Mia McKenna-Bruce on Seven Dials on Netflix, and playing Barry Keoghan's wife in The Beatles films
Mia McKenna-Bruce stars in Agatha Christie's Seven Dials, on Netflix.
Following the global success of the films, a new series aims to bring one of the greatest writers of whodunnits to our screen.
is a new adaptation of the queen of crime’s novel , written by Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall.
Mia McKenna-Bruce is soon to star in Sam Mendes’ highly anticipated Beatles project opposite Irish actors Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan. Meanwhile in , she leads the investigation as Lady Eileen Bundle, a young and determined sleuth who has skin in the game following a death at a gathering in a lavish country house.
“It was like existing in a real-life game of Cleudo,” says McKenna-Bruce of the experience. “I'm getting to play dress-up in the most gorgeous clothes that I'd never usually get to wear. That is such a bonus on top of what we get to do, to jump into this world that is complete escapism, the glitz, the glamour, the music — we had a lot of live music on set.”
Having made a huge impression in 2023’s much discussed coming-of-age drama , McKenna-Bruce landed the lead role in the three-part show for Netflix. It’s hoped the series will attract new as well as existing Christie fans.
“I met with Chris Sweeney, the director, quite early on, and the big thing for him was the fact that we're getting a strong young female to drive this series, particularly in the 1920s, a period of time when she definitely would have been made to fit into a box,” says McKenna-Bruce.
“We wanted to hold onto the humanity behind it all. It's a whodunnit and you can get lost in the clues and the excitement of finding out the answer and forgetting the real reason why, that it was based on grief and loss.”
For the 28-year-old, researching for the role involved a deep dive into Christie’s work and she is now a fully signed-up fan. “I didn't have a huge wealth of Agatha Christie knowledge,” she says.
“There was definitely a responsibility that comes with doing an Agatha Christie piece that I was aware of as we started, and was like: ‘Okay, I need to put that to the back of my mind and focus on what we've got at hand’.
“I hadn't really read her books, they always quite intimidated me. I obviously started with . I didn't pick up on the fact that they were written so long ago — her writing feels so modern. If we get to open that world to more people, I think that's a really cool thing.”
As a young woman, she found the time period fascinating, she says. Ostensibly, women were embracing new freedoms as the 1920s roared, yet their lives were in many ways curtailed by societal expectations.
“You draw parallels in that, and then you go, woah — what women did have to contend with then is just kind of crazy, even the fact that they were cutting their hair short as a rebellion, almost, coming out of the war. The fact that that was such a big stance then, for me, highlighted we have come a long way — still further to go — but we have come a long way.”
From London, McKenna-Bruce first fostered her love of acting as a child, when she was cast in BBC series , based on Jacqueline Wilson’s novels. It was a big early break and a hugely immersive experience for her, filming away from home from the age of 10.
“We were a set of 13 children getting to do this job where I really got to learn how to navigate a set from a really young age,” she says. “That was my version of school. Being on set was what I knew, and I knew it like the back of my hand.
"Also getting to do it with other children, so we still had our childhood, but got to do the thing that we loved most as well. It was before social media was a huge thing, so I got to dip into that world of being quite familiar to people without the trolls that you get online so much now. It was quite a nice way to get in.”
in 2023 was a major breakthrough for her. The film about three British teenagers who go on a rites-of-passage holiday won numerous awards and became a major talking point about the nature of consent. McKenna-Bruce won the Bafta Rising Star Award for her performance.
It was a huge turning point, she recalls, and impressed on her a sense of how important such storytelling could be.
“It was the first time I really realised what I wanted to do moving forward. It was the first time I had the realisation of how powerful film could be and how it could speak to so many people, the first time I'd really experienced that on a personal level. I was like: ‘Oh, you can really do something good with this’, and I want to do more of that.”
She is currently filming on a project that has been highly anticipated since the moment it was first announced. British filmmaker Sam Mendes ( ) is aiming to tell the story of The Beatles like never before. Described as “a four-film cinematic event” each movie will focus on a different band member, with Irish actors making an impressive contribution.
Paul Mescal has been cast as Paul McCartney, with Saoirse Ronan playing his wife Lynda. Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr and McKenna-Bruce, as his wife Maureen Starkey, has been working closely with him.
Has the Dubliner mastered the art of drumming? “He was saying to me the other day that it's actually really tiring. I was like: ‘Yeah, because he's putting in the work.’ I think all of the boys across the board have really thrown themselves in. We're walking around set, and I don't even recognise them half the time. It's like the real Beatles!”
She was hugely excited at the prospect of working on the films, she says, from the outset. “The day that I got the email to come and have a meeting for Maureen, I replied to my team and said: ‘I will do anything to be a part of this, and in any capacity.’
In that initial email, they told me who were attached to play the Beatles, the fact that it was Sam Mendes. I've always been a huge fan. The love everyone has poured into it is phenomenal. I cannot believe I get to be a part of this, and the chance to work with Barry the way that I am as well.”
- Agatha Christie’s is now on Netflix
