Top 10 Reasons You Should Know Phoebe Waller-Bridge
#10: Her Emmy Wins
Top 10 Reasons You Should Know Who Reneé Rapp Is
One of the reasons Phoebe Waller-Bridge was in the news so much in the fall of 2019 was her stunning wins at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, which took place in September. Fleabag (and Waller-Bridge) took home several major awards: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series. At least one of these wins was a major upset, with many expecting Julia Louis-Dreyfus to win the Best Actress trophy considering how many times she has been awarded in this category for her role on “Veep”.
#9: “Fleabag”
So why did Waller-Bridge deserve all these awards anyway? That’s because her show, “Fleabag”, which she writes and stars in and which originally was created for the BBC but then became available for streaming on Amazon, is an absolute masterpiece of modern comedy. It’s a show unlike anything you’ve ever seen, portraying a deeply flawed and troubled female protagonist (who is simply known as “Fleabag”). Her tendency to break the fourth wall and involve the audience in the action feels fresh and exciting and we’re really crossing our fingers that Waller-Bridge didn’t mean it when she said season two was the final season. And in case you still have any doubts, both seasons of the show have 100% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
#8: She Was on “Broadchurch”
Top 10 Reasons You Should Know Who Taylor Tomlinson Is
In terms of acting, Waller-Bridge may be best known for her main role on “Fleabag”, but that’s not her only major TV appearance. She also starred in the second season of ITV show “Broadchurch”, playing Abby Thompson, Sharon Bishop's junior barrister. If you’re not familiar with the show, it’s a UK crime drama told in a serialized format, starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman (the latter of whom also plays a role on “Fleabag”). The role Waller-Bridge plays is pretty different from her “Fleabag” persona, but the role is still one that’s plenty of fun to watch her in.
#7: She Was in “Star Wars”
Top 10 Reasons You Should Know Who Ariana DeBose Is
Only Phoebe Waller-Bridge could land a role in the next “Star Wars” movie by never having seen a single one of the films in the series. She revealed in an interview that not only was she not familiar with the property, but also when she auditioned for the role of L3-37, she didn’t actually know she was reading the part of a droid. Well she did, she just didn’t know exactly what a droid WAS. Nonetheless, she managed to nab the part, and ended up in the cast of “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, where she plays one of Lando Calrissian’s droids.
#6: “Crashing”
2016 was a big year for Phoebe Waller-Bridge because not only did her hit show “Fleabag” premiere, but she also debuted another comedy called “Crashing” for Channel 4. This sitcom, which she created and wrote, may not have been as big of a critical success, being cancelled after just one season, but it’s still plenty of fun. The premise of the show is that a group of young-ish people are working as property guardians and living in an abandoned hospital because of the shortage of affordable housing in London. Waller-Bridge’s character shares some similarities with “Fleabag”, so if you’re a fan, this is pretty essential viewing.
#5: Her Film Roles
Top 10 Actors Who Wish They Never Got Their Iconic Roles
While she is definitely better known for her work on television, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is no stranger to film. Along with “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, she has also appeared in other movies. In 2017’s “Goodbye Christopher Robin” she plays Mary Brown, a journalist intent on interviewing Christopher Robin himself. In “The Iron Lady,” she worked alongside Meryl Streep playing Susie, Margaret Thatcher’s secretary. And she had a small role in “Albert Nobbs”. Though her film work may not be extensive, we can only imagine what she’ll do next now that she’s quickly becoming a household name.
#4: Her New HBO Show
Top 10 Reasons We LOVE Oprah
Phoebe Waller-Bridge has a few projects in the works, and one of the ones we’re most excited about is one we have very little information on. She’s going to be executive producing and acting in a new show for HBO that is being dubbed a “comedy-thriller”. She’ll be acting alongside Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Wever and playing a character named Flick, which is a name that’s almost as weird as “Fleabag”. The series is called “Run” and was created by Vicky Jones, who has collaborated with Waller-Bridge many times in the past. We can’t wait to see what it’s all about.
#3: She's Contributing to the New Bond Movie
Top 10 Reasons You Should Know Who Ana de Armas Is
There’s a new James Bond film set to be released in April of 2020 called “No Time to Die” starring Daniel Craig. And though it may seem like an unexpected pairing, Phoebe Waller-Bridge was brought in part-way through development to spruce up the script a bit to make it more lighthearted and witty. The story goes that Daniel Craig himself asked for her to be brought on board, partly because his wife, actress Rachel Weisz, is a fan of “Fleabag”. The film has had a lot of turnover behind the scenes and suffered from several delays, so hopefully Waller-Bridge was able to work her magic on this ill-fated project.
#2: “Killing Eve”
While we’re used to seeing Phoebe Waller-Bridge in front of the camera even if she’s also working behind the scenes, there’s one major exception. “Killing Eve”, the female-centric British spy thriller, has a practice of having a different woman act as showrunner each season. In the first season, Waller-Bridge took the reigns. The show, which stars Sandra Oh, has been a major critical and commercial success on both sides of the pond, taking home a number of awards. While she was no longer heading the writing of season two, she still had a hand in it, and her signature wit can be seen in every episode.
#1: Her One-Woman Stage Show
Top 10 Stars Who BROKE DOWN On Stage
“Fleabag” may be over, but fans still have something they can get excited about. Before “Fleabag” was a TV show, it was actually a one-woman play starring Waller-Bridge that she created out of a stand-up comedy set. She performed it at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013 and it won the Fringe First Award. In November of 2019, a filmed version of her performing it on London’s West End will be hitting movie theatres for a limited stint. Don’t miss your chance to get tickets before it’s sold out!
