Since “Killing Eve” launched Jodie Comer to international stardom, the Liverpudlian has resisted typecasting.
Witness her mighty gamble, making her West End and Broadway debut in “Prima Facie,” a demanding solo show about the law, rape and gender. Comer, 30, walked away with the Olivier and Tony awards.
Now she’s a newly married mother with an infant in the apocalyptic climate change horror show that is “The End We Start From.” Directed by the award-winning Brit Mahalia Belo, adapted from Megan Hunter’s novel, “I came on as an executive producer because it was important to be part of the early conversations,” Comer recalled in a Zoom press conference, “and Mahalia was open to that.”
As Cromer’s unnamed mother flees flooded London with her husband and infant, their situation gradually dips from uncomfortable to dire. Yet the moods — despair, giddy delight, fear, hope — swing mightily.
“It’s important to be true to life. The story explores how in the craziest of human circumstance, the human spirit prevails. When something unexpected happens in our life we need that humor.
“I came to this and thought I’d be useless and crying all the time. But Mahalia would say, ‘No. You have to push through. You have a child.’ It was beautiful, mapping out potential moments where we could lift that out more.”
As to how she’d respond in this situation, “I don’t think I’d cope well,” she said. “That’s the truth of it. But what the film explores so beautifully is that sometimes those experiences we don’t think we can do, we do — and surprise ourselves. I’d like to think that would be me.”
Going into a dark, ambitious project like “The End We Start From,” she noted, “meant shooting with a baby in every scene. You know it’s going to be challenging.
“When you’re on set you only have so many hours. And the baby takes a break every 20 minutes. Then the baby has to leave and you have a film to make; you’re at the mercy of that. That could be quite strenuous.
“But babies are going to do what they’re going to do and as an actor you have to listen and go with that. There are moments that are spontaneous in the film.
“I also got COVID during the shoot,” she revealed. “That could not have been worse. I realize now that I’ve been involved in creating an independent film and hear people say, ‘You have to love it and be passionate!’
“And that’s true. The odds are stacked against you and I found a real resilience on the set.”
“The End We Start From” opens Jan. 19