This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Anyone who associates Ambika Mod with either a struggling junior doctor or a charming young woman destined to die may be startled by her Black Doves assassin. She is ruthless, radical and rude — cracking masturbation jokes on her way to wrecking a flat, killing every guard within 100 metres and escaping with a laugh. This time she inflicts pain rather than relieves it. The casting is inspired.
“It was enormous fun – a dream,” says Mod. “Roles like that don’t often come my way.” That sounds like false modesty. Her acclaimed turn as a medic in Adam Kay’s semi-autobiographical drama This Is Going to Hurt, again opposite Ben Whishaw, set her agent’s phone ringing four years ago. It has barely stopped since.
“This Is Going to Hurt introduced me to audiences. It transformed my opportunities and, more than anything else I’ve made, changed my career.”
More than One Day, the 2024 adaptation of David Nicholls’s bestseller in which she starred opposite Leo Woodall? “One Day changed my life most. That’s the Netflix effect: a show drops and millions see your face overnight. It gave me a profile and platform unlike anything I’d known. Now I can’t leave home without being recognised.”
Does she mind? “It took time to adjust, but now I see it as part of the job. The attention can be satisfying and fun, and I don’t find it restrictive. I’ll still go to the shops in my pyjamas. I’m not precious about that sort of thing, and I don’t think other people care much either.”
Although Mod looks completely at ease fighting in Black Doves, playing the ruthless hitwoman Laila required a steep learning curve.
“I usually play noble characters who die. I’m not naturally physical or well coordinated, so I did a lot of stunt training. We performed most of the stunts ourselves. The script was punchy, fresh and modern. I’m quite brash, like Laila, and loved learning the moves, pulling them off and watching them back.”
Was working with Knightley fun? “She’s lovely – grounded, genuine, generous and very cool.”
Her favourite stunt? “Definitely the sequence at a Somerset House art exhibition. It’s one continuous shot: Keira and I move through the gallery, I hit one man with a tray, then throw a champagne bottle into another man’s face. Very satisfying.”
View Green Video on the source websiteWith its emphasis on female assassins, Black Doves could be a modern Charlie’s Angels — but without Charlie at the top. Instead, the team is controlled by Reed, a chilly mastermind played by Sarah Lancashire.
“Sarah once said the show is full of female antiheroes,” says Mod. “She was right. They’re diverse and complex: sexy, smart and flawed. None apologises for being slightly psychotic. It feels as though the spy genre has been turned on its head.
“There’s plenty of murder, but the show never feels heavy. I think audiences want that lightness and deft touch.”
Like a Bond film? “Absolutely. Spy stories usually aren’t my thing, but the comedy and brashness here suit me completely. I’d happily do another. I certainly wouldn’t turn down Bond – I’d love to play a modern Bond woman.”
All episodes of Black Doves season 2 are available from 5 November on Netflix.
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