Jodie Comer credits Killing Eve series for 'shaping her'

Jodie Comer's career has gone from strength to strength, which she has put down to her role in Killing Eve. 

The 29-year-old actor has appeared in numerous series prior to landing her big break portraying the stylish assassin Oksana Astankova, otherwise known as Villanelle, in the BBC series, which has returned for a fourth and final season.

Speaking to Net-A-Porter, she said: "I’ve worked with such incredible women… to be working on a show like Killing Eve, which is the essence of that, has shaped me in a real way.

"I’ve been lucky that a lot of the women I’ve played have been so fully fleshed out and colourful that now it’s set the bar."

Recalling the moment she was cast as the leading lady, which first aired in 2018, Jodie said: "I got sent the first episode and I’d seen Phoebe’s [Waller Bridge] name and I’d seen Fleabag, which I adored, and I just thought, ‘Ooh, what is this gonna be?’

"I was like a fish out of water when [it] started… Phoebe had created [Villanelle], but I had to let go of my own insecurities and really throw myself into it, so [the character] was moulded, in a way, as we went along.

"To play a character like Villanelle has been such a gift."

Not only is it the bold characters the Help star has taken on in each production, but the supportive team in each project, which she believes has helped her build a successful career.

"The women I’ve worked with – Harriet [Walter], Fiona [Shaw] and Sandra [Oh] – have encouraged me in so many ways and given me so much advice. They’ve been invaluable. There’s just a connection, [which] is unspoken a lot of the time but is also very present", Jodie went on.

But it hasn't all been smooth sailing for Jodie, who has revealed she was turned down for roles because of her Liverpudlian accent. Jodie is comfortable and confident in her skin and doesn't let criticism get to her.

She explained: "I mean, [people] in America think I’m Scottish, or they just think [of] The Beatles, you know! So, it is very different over there.

"I feel like I’m in a different place now in a sense of feeling like I know who I am."