A History Of Liverpool Thespians - Jodie Comer

Jodie Comer was born on the 11th of March 1993 in Childwall, Liverpool, the daughter of Everton physio James Comer and Merseyrail employee Donna. Attending St Julie's Catholic High School in Woolton she became close friends with future Olympic athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. At the age of 11, she started acting at a weekend drama school called CALS in the Belle Vale area of Liverpool not far from home. Through CALS she 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. Now 14, she was going to perform a dance routine from the hit Broadway musical 'Chicago' with school friends but after missing rehearsals to go on a family holiday, her pals kicked her out. She was "absolutely devastated", but her mum encouraged her to perform her monologue in the talent show too after which she was encouraged to pursue a career in acting and a drama teacher sent her to audition for a BBC Radio 4 play in Manchester which went on to be her first professional acting job. Jodie says, "It was my first paid job, which I think was, like, £150, and I thought it was megabucks." An actor on the radio play, aired in 2007, introduced Jodie to an agent and things began to change for the young star. Jodie had zero formal training, and some unfortunate GCSE Drama results. "I got an A* in my practical drama and I got a U in my written," she laughs, "I think my drama teacher made an example of me. You know people who would go home, do their homework, revise? It wasn’t my vibe." She went on to make her TV debut at 15 with guest roles in 'The Royal Today' (2008), 'Holby City' (2010) and 'Waterloo Road' (2010), along with bar work and a stint shift working on the Tesco checkouts in West Derby. In 2010, she made her theatre debut in the play 'The Price of Everything' at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. 'Tin Man' playwright Laurence Wilson had sent Jodie to photographer Stephanie de Leng for headshots and De Leng later called agent David Daly, who immediately signed the actress. When she first met her agent, aged 17, she said that her ultimate wish was to appear in period dramas. Her career however had other ideas after, in 2010, she left St Julie's High School. More substantial work followed in 2011-12 when she was cast in leading roles in 5 episodes of the drama series 'Justice' (2011), then minor roles in 2012 in 'Doctors', 'Silent Witness', 'Casualty' and 'Good Cop' followed by a leading role in 'Remember Me' (2014). It was while filming scenes in 'Good Cop' with Kirkby actor Stephen Graham that Jodie's career took a life-changing turn. He was so impressed by Jodie's acting that he called his agent Jane Epstein to arrange an introduction. Epstein had a meeting with Jodie and later became her agent, which kickstarted her acting career and led to the audition for the role of 'Villanelle' in 'Killing Eve' (2018). Before that however she gained recognition for appearing in 'My Mad Fat Diary' (2013-15), playing Chloe the popular best friend from childhood of the main character Rae, and 'Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned' (2015-17). Jodie then played the main character in the mini-series 'Thirteen' (2016), which earned her a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress and Elizabeth of York in 'The White Princess' (2017).

as Villanelle

Then came 'Killing Eve' (2018-22), Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s brutal and unexpected entry into the spree-kill genre that took top spot as the best TV show of 2018. Here Jodie plays a chillingly playful petrifying psychopath, Villanelle, with the face of a schoolgirl. Winning a BAFTA Television Award and a Primetime Emmy Award in 2019, Jodie said, "I’ve never been part of a show that’s had such an amazing reaction so it’s been lovely." After playing Linda, a 1960s Liverpool secretary exploring her sexuality in the BBC Four series 'Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives' (2018), she was ranked No. 94 on radio Times TV 100. Appearing as Rey's mother in a cameo appearance in a flashback in the film, 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' (2019), she then appeared in the action comedy film 'Free Guy' (2021) in which she played two roles: Millie, a games developer, and Molotov Girl, Millie's in-game avatar. In it a cover version of the Mariah Carey song 'Fantasy' was sung by Jodie who, for her film role, was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. A one-off drama 'Help' (2021), written by Jack Thorne, and starring Jodie and Stephen Graham, is set in a care home in 2020. Also being an executive producer, the role earned her a fifth British Academy Award for Best Actress nomination, which she ultimately won the following year.

Jodie and Stephen in 'Help'

 

She then made her West End debut in Suzie Miller's one-woman play 'Prima Facie' (2022) at the Harold Pinter Theatre and was praised for her role as criminal defense barrister Tessa Ensler before making her Broadway debut when the production transferred from the West End, in spring 2023. In July 2022 a filmed performance of the play at the Harold Pinter Theatre was shown at cinemas around the world where it became the highest-grossing event cinema release ever, taking in £4.47 million. For her performance, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress and a Tony Award for Best Actress in a play. Later, after starring in Danny Boyle's horror film '28 Years Later' (2025), Jodie has been called one of the finest actors of her generation. 

Reinforced by her father's job, she is a well-known and passionate fan of Everton Football Club and stands by her comments from last year that she'd rather see David Moyes' side lift a trophy than her win an Oscar. She laughed: "Yeah, but they better hurry up, that's all I'd say. I'll stand by it, if they hurry up." Despite her epic CV, between filming she still lives at home in Liverpool with her parents and her younger brother Charlie. Her friends and family have remained her security blanket throughout the years. Friendships that began at St. Julie’s Catholic High School still exist, as she says "My best mate Liv in particular has been by my side. She knows everything about me," Jodie also says her and Katarina Johnson-Thompson remain in touch to this day and regularly post pictures together on social media, keeping in touch amid their busy schedules with a WhatsApp group called 'H*s in Different Area Codes', " because we are never in the same place at the same time… So that's always very lively."

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2026/02/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians-cheryl.html