibility of the show’s multiverse storyline. If Harcourt 2 had been played for laughs, it would have undercut the weight of the season’s central theme, which leans into alternate realities as more than comic distractions.

Instead, Holland’s approach gave emotional grounding to a story that might otherwise have seemed too far-fetched. It showed that even in a series known for its outrageous humor, a thoughtful performance can anchor the bigger ideas.

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