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Killing Eve star Jodie Comer revealed that she was initially hesitant about playing a female assassin on screen.
The BBC drama – an adaptation of Luke Jennings' Codename Villanelle and developed by Fleabag ‘s Phoebe Waller-Bridge – sees her play Villanelle, a hired killer who’s currently on the run from MI5 agent Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh). As the story continues, the pair become increasingly obsessed with each other.
Speaking to GQ , the actor said that she initially bristled at the words “female assassin”. She added: “I was like, ‘Oh, f**k no.’ Because I always think of someone in a leather catsuit and six-inch heels scaling walls.” She wondered: “How naked is she going to be?”
“I should have known better, knowing Phoebe was the writer,” Comer said.
The show, in reality, has been praised for its female-centric interpretation of the spy genre. Newsweek ‘s Jen Glennon wrote that the second season was “full of compelling twists and wrinkles, but it’s the sly feminism at the heart of the show’s cat-and-mouse game that makes it all so infectiously fun.”
Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Show all 11 1 /11Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Jodie Comer (Villanelle) Jodie Comer has wowed fans as everyone’s favourite assassin Villanelle and it’s not the first time she’s taken on a challenging role. She starred as abducted teenager Ivy Moxam in the BBC series Thirteen (2016) and played a 23-year-old mistress in Doctor Foster (2015-17). She’s set to join a star-studded cast in action-comedy Free Guy and will be directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh in Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile (both in 2020).
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Sandra Oh (Eve Polastri) Before she joined MI5 (and later MI6) as Eve Polastri, Sandra Oh was best known for playing Dr Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy (2005-14). She had a smaller role as Vice Principal Gupta in teen flick The Princess Diaries (2001), and voiced Hiko Yoshida and Katie in American Dad! (2005-13). Oh’s next project will see her working alongside Seth Rogan in Amazon’s animated series, Invincible (2020).
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Fiona Shaw (Carolyn Martens) Fiona Shaw was killing it on screen long before she starred as MI6 boss Carolyn Martens. The Irish actor was cast in the 1998 version of The Avengers and played Petunia Dursley in five of the eight Harry Potter films. She also had a cameo in the second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s other TV success story Fleabag (2019). Shaw is currently filming the drama Ammonite , which stars Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet, and is due for release in 2020 (US).
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Kim Bodnia (Konstantin) Against the odds, it looks like Kim Bodnia's character Konstantin has made it to series two of Killing Eve . Villanelle’s cool and collected handler starred in a number of foreign-language films and TV shows before Waller-Bridge’s series, including Danish crime drama The Bridge (2011-18). He has finished filming After the Harvest II , which is yet to announce a release date.
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Sean Delaney (Kenny Stowton) RADA graduate Sean Delaney is new on the acting scene. Prior to landing a role as an MI6 computer whiz in Killing Eve , Delaney starred in the daytime mystery drama Midsomer Murders (2016).
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Elena Felton) Killing Eve has put Kirby Howell-Baptiste on the map. She previously landed a number of smaller roles in shows such as the Netflix series Love (2016-18) and House of Lies (2015), which also stars Kristen Bell. She now has credits including the HBO crime comedy Barry (2018) and The Good Place (2018-19), and she is set to star in the Veronica Mars reboot (2019).
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series David Haig (Bill Pargrave) We were all shouting at our screens when Bill Pargrave met his sorry end in Killing Eve . Fans of actor David Haig need not fear – they can also see him as short-tempered spin doctor Steve Fleming in The Thick of It as well the much-loved Richard Curtis romcom Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Haig will next appear in the forthcoming adaptation of TV series Downton Abbey , due for release September 2019.
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Darren Boyd (Frank Haleton) It’s hard to forget Frank’s sticky end in Killing Eve – sorry to remind you. Prior to his stint as an MI5 boss, Darren Boyd enjoyed a number of cameo roles in well-known films such as Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) and The World’s End (2013). He also starred in medical drama Green Wing (2006) and satirical dark comedy Four Lions (2010), which follows four incompetent British terrorists. He recently made an appearance in the Anna Paquin comedy series Flack (2019).
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Owen McDonnell (Niko Polastri) Irish actor Owen McDonnell, who plays Eve's less-exciting relationship prospect, has previously appeared in small roles in big British shows such as Spooks (2009) and Silent Witness (2014). He also starred as Michael Coyne in the BBC series My Mother and Other Strangers in 2016.
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Edward Bluemel (Hugo) Before the second season of Killing Eve , new kid on the block Edward Bluemel has appeared in war drama The Halcyon (2017), A Discovery of Witches (2018) and successful Netflix comedy Sex Education (2019). He has also been cast in the comedy How to Build a Girl , based on the novel by Caitlin Moran. It is due for release in the US in 2019.
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Killing Eve: Meet the cast of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s killer TV series Nina Sosanya (Jess) A new face for season two, Nina Sosanya is most recognisable for playing the prime minister’s chief of staff Annie in Love Actually (2003). She was also a star of the BBC series Last Tango in Halifax (2012-15) and has made appearances on shows such as Silent Witness , Vera (both 2012) and Marcella (2016). She has been cast in the fantasy series Good Omens , alongside David Tennant, due for release in May 2019.
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Killing Eve’s first season won three awards at the TV Baftas , including Best Drama Series, while Jodie Comer won Best Leading Actress and Fiona Shaw won Best Supporting Actress.
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