Listen: GLOW Star Betty Gilpin on Killing Eve and Being Constantly Mistaken for Jo

Publish date: 2024-03-30

“GLOW” star Betty Gilpin is getting used to people on the street congratulating her for her hit TV show. But here’s the weird part: Some of them are congratulating her for “Killing Eve.”

For the record, Gilpin does not play international assassin Villanelle on AMC’s and BBC America’s “Killing Eve.” That character is played by Jodie Comer. But apparently there’s enough of a physical resemblance between the two that a lot of fans are mixing the actresses up.

“Since ‘Killing Eve’ came out so many people have been like, ‘I love you on that BBC show,'” Gilpin tells Variety‘s My Favorite Episode podcast. “There’s a Twitter account devoted to she and I looking alike!”

But Gilpin takes it all in stride. “I was so flattered,” she said. “And I continue to only feel excited and inspired, and full of adrenaline, by these women’s work. It feels like we are, and this show is, kind of turning on its ear this idea that to be an actress you have to be in that Barbie [doll] cell where the choices are small and your purpose is to complement the male lead… I just think it’s flipping the table.”

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My Favorite Episode sat down with Gilpin recently to talk about “Killing Eve,” and how she needs to eventually appear on the show as Villanelle’s look-alike sister. And we discussed how her show, “GLOW,” is mixing things up as it returns for a third season; her character’s relationship with Alison Brie’s character; and the challenges of snorting milk powder to make it look like you’re doing cocaine. Listen below:

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For one of her favorite episodes of TV, Gilpin chose the Season 1 finale of “Killing Eve,” titled “God, I’m Tired.” Written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and directed by Damon Thomas, the episode first aired on May 27, 2018.

In the episode, Eve, played by Sandra Oh, is fired from MI-6, but she tracks down Villanelle and finds her Paris apartment. The cat and mouse game leads to this moment, and Eve eventually stabs Villanelle, while Villanelle escapes, leaving us to wonder what’s next.

“It’s almost supernatural,” she said. “If there’s a 100 in Eve’s brain and a 100 Villanelle’s brain, I think 99 of each of them is, ‘I hate this woman. I don’t like her.’ She’s dangerous to the other person. But they share one identical brain woman, who’s looking across at the other person through their eyes and going, ‘Oh my God, I’ve never shared this brain woman with anyone else… I also think that might be the most authentic version of myself, even though it’s dangerous and doesn’t make sense in this world.'”

When it comes to her doppelganger Comer, Gilpin adds, “It feels like an almost spiritual experience, how good she is on this show.”

As for “GLOW,” Gilpin said she isn’t able to say much about the show’s upcoming Season 3, lest she receive “a dart to the neck.” But this much we know: The wrestlers are off to Las Vegas (actually, shot in Downtown Los Angeles and Ontario, Calif.) to take their show on the road.

“It sort of feels like a completely different show,” she said. “I mean, I was joking with the creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch that they’ve really painted themselves into a corner where they have to reinvent the show every single season. Like maybe next season will be on a circus cruise.”

Gilpin said she loves the change. “Even the dreamiest dream job is going to feel stale if you’re doing the same stuff year after year. It doesn’t feel that way at all; it feels like I get to do ten different jobs. I get to play two different characters, Debbie and Liberty Belle, and it feels like two different genres… Alison Brie and I keep looking at each other and thinking, ‘I can’t believe they’re letting us do this!'”

Variety’s “My Favorite Episode With Michael Schneider” is where stars and producers gather to discuss their favorite TV episodes ever — from classic sitcoms to modern-day dramas — as well as pick a favorite episode from their own series. On “My Favorite Episode,” some of the biggest names in TV share their creative inspirations — and how those episodes influenced them.

Be sure to subscribe to “My Favorite Episode” on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Soundcloud, or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post every week. 

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