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As Jodie Comer prepares for the end of the show that made her name, she’s all set for the biggest 12 months of her life. Just don’t ask her to leave Liverpool for good, says Guy Pewsey
FOR THE LAST few years, Jodie Comer’s turn as Villanelle – the couture-draped assassin in BBC hit Killing Eve – has been one of the most acclaimed performances in television. She has won an Emmy, a BAFTA and legions of fans thanks to the series, and her profile has risen exponentially. But all good things come to an end and, as that particular journey draws to a close, the Liverpudlian actor, 28, will be juggling bittersweet emotions. As she says goodbye to the show that made her a household name, and hello to Hollywood star status, she’ll know that her next steps are crucial.
Rumours that Killing Eve’s fourth season would also be its swansong have now been confirmed. The exploits of ex-mi5 agent Eve – played by Sandra Oh – and her toxic relationship with Jodie’s Villanelle have seen the pair engage in a deadly cat and mouse game since 2018. Jodie has conflicted feelings about saying goodbye.
‘Jodie loves every single person on that team,’ says a source. ‘She and the cast, but also the production and behind-the-scenes teams, have become a family. So there will be tears when the director shouts “cut” one last time. She’s so grateful for everything the role has given her. But it’s also a chance to explore new things: in the last few years, every other part she’s played, every move she made, every opportunity that came her way, depended on one question: “Can I fit this around Killing Eve?” As sad as this farewell is, it also feels right. She is excited to look ahead and throw herself in at the deep end when it comes to her new work.’
She will hit the ground running. Free Guy, Jodie’s action-comedy film with Ryan Reynolds, has finally been rescheduled for an August release (after multiple delays thanks to Covid). ‘This is going to be one of the first major studio films to hit cinemas internationally,’ says a film insider. ‘Millions of people truly can’t wait to be back in cinemas. For Jodie to be one of the first faces they see on the big screen after a year away is significant timing.’
This scheduling also means that Jodie will become a fixture on our screens for the next year. Filming has wrapped on Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, set for an autumn release.
Help, in which she stars as a care home worker with actor friend Stephen Graham, will be on Channel 4 soon after. Killing Eve’s final season (about to start filming) will follow in 2022, and then, if all goes well, we will see her highest-profile role to date: as Josephine to Joaquin Phoenix’s Napoleon in big-budget biopic Kitbag. Jodie’s casting has not been confirmed officially, but she has posted a news story concerning the reports to her Instagram stories.
Ridley Scott, best known for the Oscarwinning Gladiator, plans to start work on the film once he has completed shooting on The House Of Gucci. He met Jodie through The Last Duel, with film industry magazine Deadline stating that his experience with her on-set led to him putting her at the top of his list to play the French leader’s wife. ‘Scott had no idea who [ Jodie] was when he set her as the female lead opposite Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck in The Last Duel… Scott was blown away by her work.’ The role, a source says, is ‘classic Oscars bait. Playing a real life character is a classic way of getting the attention of the Academy.’
With at least two films and two TV shows scheduled in the next year, a Los Angeles insider says that, for Jodie, ‘the next 12 months are going to be a major test. But nobody doubts that she has the talent to go all the way, and it says a lot that she’s got the backing of Ridley. The power players of Hollywood will be watching closely to see if she can come out of it as a bona fide star. The sky’s the limit.’
With the world slowly returning to normal, she will be jetting around more and more. Killing Eve is sure to demand various international shoots, and she is bound to want to see more of her boyfriend, athlete James Burke, who has flown to the UK to see her when possible. But, for now, she truly has no interest in leaving her full-time base of her family home in Liverpool. ‘That is my happy space,’ she has said. ‘If you are working away a lot, you want to get back to reality.’
This time next year, though, that may have to change. When Hollywood comes calling, it’s best to answer.