As Villanelle, Jodie Comer has forever changed the cinematic archetype of the assassin.

Before Killing Eve, how many assassins had you seen onscreen in mille-feuille fuschia Molly Goddard gowns, for one thing? And how many assassins had you seen onscreen who laughed as much as Villanelle did, who made jokes as much as she did, who seemed to take so much pleasure in the bloody, furious job of killing so many people?

In this respect, as in so many other things, Killing Eve changed the game. (And it has been showered with critical acclaim, celebrity and awards accordingly.) But Villanelle is far from the only role worth seeing in Comer’s filmography.

Once you’ve binged Killing Eve, these are the Jodie Comer roles you need to watch next: 

Doctor Foster

When the television series Doctor Foster first aired in the UK, Comer instantly became one of the country’s most hated women. Or rather, her character Kate became the country’s most hated woman, a 21-year-old having an affair with the awful husband of her family friend.

“Yesterday I was on a train and a woman called me a bitch,” Comer said at the time. “I’ve had quite a reaction to her from the public. I love characters who can rile an audience so much – it means you’ve done your job well.” 

Kate is an easy character to hate: young, beautiful and sleeping with the husband of the series’ main character Gemma (Suranne Jones). But, as she did with Villanelle, Comer elevated the role from a mistress with no agency to a manipulative enigma from whom you couldn’t look away. 

Where can I watch it? In the US, you can watch Doctor Foster on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. In the UK, you can also watch it on Netflix. 

My Mad Fat Diary

Fans of Shrill, this one is for you. My Mad Fat Diary is a British comedy television series that remains one of the best depictions of plus-size women onscreen. The series follows Rae, a teenage girl hospitalised as she struggles with her mental health and body image. When she is discharged, she tries to reconnect with her best friend Chloe, who has absolutely no idea what Rae has just gone through.

Comer played Chloe, another great quasi-antagonist role that utilises her inscrutability as an actor. Like Villanelle, Chloe is a bit of an enigma, but is never relegated to the position of stock-standard bad guy. Hiding inside her is some deep insecurity and envy of Rae’s quick wit and clever mind.

Where can I watch it? In the US, you can watch My Mad Fat Diary on Hulu. In the UK, you can watch it on All 4 On Demand. 

The White Princess 

If you like The Tudors, The Borgias or even its predecessor The White Queen, you’ll love The White Princess. An adaptation of the bestselling Philippa Gregory historical novel, the series follows Elizabeth of York, a fascinating woman who would end up married to Henry VII and mother to Henry VIII.

Comer starred as the young princess as she transforms from naïve diplomatic pawn into a pillar of strength in a man’s world. “She’s got a real defiance to her,” Comer said at the time. “She can either go the easy way or the hard way, and she chooses the hard way.” 

Comer was drawn to the role because of how it allowed her to portray anger onscreen, something she would draw from again in Killing Eve. “There’s this stereotype that when women are angry or stand their ground, they’re a bitch. I think that is just so ridiculous,” she said. “We have Lizzie only being angry and defiant and against what everyone wants for her, [but] that’s always in the back of your head: ‘Are people going to think that?’”

Where can I watch it? In the US and the UK you can watch The White Princess on Amazon Prime. 

Lady Chatterley’s Lover 

For many, Lady Chatterley’s Lover is most famous as the book that caused Penguin to be prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act in 1959, courtesy of its liberal use of the word “fuck” and its pearl-clutching sex scenes. 

But it’s also been adapted several times for the screen, including in 2015 with Holliday Granger as the titular Lady Chatterley and Richard Madden as her titular lover. Comer co-starred as Ivy Bolton, the mysterious – she’s making a bit of a name for herself playing these mysterious parts, isn’t she? – caretaker looking after the jilted Clifford Chatterley, paralysed during WWI.

In a book full of complex characters, Ivy is maybe the most complex of them all. Her relationship with Clifford is compelling and intricate, and so much more than your usual upstairs-downstairs dynamic. As can be imagined, Comer made mincemeat of the role.

Where can I watch it? In the US, you can watch Lady Chatterley’s Lover on iTunes and in the UK, you can watch it on Netflix. 

Killing Eve season two premieres in the US on 7 April and in the UK later this year. 

Images: BBC