Ashton is a classically trained actor who got her start via long-running British television dramas like “The Bill,” “Casualty” and “Holby City.” She began earning raves for her West End theater work in the late 2000s, and scored her first Broadway triumph in 2019 alongside Tom Hiddleston in a critically acclaimed revival of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal.” As for movies, she impressed in pitch-black satire “Velvet Buzzsaw,” but has yet to break through in a big way.
That could change this fall, when she steps into the role of Kree warrior Dar-Benn in Nia DaCosta’s “The Marvels.” It’s a villain part, which, in an MCU movie, typically allows for plenty of scene stealing. For proof, she need only look to her fiancé, Hiddleston, whose Loki is one of Marvel’s most popular baddies.
Ashton was surprised to land the part in the first place. According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she spent the early part of the pandemic discussing a potential indie project with DaCosta. Fast-forward a year, and she’s delighted to hear from her agents that the director is offering her a role in her next movie. Finally, she thought, that indie flick was a go. “They were like, ‘No, it’s actually to join the cast of Captain Marvel 2,'” said Ashton.