Jodie Comer requested Killing Eve co-star Sandra Oh slap her in this scene (Picture: BBC)
They were infamous foes in Killing Eve, but it turns out Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer took playing their roles so seriously, they decided to fight it out for real.
The cat-and-mouse game between Villanelle (Comer) and Eve Polastri (Oh) came to an end when the show wrapped up earlier this year, but now a stuntman on the series has revealed that one spar was totally authentic.
Jonathan Cohen worked on the spy thriller series with the pair and has explained Comer pushed for her co-star to slap her during the filming of the premiere episode of the fourth and final season.
‘Sandra really didn’t want to make the slap connect, so we were going to shoot it from a certain angle without physical contact,’ Cohen told Radio Times.
‘Jodie was like, “For this particular scene, it’s dramatic, it’s important. I would like Sandra to slap me”.’
‘The director said he’d go with my guidance, so Sandra and I went off into a corner and she practised slapping me.
Jodie won fans across the world for her take on Villanelle in the hit BBC drama (Picture: Olly Courtney/BBCA via AP)
Sandra, a kind and gentle soul, had to smack Jodie at her request (Picture: Olly Courtney/BBCA via AP)
‘She’s the loveliest lady — it took a little bit of gentle encouragement for her to feel it was OK to do that. But she does actually slap Jodie in that scene.’
Cohen said that as the stunt coordinator, he wanted to make sure everyone was safe and that that didn’t get ‘as much as a scratch, but this was one where artistic licence was allowed.’
Critically acclaimed, Killing Eve was nominated for 14 Emmys, eight Baftas and five Golden Globes over its run, but its fourth season was largely panned by critics, who said its climatic build to an explosive end fell flat.
Killing Eve came to a conclusion earlier this year, but not all fans were happy with the ending (Picture: BBC America)
Despite the books the series was based on finishing with the pair settling down together in St Petersburg, the show killed off Villanelle in the final moments, which didn’t sit well with audiences.
The shock twist came after Comer said was ready for the show to come to an end.
‘I would rather we ended on a good note and kept our integrity, instead of going on and on, and being kicked out the door,’ she told Harper’s Bazaar in November last year.
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However, a spin-off is believed to be in the works, which is set to feature character Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw).
Last month, Oh was in London where she made an appearance at the funeral of the Queen as part of the Canadian delegation after she was awarded an Order of Canada in June for her work on ‘stage, television and film’.
The latest issue of Radio Times is out now.
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