The British-born actor on confronting industry racism and how her new baby helped her channel the big emotions of the ill-fated queen
Jodie Turner-Smith is a British actor and the star of Channel 5’s forthcoming drama Anne Boleyn, in which she plays the doomed queen. Born in Peterborough, Turner-Smith moved to the US as a child and later worked in finance before she began a career in modelling. She made her acting debut in 2013 in HBO’s supernatural drama True Bloodand co-starred with Daniel Kaluuya in 2019’s Queen & Slim, a road movie about a black couple on the run. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, actor Joshua Jackson, and their one-year-old daughter.
You’re playing Anne Boleyn as she goes through turmoil and betrayal in the final three months of her life. How did you tap into that mood?
Honestly, it felt so easy. I think I was so raw because I’d just had a baby so all those big emotions resonated with me. I could feel how angry and passionate and desperate and heartbroken she was. It was the first job I did after having a baby and I was redefining myself as well as [being] a performer. After you go through something so transformational, you’re a new person.
