Thaddea starring in hit BBC show

Thaddea starring in hit BBC show

7 October 2020

LOCAL actress, musician and singer Thaddea Graham is being hailed as the break-out star of the new hit BBC1 series, Us.

The former Killinchy Primary School pupil plays Kat, a free-spirited busker who meets up with a couple on the verge of separation as they holiday with their teenage son in holiday in Europe.

It’s the latest major TV appearance for the actress who is also currently starring in a fantasy adventure series, The Letter for the King, released in March on Netflix.

Born in China but raised in Co Down, Thaddea, who is in her early twenties, also attended Bloomfield College in Belfast where her talent for music and acting was nurtured.

Us is a four-part adaption of David Nicholl’s award-winning novel of 2014 which was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize that year. 

Thaddea, who now lives in London, stars alongside Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves as characters Douglas and Connie Peterson respectively as they navigate what is seemingly the end of their relationship.

Kat befriends the couple’s son, Albie, and connects with his dad, Douglas, in a way that improves the father/son relationship.

The young star said that she loved the fact that her character was a musician like her.

She said: “I just love Kat’s energy — she’s so big and full of life — and I love the fact she is a musician. 

“I created a bit of a backstory with our producer that Kat had gone on a journey with some people from home in Northern Ireland and started a little band by going on a tour in Europe. 

“However, it fell apart because Kat has a very big personality. She’s very confident and I think that could cause a bit of trouble within a group so she split off.

“She’s so much fun to play as she’s so different to me. I’d never be brave enough to get all these tattoos and do my hair in the way that Kat does.”

Thaddea said that one of the advantages of paying Kat was the chance to visit so many European locations.

“It’s really exciting shooting away from home. I’d never been to Amsterdam before so it was cool to explore a city in that way and it’s a different way to see it,” she said.

“It was nice to have a wander in the evening after shooting — there were so many bicycles. I was almost been hit by one a few times but that’s my own stupidity, I forget to look.”

Thaddea added that to be able to use her home accent in both Us and The Letter for the King was very special to her.

Referring to the latter, which was filmed in Prague and New Zealand, she recalled: ”We all had a chat with our writer, Will Davies, when we got to New Zealand. He said it was very important that these characters feel like real people.

“And for me, obviously, my accent is my accent. He said, ‘Let’s keep that... that’s real to you, that’s your truth, let’s make it Iona’s truth as well.’”

Apart from appearing in Us currently, Thaddea also filmed last year for another big production for Netflix called The Irregulars.

The eight-part series is a twist on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes which tells the tale of how it was actually a group of children behind the detective’s famous crime solving.

According to movie site, IDMb, Thaddea will be appearing in three episodes, with the series due to be broadcast later this year. 

The concluding episode of Us will be shown this Sunday on BBC1 at 9pm with all episodes available on the BBC iPlayer.