NIAMH ALGAR

The star of Censor tells us why she pulls no punches

Niamh Algar plays intense characters in intense situations, embracing physically demanding roles: she’s “dabbled” in boxing for years, and is happy to put her skills to use. For her audition tape for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series Raised By Wolves, as well as acting some scenes, she met with her trainer and had some fight moves filmed. Although, she had an ulterior motive. “When I was growing up, G.I. Jane was one of my favourite films, and I thought, ‘If I don't get seen for this, maybe he’ll cast me in a G.I. Jane reboot,’” she laughs.

The Irish actor, who was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2019, is going full force. On the big screen this has included Nick Rowland’s drama

Calm With Horses, Prano Bailey-bond’s upcoming horror Censor, and Guy Ritchie’s new action thriller

Wrath Of Man; on TV, aside from wreaking apocalyptic carnage in Raised By Wolves, we’ve seen her knock Stephen Graham to the ground in Shane Meadows’

The Virtues. But physicality isn’t the main draw.

“A lot of those characters are quite broken,” she explains. “And broken characters can be more interesting to play, because you’re finding what damaged them and how they’re overcoming it. With

Censor we were playing with psychological distortion in a way I hadn’t seen done before. I like to delve into the character’s psychology before I begin to give it any physicality. I’m just fascinated by people.”

Her characters are in stark contrast to Algar herself, who seems immensely cheerful. She agrees that her body of work is arresting. “Any time a new trailer comes out my mum is like, ‘Oh God, this looks intense. Is this gonna make me cry? When are you gonna do a romcom?’” she laughs. But she’s drawn to hard-hitting stories. “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time. And I’m young enough that I can physically push myself. If a meaty character comes along, I’m like, ‘Yes. Let me play it.’”

She’ll soon be seen in Channel 4’s My Name Is Lizzie, about the 1992 murder of Rachel Nickell, in which she plays the undercover policewoman who ensnared the man whom police (wrongly) suspected of the murder. “I’m very proud of it,” she says. “It’s an incredibly emotional subject, especially in the current climate.” Which speaks to what Algar does in general. “It’s about what it is that you in your life want to say in that moment,” she surmises of her career. Her mum shouldn’t expect romcoms just yet.

CENSOR IS COMING TO CINEMAS LATER THIS YEAR