Phoebe Waller-Bridgeis the comic voice a lot of people didn’t realize they needed until they first heard her, likely onFleabag, but the actor, writer, and showrunner has shown her dynamic range before and after that acclaimed series. Born in Hammersmith, London, Phoebe Waller-Bridge began her career in the theater as many British actors do, even co-founding the DryWrite theater company with her frequent collaborator, Vicky Jones (viaTheGuardian). She stayed in the theater for a few years before getting her first screen role in 2009, appearing in short films.
With early roles inThe Iron LadyandAlbert Nobbs, Waller-Bridge got her feet wet in the film industry.It was with the 2014 short-lived series,Drifters, that Waller-Bridge had her first chance to show off her writing skills, writing for three episodes of the show. Then cameCrashing, the first show she created. This was followed byFleabag, which she created, wrote, and starred in. The two-seasonseries earned a 100% onRotten Tomatoesfor each seasonand rocketed Waller-Bridge into another strata of fame. Since then, she’s been a part of some notable projects.
It’s not just comedy for Phoebe Waller-Bridge; she also has a knack for writing action and thrillers, and even her comedic shows have an element of danger to them. So it’s not completely surprising that she was hired to co-write the script and story forNo Time to Die, the25th film in theJames Bondfranchiseand the final one to star Daniel Craig as 007. Waller-Bridge is only the second female screenwriter credited with aBondfilm, the other being Johanna Harwood, who co-wroteDr. NoandFrom Russia with Love.
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No Time to Dieis a return to form for Craig’s Bond series, which hit a lull with the previous film,Spectre. It’s one of the funnier CraigBondfilms, which were always intentionally a bit grimmer than the campy movies that came before him. Waller-Bridge helps inject wit and an appropriate amount of comedy that still fits within the CraigBonduniverse. However, it doesn’t overpower the film, and Waller-Bridge knows just when to pull back.
The Caféis a British sitcom that aired on Sky1 in 2011 and lasted for two seasons. The show is centered on a café in Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town in North Somerset, England. The café is run by a family: Mary (June Watson), Carol (Ellie Haddington), and Sarah (Michelle Terry). Together, the three workers serve a revolving door of oddball customers, each with their own quirks and problems. Phoebe Waller-Bridge appears in every episode as Chloe Astill, Sarah’s best friend.
A local hairdresser who is awful at customer service, Chloe lives life to the fullest and doesn’t care if she comes off a little bit dotty to those around her.It feels like the archetype for the kind of character that Waller-Bridge would go on to write and to play, and you have to imagine she had a hand in determining her character’s direction. It was not a major series, but likely helped develop her TV sense of humor and style.
Broadchurchis generally ranked amongthe best British TV showsand for good reason. The ITV series premiered in 2013 and lasted for three seasons. The show follows the events in the fictional English town of Broadchurch on the coast of Dorset. There, DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) investigate the death of a local 11-year-old boy named Danny Latimer. Along the way, they look into other, smaller cases.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge has a supporting role in season 2 as a lawyer named Abby Thompson. Abby is Sharon Bishop’s (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) junior barrister, who is Joe’s lead defense counsel. As Joe is on the stand for most of season 2,Abby gets a lot of screen time for a relatively minor character. It’s not as funny a character as Waller-Bridge usually plays, but her wit and intelligence shine through, giving an example of how well she can mold herself to another’s script.
John Krasinski’sIFfeatures a cast of voice actors that combine for one of the most talented groups of actors assembled in 2024. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is joined by the likes of Steve Carell, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon, Blake Lively, Jon Stewart, and more. Waller-Bridge voices Blossom, one of the imaginary friends.Blossom is a rubber hose-style butterfly characterwhom Bea (Cailey Fleming) meets early in her adventure in the world of IFs.
Blossom turns out to have been Bea’s grandmother’s imaginary friend, and when her grandmother recalls Blossom, it’s enough to inspire Bea to help the other imaginary friends find their human counterparts. Blossom has a fantastic design, reminiscent ofBetty Boopanimations. It fits Waller-Bridge well, who has a similar, “old-school” Hollywood personal style. Waller-Bridge has both a distinctive voice and a distinctive cadence that fit well with the fast-talking Blossom, who also needs to affect a lot of emotion.
Though she only provides her voice, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s entry into theStar Warsuniverse is another example of her rising star and how producers are seeing her as a box office force.Solo: A Star Wars Storyserves as the origin tale of one of the greatest characters ever invented for film: Han Solo. Played by Alden Ehrenreich, Han Solo reveals how he got his ship, his name, and his legacy. He’s joined by a cast of old and original characters, including L3-37, Lando Calrissian’s (Donald Glover) droid co-pilot.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge also did the motion-capture for L3-37 inSolo: A Star Wars Story.
