Jodie Comer (/ˈkoʊmər/KOH-mər; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress. She began her career in an episode of The Royal Today in 2008. Comer gained recognition for appearing in the series My Mad Fat Diary (2013–2015) and Doctor Foster (2015–2017), and starred in the drama miniseries Thirteen (2016).
At the age of 11, she started acting at a weekend drama school called CALS in the Belle Vale area of Liverpool.[7] Through CALS, Comer entered the Liverpool Performing Arts Festival in 2006 at St George's Hall and came first in her category after performing a monologue about the Hillsborough disaster.[7][8][9]
While in high school, Comer's friends kicked her out of their dance group when a holiday with her family clashed with rehearsals for the school's talent show, prompting her to instead perform her Hillsborough disaster monologue for the show.[10] Although she did not win, her performance prompted her drama teacher to call in a favour from friends in the entertainment industry, allowing her to audition for a BBC Radio 4 play.[11] This became her first acting job, with her co-stars advising her to get an agent and telling her that she could have a successful acting career.[12][13]
Career
Career beginnings (2008–2017)
Comer's career began in 2008 with a guest role on an episode of The Royal Today. In 2010, she made her theatre debut in the play The Price of Everything, directed by Noreen Kershaw, at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.[14][15][16] Comer then made minor appearances in several television series (see table below). She was cast in leading roles in the drama series Justice (2011), the supernatural miniseries Remember Me (2014), and as Chloe Gemell in the E4 comedy-drama series My Mad Fat Diary (2013–2015). Comer appeared in the 2015 adaptation of Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928), a television film broadcast on BBC One. The same year, she played Kate Parks in the BBC One drama series Doctor Foster (2015–2017).[17][18][19]
In April 2018, Comer began starring in the BBC America spy thriller series Killing Eve as Villanelle / Oksana Astankova, a sociopathic Russian assassin who develops a mutual obsession with Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), the MI6 agent pursuing her.[24][25][26][27][28] Comer garnered praise for her performance; Jia Tolentino of The New Yorker stated that, in the context of the series's "constant reversals in tone and rhythm", the "ambiguity—and impossibility—of Villanelle's character has worked (through the first season) thanks to Comer's mercurial, unassailable charisma".[29]
After the first season of Killing Eve aired, Comer revealed how much she'd learned from embodying her character, stating: "I had this impression that, to do good acting, everything is minimal, really whispered, less is more. What I learned playing Villanelle is that there is acting that can be so full of life and bold that it is ridiculous at times. There was something very freeing about playing her."[26] For the role, Comer was thrice nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, winning both in 2019.[30][31][32] Given her character's ability to adopt numerous accents as part of her disguises, fans are often astonished to hear Comer's native Scouse accent.[33]
In June 2018, Comer played Linda, a 1960s Liverpool secretary exploring her sexuality, in the BBC Four series Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives, inspired by events that took place in the century since women first won the vote.[34] In August 2018, Comer was ranked No. 94 on Radio Times's TV 100.[35] In November 2018, The Hollywood Reporter included her in their list of the "Next Gen Talent 2018: Hollywood's Rising Young Stars".[36]
Comer made her West End debut in Suzie Miller's one-woman play Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre which started in April 2022 and concluded in June 2022. She was praised for her role as criminal defense barrister Tessa Ensler.[53][54][55][56] Comer made her Broadway debut with Prima Facie when the production transferred from the West End, in spring 2023.[57] Starting 21 July 2022, a filmed performance of the play at the Harold Pinter Theatre was shown at cinemas around the world by National Theatre Live (NT Live), where it became the highest-grossing event cinema release ever, taking in £4.47 million.[58][59][60] For her performance, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress and Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[61][62][63] Reflecting on her experience on stage, Comer termed it "the most overwhelming and powerful and life-affirming experience".[64]
