CELEBRITY
Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer isn’t going anywhere.
IT’S TEA TIME AT our ELLE shoot, and Jodie Comer is eating chocolate cake. Not that this is remarkable in itself—it’s a delicious cake—but as she’s called for the next look, she takes one last bite and jokes about wiping her chocolatey hands on the pristine Prada dress she’s wearing: “That would be a Villanelle thing to do,” she says, turning on her heels.
It’s the role of Villanelle, the crazed, Molly Goddardwearing assassin on Killing Eve, that has catapulted the 26-year-old Comer into the spotlight. Next up, she’ll
star alongside Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot in a remake of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile and then opposite Ryan Reynolds in the sci-fi action film Free Guy. But she hasn’t yet succumbed to L.A. life and has never had any formal acting training; she still lives with her parents (her father is a sports massage therapist, and her mother works for a transport company) in Liverpool.
Hollywood roles aside, it’s the second season of Killing Eve we’ve all been waiting for. The show, written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag fame and costarring Sandra Oh as MI5 agent Eve Polastri and Fiona Shaw as her boss, stands out not just for its complex
female leads—so likeable yet so psychotic—but for the amazing band of women involved. “I did have a moment last year at the Critics’ Choice Awards,” says Comer. “I was with Phoebe, Sandra and Fiona and I was like, ‘This is so fucking cool.’ To be on set not just with women but with these women in particular—being encouraged by them, learning from them and laughing with them—it’s just special.”
This is why we asked Waller-Bridge to interview Comer. The pair met at the BAFTAs in 2017, when WallerBridge took home an award for her hit dramedy Fleabag and Comer was nominated for her role as kidnapped teenager Ivy Moxam in the BBC drama Thirteen. Both had admired each other’s work from afar. They ended up drinking wine in each other’s hotel rooms— first Comer’s and then Waller-Bridge’s— after being told to “pipe down” by security. This isn’t hard to imagine. In between interview questions, there’s a lot of laughter. Comer calls Waller-Bridge “Pheebs,” asking her to “be gentle with me” before they begin, to which WallerBridge gives an evil “mwahaha” cackle and starts her line of questioning, covering everything from the dark corners of our minds to shedding insecurities and why Sandra Oh wants to get inside other women’s vaginas.
PHOEBE WALLERBRIDGE I feel quite a big responsibility. So I’m asking the questions: Jodie Comer, what was your first job?
JODIE COMER “My first TV job was for an episode of the hospital drama The Royal Today when I was 14. But I think Killing Eve is definitely the role that has changed things for me. I don’t think there’s a show like this, or a character like Villanelle who breaks so many rules.”
Correct answer! Thank you very much.
“She paid me to say that!”
You’ve played some morally ambiguous characters who have a darker side to them, such as with Doctor Foster.
[Comer played a twentysomething girl who has an affair with her parents’ friend.] You’ve said that people would say “She’s the bitch” and be rude to you about her. Are you drawn to that?
“I relish it. I think it’s fun getting people riled up, so then when they meet you, they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re not a bitch or a home wrecker.’ It’s fun to see that people have gone with it and believed it.”
Do you feel it’s ironic that the most murderous character you’ve ever played has been received with the most love?
“The thing is, she could easily be just a murderous villain, but there are so many lovable qualities about her. When I first read the script and saw ‘assassin,’ I thought, ‘Ah, fuck, I’m not an assassin’—the stereotype of what a female assassin is—and I felt a bit deflated. But I related to Villanelle. There were so many moments from scene one, such as when she flicks the ice cream on that six-year-old. I was like, ‘I’ve wanted to do this so many times but I never have.’ I strangely respect it—the dark corners of our minds that we have to bring to the forefront.”
Through the writing process, what I found really liberating about her is that she’s not ruled by her insecurities.
“You’re right; she doesn’t care what people think, and as much as I don’t like to admit it, I really do. In order to play her, I had to shed that. There’s something about her honesty that I admire. I feel like now I’m much more honest with myself and with people in my life.”
Was there a moment when you realized “I want to be an actor”?
