Son of a gun

British hitwoman Julie's past catches up with her following a visit from her estranged child Edward in The Assassin

- WORDS: LAURA CARRENO-MÜLLER

Don't let the cool exterior fool you — Keeley Hawes is packing heat in Prime Video's The Assassin.

In this six-parter, the Line Of Duty star trades her usual polish for grit as Julie, a former contract killer with unfinished business.

“She has a chill vibe,” Keeley, 49, says about her character. “She's very different, I love her sarcasm and honesty, the fact she has no filter. She’s very much a woman in a man’s world and she's respected by the men in her industry, which is unusual. I loved the stunts as well.”

At its heart, The Assassin is about the fragility of family - particularly the knotty bond between Julie and her estranged son Edward, played by The Good Doctor's Freddie Highmore.

Keeley and Freddie first met over Zoom. “It was a good half hour,” Freddie, 33, recalls. “It felt like we were on the same page. Getting the chance to work with Keeley was brilliant.”