How Jodie Comer Crafted Her Intense, Tony Nominated ‘Prima Facie’ Performance

Jodie Comer scored a Tony nomination for Suzie Miller’s ‘Prima Facie,’ the one-woman show in which she plays a barrister, Tessa, whose sense of self is upended by a sexual assault. It’s an astonishing, 100-minute whirlwind where Comer doesn’t leave the stage once. To watch her take audiences on that journey night after night, it’s easy to forget that Comer-best known for TV thriller “Killing Eve” and Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel”-is also making her Broadway debut.
“When I took on this role, I didn't know how I was going to do it, truth be told. And I think that was a huge draw,” Comer tells us about accepting the role when it debuted on the West End in 2022. “I was completely in awe. I thought, how will I ever execute this? I was really interested in that journey of: how do I get from where I am now, having no idea how I'm going to do it and struggling to imagine it, to performing this eight nights a week?”
On this episode of In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast, Comer dives deep into how that journey took shape and the realities of carrying a Broadway show on your back eight shows a week.
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Backstage has been the #1 resource for actors and talent-seekers for 60 years. In the Envelope, Backstage’s podcast, features intimate, in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy film, television, and theater actors and creators. This is your guide to every aspect of acting, from voiceover and commercial work to casting directors, agents, and more. Full of both know-how and inspiration, In the Envelope airs weekly to cover everything from practical advice on navigating the industry, to how your favorite projects are made, to personal stories of success and failure alike. Join host Vinnie Mancuso, senior editor at Backstage, for this guide on how to live the creative life from those who are doing it every day: bit.ly/2OMryWQ
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Special thanks to...
- Host: Vinnie Mancuso
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- Additional support: Kasey Howe, Samantha Sherlock, Oriella St. Louis

[@leeloodallas6949]

And now Tony award winner!

[@theKocka]

I just love how you worded you praise towards her! I know she gets to hear stuff like that on a daily basis but honestly, who deserves it more than her? What a great interview and insight into Jodie's process within, thank you so much!

[@TheOlved]

So many insights, so many details about the process!! Thank you very much for very interesting questions ❤ Jodie is phenomenal!! Her voice is so... awesome 😊

[@kavertx9167]

Brilliant interview. Love hearing about her approach to theatre plays, all the things she thinks about during a performance and the differences between each one. No dull moments on and off the stage with her! Bravo!

[@anthonyriley7517]

Just discovered this,great interview, she's already scarily good and is getting better!!

[@snehita752]

I hope this show would release online somewhere so the rest of us that are not fortunate to go see it at Broadway will get an opportunity

[@user-rk1uz3tw8e]

I can send you the link ;)

[@Rita-lj9tf]

​@@user-rk1uz3tw8ehow?😅

[@QueenPat09]

@@user-rk1uz3tw8eme too please!!!!

[@378meeka]

I think it’s nuts they haven’t released it to the public to purchase on dvd or stream. It feels like gate keeping and that shouldn’t be done with a story such as this one.

[@kavertx9167]

There is an option to watch it on the official website of National Theatre, but is comes as a subscription which I believe is a year-long and costs 180 pounds if I am not mistaken.

[@kennethwebb7785]

Great interview, Great interviewer

[@fliprim]

Jodie is unsurprisingly intelligent and perceptive about her process.

[@DeRussellMasina]

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this actor

[@deirdreadams8825]

Shes spectacular 🎉

[@user-fb1sp4ld2w]

O rosto desta atriz muda tanto com os looks parece ter varios rostos diferentes todos bonitos

[@StefanThiesen]

I certainly second the recommendation to watch The Last Duel. Admittedly, it is no light entertainment, but it is an amazing production with an amazing cast, it is rooted in real events, and Jodie Comer brilliantly portraits Marguerite de Carrouges, a woman I had never before heard about and now I think she should be in every history book. And: watch it twice. At least. It is complex and needs a bit warming up to. While watching it words of my daughters resonated in my mind. They find history and philosophy boring, sometimes outright offensive, because it is all about "Words of long dead old men." They definitely have a point. Words often from times when women were considered mere possessions of men. Lower subjects. It resonates with Marguerite's word's from Last Duel: “My fate and my child’s fate will be written not by god’s will, but by which old man will tire first…” And then, in our time, there is a very much alive Jodie Comer...

[@Editingworld249]

Nice