Kelly Macdonald is exploding onto our screens thanks to Line Of Duty, the beloved BBC crime procedural. The show’s popularity is sure to raise her profile, but the Scottish actress has long been a fixture on our screens, proving herself as one of this country’s most versatile actresses.
So, where else have you seen Kelly McDonald? That most likely depends on your age. She rose to overnight fame in 1996, when she starred in Trainspotting alongside Ewan McGregor. It was her big screen debut, and she has worked solidly ever since.
You may have seen her as Evangeline in Nanny McPhee, as Helena Ravenclaw – the Grey Lady – in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two. She was in Gosford Park, Choke and Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina. She received critical acclaim for playing the lead in Puzzle, was Emmy-nominated for Boardwalk Empire, won the Emmy for The Girl In The Café, and everyone loved her turn in 2019’s Giri/Haji.
Now, however, it’s all about Line Of Duty. ‘At the start of the series, she’s quite a lonely figure,’ Kelly says of DCI Joanne Davidson, her character. ‘She’s struggling and we don’t quite know why that is. She’s doing very well in her career. She’s the head of an important case and it’s very high profile.’
The show may be a TV favourite, but Kelly – who is 45 and was previously married to Travis bassist Dougie Payne Jr - hadn’t actually ever sat down and enjoyed it.
‘I hadn’t watched it until this part came up!’ she admits. ‘But I’ve not watched lots of things – Game of Thrones, The Sopranos! However, I was very aware of Line of Duty as everyone in the UK is. I was sent the first couple of scripts and the part was phenomenal. Its so daunting going into a show with such a huge profile. I started watching it and got completely hooked. Then when we were near the beginning of filming, I was half way through Thandie Newton’s series [series four] and the nerves started to creep in so that’s when I stopped! I still have some to catch up.’
Line Of Duty’s filming was disrupted by a global lockdown, which made things complicated. ‘2020 was a tricky year for the whole world,’ Kelly concedes. ‘We started filming this show in February and we got a few weeks in when lockdown happened. We had this massive gap before we got to come back. It’s been unlike anything I’ve ever been involved in. It’s such a massive job and an amazing part but with a whole worldwide pandemic on top of things, we’ve had to come back in a slightly different way. I’ve been so welcomed by production and the rest of the cast that I’ve had a lovely time! Well, as lovely as I could during this pandemic.’
How can I watch Line of Duty?
Line of Duty is on every Sunday at 9pm from March 21st on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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