Jodie Comer Says ‘Killing Eve’ Drag Jesus Makeup Was ‘Tricky’
Killing Eve wrapped up its four-season run in April 2022. The show made waves for its remarkable storylines, and the final season introduced a twist (or two). Season 4 saw the assassin Villanelle finding Jesus and getting a visit from the figure himself. However, the Jesus that visited Villanelle wasn’t played by Comer herself, in drag. The actor explains what made the makeup for the role “tricky.”
Jodie Comer played Villanelle for four seasons on ‘Killing Eve’
Killing Eve follows Eve Polastri, an MI5 agent who feels bored with her protection job at the agency. She begins snooping around on a witness she worked with and eventually got fired. However, she is then tapped to join an undercover division for MI6. Her mission? Locate (and take down) the ruthless Villanelle.
However, things don’t go as planned. Eve and Villanelle find themselves in a cycle of obsession that leads them far from their mission. They eventually partner together to fight a new killer on the scene, but due to their different outlooks on life, they eventually part ways. Still, they maintain a similar mission; to destroy the agency Villanelle worked for, The Twelve.
Sandra Oh was the first actor to join the cast of Killing Eve in 2017, playing the titular Eve. Comer, meanwhile, was chosen from more than 100 actors. In the final season, Comer reprised her role as Villanelle. But she also played Jesus Christ, who visits Villanelle during her quest for a change.
Jodie Comer talks about her drag Jesus look
While heavy makeup in productions isn’t uncommon, Jodie Comer’s drag Jesus look was especially taxing. Playing two characters required the actor to sit in a makeup chair for hours to achieve the look.
When Town And Country Magazine asked how she prepared for the drag Jesus scenes, Comer said, “I don’t know, to be honest. The whole experience was a blur. Honestly, it was about just going with it. The makeup was quite a process.”
Comer revealed the production had to work around her scenes since doing makeup for drag Jesus took a long time. “The tricky thing about that actually, was we had to do the Villanelle vision at the end of the day because the makeup took so long,” she explained. “And sometimes we only had an hour to shoot those close-ups so a lot of it was just going for it.”
The actor noted the “flamboyant and exaggerated” look, complimenting the costume department for the drag Jesus costume. However, she said she could not take herself seriously when in it.
Jodie Comer thought she might never get to work on a film
Starring in a critically acclaimed TV show tends to open doors for many actors, as Comer can attest. Playing Villanelle for four years and receiving praise and awards doesn’t go unnoticed. Her role as Villanelle skyrocketed her to international fame, but Comer had her own insecurities. The star told Porter Magazine that she thought she would always work in TV and never get a chance to do films.
“I had done television for so long, my insecurity was like, ‘Oh, maybe in a TV actress. Maybe I’m never going to do film,” she told the publication. However, landing a role alongside Ryan Reynolds — one of the biggest movie stars of the era — in Free Guy helped her view things differently.
And she has more film projects on the way. Comer stars alongside Matt Damon and Adam Driver in The Last Duel. She is set to star in The End We Start From, produced by Benedict Cumberbatch’s company SunnyMarch.
