Marisa Abela on Her Breakout Role in Industry and Her Upcoming TV Bafta Nomination
Marisa Abela, the 28-year-old actress who has taken the television world by storm with her portrayal of Yasmin in the hit BBC/HBO series Industry, has spoken about her excitement and surrealism at being nominated for a TV Bafta. In an interview with The Guardian, Abela discussed her reaction to the nomination, her experience working on Industry, and her thoughts on the current state of the TV industry.
According to The Guardian, Abela was still at drama school when she landed the role of Yasmin, the traumatised heiress in Industry. Since then, she has experienced a meteoric rise to fame, playing Amy Winehouse in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s 2024 biopic Back to Black, which earned her a Bafta rising star nomination. Abela was also hand-picked by Steven Soderbergh for his recent star-studded thriller Black Bag.
In the interview with The Guardian, Abela recalled her reaction to the news of her TV Bafta nomination. “It feels completely surreal,” she said. “We were filming Industry at the moment, so I was coming out of my trailer when I saw all of these missed calls from my agent. By the time I arrived on set, the whole crew was there, cheering.”
Abela also discussed her character Yasmin and the scene with her father at the end of season three. “It’s not my place to judge her morally,” she said. “I have to understand why she makes her decisions, and her dad behaves in a way that epitomises the narcissism that she grew up with.” The Guardian reported that Abela praised Adam Levy for his portrayal of Charles, Yasmin’s father, saying he did a great job of making the character despicable.
The actress also spoke about the departure of her co-star Harry Lawtey from the show. “We all started out together, and we’ve had each other’s backs in a big way – we’re such a family,” she said. “But I respect the fact that when Mickey [Down] and Konrad [Kay, the drama’s creators] make a move in the show, they stick by it.” Abela noted that the upcoming season of Industry feels different, but in an exciting way, with greater ambitions and a more high-camp, crazy villain origin story.
Abela was also asked about her similarities with Yasmin as a character. “Yasmin’s humour is probably where I’m closest to her,” she said. “She’s not afraid of taking the piss out of herself or other people around her, and she’s quite dry.” However, Abela noted that she is not as cold-hearted or complicated as Yasmin and is able to be slightly more vulnerable.
In addition to her work on Industry, Abela discussed her experience playing Amy Winehouse in Back to Black. “As an actor, my job was to quieten all the noise and get as close as possible to the human behind that mythology,” she said. The Guardian reported that Abela had to deal with the pressure and expectation that comes with playing a role like that, including paparazzi and social media scrutiny.
Abela also shared her thoughts on the current state of the TV industry. “There’s so much being made, which is great because there are so many jobs for actors,” she said. “But on the flip side, there’s too much and people don’t know what to watch.” She noted that sometimes, if a show is on a big streaming platform, it can get buried and no one sees it, and it gets cancelled.
Finally, Abela revealed her guilty pleasure TV show, citing the Real Housewives franchise as her favourite. “I love every franchise of Real Housewives – I’ve just finished Beverly Hills,” she said.
The Bafta Television Awards with P&O Cruises will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday at 7pm. The Guardian will be launching a series of Bafta TV specials across the weekend, featuring interviews with nominees, including Marisa Abela.
This article is based on an interview with Marisa Abela published in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/09/marisa-abela-tv-baftas-interview.
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