In 2023, Comer starred, alongside Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, in Jeff Nichols's The Bikeriders, a drama inspired by the photography of Danny Lyon and his 1967 book of the same name.[65] She then starred in and produced the environmental thriller The End We Start From, an adaptation of Megan Hunter's debut novel, directed by Mahalia Belo.[66][67][68] Both films received generally positive reviews, with Comer's performance receiving praise for both, though she received a polarized reaction towards her American accent in The Bikeriders.[69] Comer stated that it was tough as the only woman on the set of The Bikeriders.[70] In 2024, she voiced character Emily Hartwood in the survival horror video game Alone in the Dark, a reimagining of the 1992 original video game and the seventh installment in the Alone in the Dark video game series.[71]
Comer has been called one of the finest actors of her generation.[8][78][79] She has stated that the performances she takes on have affected her mental state, claiming: "I guess I was naive to think that something wouldn't filter through from work to life eventually, even if you're not conscious of it."[80] Comer has been commended for her ability to perform multiple accents.[33][81] She revealed that she took up smoking to deliver a more authentic performance for her role in The Bikeriders, only to accidentally singe her eyelashes.[82]
On her roles, Comer said: "[If I know] why I'm stepping into it and know what I gain from the experience, then if it goes out into the world and people hate it or it completely goes unnoticed or it's a huge success, it doesn't matter... That doesn't change my experience and how I felt."[83] When looking back over her career in December 2018, she remarked: "I only became a real-life actor when I was about 17: that's when things started to pick up. If I saw any of my performances from then, I'd want to punch myself in the face."[26]
Public image
In December 2018, British Vogue included Comer in its list of "The Most Influential Girls of 2018", and, in February 2019, Forbes included her in their annual "30 Under 30" list for being in the top 30 most influential people in the entertainment industry in Europe under the age of 30.[84][85][86]
In September 2019, a few days after her Primetime Emmy Award win, it was announced that Comer would be the face of the Loewe spring/summer 2020 fashion campaign, which saw her star in a short film for the brand that consisted of her repeating the brand's name with different emotions.[87]
In January 2024, she revealed that fellow actress Jodie Foster came to see her performance in Prima Facie on Broadway and handed a signed note to her afterwards, praising Comer's performance.[88] Arranged by Interview Magazine, both Jodies interviewed each other in April 2024.[89]
In October 2022, according to a scientific measure of physical perfection, Comer was named the most beautiful woman with a golden ratio of 94.52%.[90]
Personal life
Comer is known for guarding her private relationships and personal life, stating: "I don't believe [fame] changes people. It's just a magnifying glass that almost feeds a monster... These opportunities are huge and glossy, but they're so far from the life that I live."[91][92] In 2020, she discussed experiencing class discrimination in her career as an actress with a working class accent.[93] In 2024, Comer said: "It's important not to go through life constantly self-deprecating. You can feel lucky to be there, but also fucking show up. Own your space, honour yourself in that way. Don't run away from it."[70]
Discussing the fact that she prefers to keep her personal life private, Comer said: "I've had moments in my life where I don't think you can underestimate the lengths people will go to invade that space. I think it's important as an actor that people connect with the work and not, 'Oh, did you know yesterday she had eggs for breakfast?'"[70] Mostly, though, her family and friends would tell her if she became too affected by any of it. "The majority of my friends are from school. My roots are the people in my life. I don't have a lot of yes men around me, which I appreciate. That's what I realised when I finished on Broadway. I was like, 'I need to go home, to be a better sister, a better friend. I needed to be a more present daughter'."[70]
Sharing some insight towards her approach to relationships in 2020, Comer confided to British Vogue: "I think love's the best... and [I] just kind of [go] with the flow and [do] my thing... When you're relaxed and letting the universe do what it's doing, things kind of fall into place... Which is great."[27]
^"#TSP069 – Jodie Comer" (Podcast). 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via The Two Shot Podcast.
^Horowitz, Josh (23 April 2019). "Jodie Comer". Happy Sad Confused (Podcast). Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via Megaphone.
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