Comer gained recognition for appearing in the seriesMy Mad Fat Diary (2013–2015) andDoctor Foster (2015–2017), and starred in the drama miniseriesThirteen (2016).From 2018 to 2022, Comer played sociopathic assassinVillanelle in theBBC America spy thriller television seriesKilling Eve, winning aBAFTA Television Award and aPrimetime Emmy Award. For playing Sarah, a healthcare assistant, in the television filmHelp (2021), she won another BAFTA Television Award.
At the age of 11, she started acting at a weekenddrama school called CALS in theBelle Vale area of Liverpool.[7] Through CALS, Comer entered the Liverpool Performing Arts Festival in 2006 atSt George's Hall and came first in her category after performing a monologue about theHillsborough disaster.[7][8][9]
While in high school, Comer's friends removed her from 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 aBBC 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 ofThe Royal Today. In 2010, she made her theatre debut in the playThe Price of Everything, directed byNoreen Kershaw, at theStephen 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 seriesJustice (2011), the supernatural miniseriesRemember Me (2014), and as Chloe Gemell in theE4 comedy-drama seriesMy Mad Fat Diary (2013–2015). Comer appeared in the2015 adaptation ofLady Chatterley's Lover (1928), a television film broadcast onBBC One. The same year, she played Kate Parks in the BBC One drama seriesDoctor Foster (2015–2017).[17][18][19]
In April 2018, Comer began starring in theBBC America spy thriller seriesKilling Eve asVillanelle / Oksana Astankova, a sociopathic Russian assassin who develops a mutual obsession withEve Polastri (Sandra Oh), theMI6 agent pursuing her.[24][25][26][27][28] Comer garnered praise for her performance;Jia Tolentino ofThe 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]
In June 2018, Comer played Linda, a 1960s Liverpoolsecretary exploring hersexuality, in theBBC Four seriesSnatches: Moments from Women's Lives, inspired by events that took place in the century since women first won the vote.[36] In August 2018, Comer was ranked No. 94 onRadio Times's TV 100.[37] In November 2018,The Hollywood Reporter included her in their list of the "Next Gen Talent 2018: Hollywood's Rising Young Stars".[38]
Comer made herWest End debut inSuzie Miller's one-woman playPrima Facie at theHarold Pinter Theatre which started in April 2022 and concluded in June 2022. She was praised for her role as criminal defensebarrister Tessa Ensler.[55][56][57][58] Comer made herBroadway debut withPrima Facie when the production transferred from the West End, in spring 2023.[59] Starting 21 July 2022, a filmed performance of the play at the Harold Pinter Theatre was shown at cinemas around the world byNational Theatre Live (NT Live), where it became the highest-grossing event cinema release ever, taking in £4.47 million.[60][61][62] For her performance, she won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress andTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[63][64][65] In January 2024, anaudiobook based on the stage play's eponymous novel was released, which was narrated by Comer.[66] Reflecting on her experience on stage, Comer termed it "the most overwhelming and powerful and life-affirming experience".[67] In January 2026, Comer will reprise the role for a UK and Ireland tour.[68]
In 2023, Comer starred, alongsideAustin Butler andTom Hardy, inJeff Nichols'sThe Bikeriders, a drama inspired by the photography ofDanny Lyon and his 1967 book of the same name.[69] She subsequently starred in and produced the environmental thrillerThe End We Start From, an adaptation ofMegan Hunter's debut novel, directed byMahalia Belo.[70][71][72][73][74] Both films received generally positive reviews, with Comer's performance receiving praise for both, though she received a polarized reaction towards her American accent inThe Bikeriders.[75] Comer stated that it was tough as the only woman on the set ofThe Bikeriders.[76] In 2024, she voiced character Emily Hartwood in the survival horror video gameAlone in the Dark, a reimagining of the 1992original video game and the seventh installment in theAlone in the Dark video game series.[77]
Comer has been called one of the finest actors of her generation.[8][87][88] 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."[89] Comer has been commended for her ability to perform multiple accents.[33][90] She revealed that she took up smoking to deliver a more authentic performance for her role inThe Bikeriders, only to accidentally singe her eyelashes.[91]
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."[92] 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]
In December 2018,BritishVogue 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.[93][94][95]
In September 2019, Comer was named the face of theLoewe spring/summer 2020 fashion campaign, which saw her star in a short film for the brand.[96] In October 2022, according to a scientific measure of physical perfection, Comer was named the most beautiful woman with agolden ratio of 94.52%.[97]
Personal life
Comer said of her career in a December 2020 interview, "I don't believe [fame] changes people. It's just a magnifying glass [...] these opportunities are huge and glossy, but they're so far from the life that I live."[98][99] She also discussed experiencingclass discrimination in her career as an actress with aLiverpool accent, which is widely regarded as one of the mostworking class in the UK.[100]
Noted for guarding her private life, Comer said in a June 2024 interview, "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?'"[76] She has expressed gratitude for the willingness of her family and friends to keep her grounded as her career grows: "The majority of my friends are from school [and] I don't have a lot ofyes men around me, which I appreciate. That's what I realised when I finished onBroadway. I was like, 'I need to go home, to be a better sister, a better friend. I needed to be a more present daughter.'"[76]
Although Comer strongly defends her privacy, publications found that she had been in a multiyear relationship with James Burke, who had been a Pennsylvania State University lacrosse team player, who she had met in 2019 during shooting of the filmFree Guy in Boston.[101][102][103][104][105][106][107]
Acting roles
Film
Key
†
Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released
^"#TSP069 – Jodie Comer" (Podcast). 1 December 2020. Archived fromthe original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved1 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. Retrieved30 April 2019 – viaMegaphone.
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Data from Wikidata