Voiced by Waller-Bridge, L3-37 is a proponent of droids' rights and has an acidic sense of humor for a droid. She’s smart, a talented navigator, and has no qualms about challenging her owners. It’s a role made for Waller-Bridge, andher sense of humor gives a lot of character to the faceless robot. Later, she is uploaded into theMillennium Falconand becomes a part ofStar Warslore forever.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge helped her longtime collaborator, Vicky Jones, writeRun, an HBO comedy thriller series that sadly only lasted one season, but could have been much more if the network had a little more faith.Runfollows two middle-aged adults, Ruby (Merritt Wever) and Billy (Domhnall Gleeson), who, 17 years prior, promised one another that if either of them ever texted the other the word “RUN”, they would drop everything and travel across America together.
Waller-Bride wrote all seven episodes of the series, and her ability to write comedy and thrills in the same sequences givesRunan exciting and frentic pace. Like inFleabagandCrashing, Waller-Bridge warps well-known clichés, in this case rom-com clichés, to make for a surprising series. She also plays Laurel Halliday in three episodes, a character whom Ruby and Billy meet on their travels.
Crashingis the first show Phoebe Waller-Bridge created, and though it definitely has the feel of a young writer and showrunner, it’s still a remarkably effective series, particularly for a rookie. The series follows a group of six young adults in their twenties who live together in a disused hospital. As property guardians, they’re responsible for the building’s upkeep in exchange for cheap rent and following the strict rules of the owners. Louise “Lulu” (Waller-Bridge) is one of these six renters. She’s the childhood friend of Anthony (Damien Molony), a cook.
The series only lasted for one season and six episodes, but in those six episodes,Waller-Bridge creates a hilarious and even tragic world. It’s like a twisted version ofFriendswith every sitcom cliché in the book. However, Waller-Bridge is wise to all those tricks, and whenever she adds one to the story, she flips it on its head or gives it a sharp left turn, creating a consistently surprising show.
Based on theVillanellebook series by Luke Jennings,Killing Evefollows the titular Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence officer who is tasked with apprehending the international, and psychopathic, assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). Each season ofKilling Eveis headed by a different female writer, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge has the honor of being the head writer for the first season, effectively creating the show and setting the tone for the rest ofthe four seasons ofKilling Eve.
Waller-Bridge has a way with transgressive women, and inKilling Eve, she gets to write two of them playing off one another, for an exciting and unusual action thriller.
The first season of the show is the best-rated of any of the seasons onRotten Tomatoeswith a 96%. Waller-Bridge crafts a unique and witty take on the spy vs. spy genre. It’s extremely funny, but that comedy doesn’t take away from the drama and stakes. Waller-Bridge has a way with transgressive women, and inKilling Eve, she gets to write two of them playing off one another, for an exciting and unusual action thriller.
A sign of how Phoebe Waller-Bridge is headed for some very big things,Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyis thefifth installment of theIndiana Jonesfranchise, and though it was marketed as the final installment, such declarations have never stopped Hollywood before. Waller-Bridge co-stars as Helena Shaw, Jones' goddaughter, and the daughter of Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), an old friend of Indy’s. Helena is an archaeologist but also a con artist who has drawn the attention of the CIA.
Helena is very much like her godfather. She has a thirst for adventure and is unafraid to put herself into risky situations in order to complete her quests. She also has several lovers across the globe, much like Indy. She’s charming, slippery, and a bit of an antihero, so much so that even Indy can’t seem to keep up with her.The Dial of Destinyhas its problems, but Helena is not one of them, and Waller-Bridge slots in nicely to the universe, and could easily lead a spinoff if one ever materializes.
The two seasons ofFleabagperfectly encapsulate Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s sense of humor and talent for screenwriting and creative direction.Fleabagfollows the titular young woman, only referred to as “Fleabag” and played by Waller-Bridge. Fleabag is a free-spirited but anxious and angry person who has trouble admitting what she wants in her life, and has no problem speaking her mind, even if it offends. Fleabag frequently breaks the fourth wall, commenting on the action in a scene with a comic aside.
It’s not just Waller-Bridge who is excellent, but the entire cast, including Sian Clifford as Fleabag’s sister, Andrew Scott as a priest Fleabag falls in love with, and Olivia Coleman as Fleabag’s godmother. It’s a laugh-a-minute show, with some exceptionally impressive screenwriting moves in regards to the fourth-wall breaks. Wickedly smart and achingly real,Phoebe Waller-Bridge’sFleabagis a must-watch for any TV fan.
