As TVs most captivating assassin onKilling Eve, Jodie Comer hides nothing.
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Excuse me, he murmurs into her ear, unsure if he should.
What perfume are you wearing?
Is it … it smells so familiar.
Oh, its a bit strong, innit?
I doused myself in it when I got ready, she exclaims in a dense Liverpudlian accent.
Villanelle, the assassin Comer plays onKilling Eve, once used perfume as a fatal nerve agent.
And fine, okay, I do briefly wonder if she might assassinate him.
Do you think shes an actress?
she marvels, as she frequently brushes fallen kernels off the folds of her Eileen Fisheresque sweater.)
I start to realize what it is that lets her play Villanelle with such ease.
What terrifying part of his subconscious did Christian Bale dive into to play Patrick Bateman inAmerican Psycho?
Comer has flipped that.
(Still, though, she insists Villanelle is a much weirder woman than she is.)
Im not a slinky, leopard, full-on catsuit assassin.
I didnt feel like I had that in me.
She writes women who provoke empathy, no matter how questionable their actions.
Foster, or the popular friend who triggers body issues onMy Mad Fat Diary.
I found myself saying, Oh!
I like this because I can relate to her!
The more innocent and playful she appeared to be, the more impact her brutality would have.
Have you ever read Harry Potter?
As it isfor so many infamous killers, early adolescent rejection was the catalyst for Comers career.
During the rehearsal period, her parents took her on vacation.
(You know when youre younger and you cry and you lose your breath and youre gonna die?
That was the level of trauma.)
Which led to increasingly bigger roles on BBC DramasThirteen,Dr.
Foster, thenThe White Princess, where she played Young Queen Elizabeth.
Then finally, she got the call forKilling Eve.
She set a table.
She had Tupperware, and shepherds pie for them to eat.
She even had drinks.
By the end, it felt like theyd filmed the show for real.
But she also felt a freedom that was one second away from a swan dive into nihilism.
She felt like Villanelle.
But its not her beauty that makes watching her so interesting.
Were served martinis Comers first ever and left to talk in a black-light-lit room for two.
It could ALMOST be a date, I say.
Comer stops Snapchatting for a moment and smiles at me.
We can be each others dates!
she offers, gamely playing with the boundaries of our new friendship.
The most addictive element on a show full of possible addictions is the cat-and-mouse between Villanelle and Eve.
Does Villanelle need Eve to submit to her desires?
Does Eve just need the excitement?
Is it all of it?
Their obsession is mutual.
(I think about you all the time, Eve tells Villanelle in the season one finale.
I masturbate to you a lot, Villanelle replies.)
Its all psychological, the way they play with each other, Comer explains.
Phoebe was like, whats better than someone knowing what looks fucking perfect on you?
And maybe shes right.
Killing Evereturns to BBC America on April 7.
