By Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross
LOS ANGELES, Oct 9 (Reuters) – It was not until Catherine Zeta-Jones began working on the Prime Video series “Kill Jackie” that she had an epiphany: for the first time in her career, she would be playing a character with a Welsh accent, matching her own.
“Jackie Price is Welsh. Even her name sounds Welsh,” Zeta-Jones told Reuters, referring to the former drug dealer turned art dealer she portrays in the series.
“Once that was in my head, there was no going back. I have to be honest, I got a little jealous of other actors who’ve never had to do accents all their lives,” she added.
The Oscar-winning actor said the realization prompted her to reflect on a career spent almost exclusively playing characters with accents different from her own.
From using an American accent in the 2004 film “The Terminal” to adopting a Scottish accent in the 2008 film “Death Defying Acts,” the Welsh actor has portrayed characters from around the world.
But the accent was not the only aspect of “Kill Jackie,” which premiered on Prime Video in Britain, Canada and some other countries on October 2, that drew her to the role. It premiered in the US on AMC+.
Zeta-Jones was also captivated by the character herself: Jackie Price, a former cocaine dealer who lives a luxurious life selling art through tax loopholes.
After 20 years of anonymity, Jackie’s quiet existence is upended when a group of elite hitmen known as The Seven Demons is hired to kill her.
The series also stars Daniel Ings, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Sidse Babett Knudsen and Christine Adams.
“She speaks before she thinks, and she says what she thinks,” Zeta-Jones said of the qualities that made her connect with the character.
The “Ocean’s Twelve” actor said she admires Jackie’s unfiltered nature, particularly because her own demeanor tends to be more serious and restrained.
(Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle BroadwayEditing by Rod Nickel)
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