Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a multitalented actress, playwright, screenwriter, and producer. Known best for creating as well as starring in Fleabag, to say that Bridge is one of the most multi-talented and vibrant personalities in the film industry would not be an understatement. She has successfully broken through and established her own identity as an exceptionally talented actor and screenwriter, in a heavily male-dominated industry.
One of her most critically acclaimed dramas is Killing Eve, which gained a huge fan following thanks to her exceptional writing and because of Sandra Oh’s nuanced performance. But Bridge wasn’t only credited for the writing and her acting, she was also the one who was instrumental in Oh’s casting.
How Phoebe Waller-Bridge Cast Sandra Oh In Killing Eve
Killing Eve is a critically acclaimed spy thriller drama with complex characters woven into an equally complex storyline and unique premise. It is Phoebe Waller-Bridge who created the brilliant cat-and-mouse drama and helped in the casting of Sandra Oh.
Bridge, who considers casting equal to writing, wanted somebody who would be around 40 and had that degree of weariness yet the brilliance to play a titular MI6 agent. Talking to Backstage, executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle stated,
“The character that felt right was Eve [referring to the need for one character being American]. The ethnic melting pot of London made her backstory easy, and Oh became the obvious choice.”
However, Oh was already tired of being on TV after her long stint on Grey’s Anatomy. And so the production was told that the Emmy-nominated actress would be unavailable. Hence, Phoebe Waller-Bridge took matters into her own hands.
The Fleabag star reportedly sent an email to Oh’s agent stating that nobody could be a better ‘Eve’ than Sandra Oh, and after having fallen in love with Bridge’s writing, Oh herself decided to hop on the project (via IMDB).
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Writing Made Sandra Oh Say Yes To Killing Eve
In an interview with Vogue, Sandra Oh stated that it had taken her 30 years to get a role as Eve. However, for her, it wasn’t entirely the role that drew her to the project but rather it was Pheobe Waller-Bridge’s writing that made her say yes to the project.
Even though at first she was unable to understand how they would want her, a person of color, to star in the main role (via Vulture), it was the connection that she felt to Bridge’s writing that drew her towards the show. She once stated to The Guardian,
“Immediately I felt connected to Phoebe’s writing and I could recognize that the tone was special and new and tricky. I was like: ‘Whoa, what was that?'”
And that is how the Emmy-nominated series got its main lead.
Killing Eve can be rented on Google Play.