“I remember doing a drama festival in Liverpool, and that was the first time my dad saw me act. The monologue I did was quite emotional. It was by a local playwright about a young girl on the oneyear anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. I remember doing it and seeing his face and him being taken aback. The thrill of doing the festival and coming first—I got such a buzz. Then the BBC sent a request to all the local schools for a BBC Radio 4 drama. I was 12 or 13 at the time, and my drama teacher sent me and another girl from my year. That was my first-ever job. It was so much fun and the first realization that I could do this all the time.”
It sounds like it happened quite organically. You are an anomaly in so many ways, because you’re 26 and yet you’re 2,000 at the same time; you have this wisdom and self-assurance that only trees have.
“Ah, I’m a tree!” [Laughs]
But you also express this powerful beauty. Every single person who works with you wants to talk about
how wonderful you are to work with and how the set comes alive with joy and lightness when you’re there. I want to know when it was that you realized you’re so fantastic?
“Shut up! [Phoebe makes an evil laughing sound in the background.] Do you know what has played a massive part in that? My mum and dad—they’ve always been so ridiculously supportive, but they also said, ‘This is your journey; this is all down to you.’”
There’s a kind of feminine energy in the industry right now, which is exciting. With Killing Eve, Sandra was the first on board. I wrote her this love letter that was a little bit over the top, but she wrote back to me and said, “I want to talk about your heart, your vagina and your ideas. When I work with women, I want to live in their vagina for the year.” I was like, “The door is wide open, Sandra, please come running in.” People say that it trickles down from the top, the energy of a set, and it did with her. There’s a power when you’ve got like-minded women together.
“The past five projects I’ve been a part of were all written by women; I’m very aware that that’s rare, but this is something I want to continue and be conscious of and seek out.”
Now I’m going to ask a creepy question that is going to relate in some way to the bigger picture: What are you wearing?
“I’m wearing my activewear because I’m going to the gym.” In Killing Eve, fashion has a huge personality. Has Villanelle’s way of dressing changed the way you dress?
“What I love about Villanelle is that she has a particular style. I feel like if you look at her wardrobe, there’s a definite theme running through it. I’m definitely a jeans girl, which I think she’s absolutely not. I’ve also retired from heels at the age of 26. The range of dance moves you can do in a flat shoe.”
And now for my last question: In this era of women being open about shit and the fact that Villanelle has no insecurities, what are yours?
“A big thing is trying to accept that, with acting, the reason for getting a part or not getting a part isn’t always about your talent or how talented people think you are; a lot of it is about your looks. Worrying about the way you look or your weight for certain roles—that has always been a big insecurity of mine. I used to hate my teeth when I was younger. [Throughout my teen years], I pouted for every photograph; there are so many pictures where I’m doing the biggest duck face because I had a chip in my teeth from diving into a children’s swimming pool. Growing up, I always struggled with my weight and body image. What I’m trying to do—and I feel like I’m succeeding a little bit at it—is accept the fact that...I always put stress on myself having to look a certain way, when you are who you are. Your ability to act, or whatever your job is, is worth so much more than how you look.”
The pressure is real. But at the same time, even you saying that is reassuring, because it shows that it’s a mental state most women find themselves in rather than actually being something that’s important. I feel like when I’m on set working with people I love, with my head in the work, all those things fall away. I stop caring about any of that shit. When women are given the chance to really work or have a character that goes deeper than skin deep, then it suddenly all disappears. That’s how I realized why men don’t worry about this kind of thing—they have just been really busy doing great jobs forever.
“I’ve always felt more confident within my acting than within myself. I feel like I believe in myself more within my work. I would love it if you could write me roles for the rest of my life.”
I’ve already got a part I haven’t told you about. It’s this one scene, this one character—I can see her in my head. But it’s you! Your face inspired this scene and this nuttiness.
“Would you say I’m a nutty person? I quite like that. I’ve never been called that before.”
It’s a really rare feeling when you know there’s an actor you can work with who can literally do anything.
“I have to say I am superexcited about the fact that I’m going to be coming to see you doing Fleabag on Broadway! I’m hoping that we could do some dancing after that.”
Oh, my God, are you kidding? In my flat, you and me, baby.
“In our activewear.”
That actually sounds like heaven.