Emma Mackey on Her Journey From Sex Education to Ella McCay

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Emma Mackey started her acting career playing a rebellious teenager in the Netflix series Sex Education. But with her leading role in James L. Brooks’ new film, Ella McCay, she felt she needed to mature as an actor and as a person.

This challenge was inherent in the director’s request. In the film, a lighthearted comedy about a politician, Mackey portrays Ella as a 34-year-old. When filming began, Mackey was only 27, despite playing a character nine years her senior.

Mackey, speaking over Zoom and wearing a large white sweater, explained that she played a character who had experienced life stages different from her own. She added that she gained valuable insights from portraying this role.

As a movie fan, I’m really excited about what’s next for Thuso Mbedu! Her role in Ella McCay feels like a big step forward for her – she’s moving beyond being known for Netflix shows to now headlining a film by a really respected, Oscar-winning director, and it’s the first movie he’s made in fifteen years! It’s a fantastic opportunity.

She’s no stranger to suddenly finding herself at the center of big cultural events. In fact, Mackey describes her entire career as a challenging but transformative experience – a real ‘trial by fire.’

“I’m constantly pleasantly baffled at how things have wound up,” she says. 

I always find it fascinating learning about how actors get their start. Emma Mackey had a pretty unique journey! She grew up in a really rural part of northwest France, though she’s bilingual because her mum is English. After moving to the UK for university, she ended up in London, juggling random jobs and taking acting classes. Drama school didn’t quite work out – she didn’t get accepted and couldn’t afford it anyway – but incredibly, she landed an agent and within six months booked the role of Maeve in Sex Education! That show really put her on the map, you know, the BAFTA-winning one about the teenage sex therapist. She played Maeve as this wonderfully rebellious, eyeliner-loving outsider who ends up becoming a key part of the main character Otis’s story – both as a friend and, eventually, something more.

I’ll admit, I had some serious reservations about taking the role in Sex Ed. I remember agonizing over whether I could realistically play a teenager – I was already well into my twenties at the time! The thought of doing intimate scenes as my first professional job was… daunting, especially considering I didn’t want to upset my grandparents. It was a lot to consider!

The show was a success for the streaming platform and lasted four seasons. While filming the fourth and final season, she began auditioning for the role of Ella McCay.

She traveled to London several times to work with director James L. Brooks, famous for films like Terms of Endearment, As Good as it Gets, and Broadcast News. In Ella McCay, Brooks also plays a supporting role as a governor who mentors her character. He and casting director Francine Maisler put her through intensive four-hour auditions, exploring different approaches to each scene. “It definitely took a while,” she explains.

Brooks’ new film is delightfully quirky. The story is told by Ella’s assistant, voiced by Julie Kavner (best known as Marge Simpson), and it moves back and forth in time to show how this powerful character is dedicated to making a positive difference through her work in government.

I’m really drawn into the story because it starts in 2008 when Ella unexpectedly becomes governor of her state. It’s a tough time for her, though, because she’s also dealing with a silly scandal involving her husband, and her already complicated family life gets even messier. Her estranged father, who’s always been unfaithful, suddenly reappears, and her brother has pretty much become a recluse. What I find most compelling is that Ella genuinely wants to make a difference with her policies, which frustrates a lot of the people she works with. The creator even mentioned the coincidence of similar character names, saying it’s something people keep pointing out – apparently that was just the name he came up with!

Brooks revisits a style he’s known for with this character. Ella reminds viewers of Holly Hunter’s driven, work-focused producer, Jane, from Brooks’ 1987 film Broadcast News. Like Jane, Ella is incredibly intelligent, and while she can be demanding, she also captivates those around her.

“I think it’s very true to him,” Mackey says. “I think he knows this woman.” 

Mackey needed to understand how to portray Ella. While she picked up the American accent quickly, the bigger challenge was showing Ella at different ages – as a shy teenager experiencing first love and loss, and then adjusting to life with her strong-willed aunt (Jamie Lee Curtis). Initially, Mackey admits she idealized the character, a habit she has with roles she’s passionate about.

At first, I put her on a pedestal,” she explains. “But I realized I needed to see her as a complete person, flaws and all.”

I was so impressed to hear that Mackey didn’t just focus on Ella, but really took the time to understand how things work here in the U.S. She met with people in similar government roles, even sat in on some of their meetings to get a feel for the system. She’s keeping the details close to the vest about exactly who helped her with that research, but it’s clear she did her homework!

I don’t like to discuss it extensively because, ultimately, it’s not a political film,” she explained. “I initially thought it was, but that’s just part of the story’s setting, not the main focus.”

While some might view the film as a hopeful story about a dedicated politician, similar to the spirit of the Obama years, Mackey believes it’s primarily about Ella’s strong work ethic and how she consistently applies it to both her career and her relationships with others.

She explains that this situation is fundamentally about public service. It’s about dedicating oneself to helping others, and that value extends to her family as well.

At 34, Ella has lived a full life, but she still feels like she’s just becoming a fully-fledged adult. Because of this, she’s carefully considering the path her career is taking. She was drawn to the opportunity to work with Brooks, finding it a challenging and stimulating experience, and eager to learn from his exceptional intellect.

She’s more than halfway through filming Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, a project that brings her back to work with director Greta Gerwig. Gerwig previously gave her a small role in Barbie, but this time she’s playing a much larger part – the villain, Jadis, also known as the White Witch.

Mackey notes that making any movie is a remarkable achievement, but it’s particularly special when there’s a lot riding on it – like with a new Narnia film or the comeback of a director like Jim Brooks.

Mackey is also appearing in a big new movie by J.J. Abrams, but she doesn’t see herself as just an actress. She’s determined to become a director eventually, and is currently exploring how to make that happen.

She admits she’s caught between wanting to mature and holding onto her youth. She feels young at heart and still figuring things out, saying, ‘I’m still working on that, guys.’

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2025-12-13 00:07