Before she joined Killing Eve as Hélène, Camille Cottin was like any other viewer waiting with bated breath to see what would happen between Eve and Villanelle.
She tuned in every week as the two characters, portrayed by Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, played a game of cat and mouse over the course of three seasons. "I was obsessed," Camille told E! News in a recent interview. "And when I started watching the show, I didn't know I would be in it."
Not only is she in it, she's the character that comes between Eve and Villanelle.
In episode four of season four, Eve shows Hélène that she's not afraid of her by stripping down and climbing into a bathtub with the assassin trainer. Though it starts off on a somewhat steamy note as Eve shaves Hélène's legs, the mood changes when the tub squeaks under the pressure of their bodies.
"It's thought of as being really erotic and sensual, and it ends up really awkward," Camille said, laughing as she remembered filming. "Sandra was saying, 'I've been in a lot of bath scenes in my career and I can tell you we're going to float, so we really need some things to keep us down'—and she was right! It's really hard to maintain yourself in a bath."
She noted that in movies women are typically shown putting on makeup and talking about men in the bathroom, but this was a more realistic take on what happens behind closed doors.
And that's what Camille loves about Killing Eve, she said, "It's completely different."
Moreover, the writers are always taking risks on the show, leaving even devoted viewers like Camille wondering what comes next. She shared that she was surprised to learn Hélène and Eve's dynamic would turn romantic, saying, "It was a bold bet to create another relationship."
"We've been longing for the Villanelle and Eve relationship and I think it's really interesting because it is unexpected," she explained. "And I think Helene's attraction for Eve isn't expected too and there's something real in it."
Though Camille doesn't entirely understand her character's motivations, she suspects that Hélène being a single mother is a major factor. "She's dreaming a little about domesticity, and sharing a home with somebody is something that she has a fantasy about," she explained. "But at the same time, you can't lock her in a house."
The contradictory nature of Hélène, "the head of an assassin organization who's also a very dedicated mother," is what ultimately drew Camille to the role. As a mom herself, she expressed that shows don't always depict the "real-life" challenge of being a mother and working professional, saying, "It is a day to day fight of always trying to keep the balance in something which is always unbalanced."
But she noted that her struggle pales in comparison to the women in Ukraine and Russia, sharing that she is thinking about "all the women that are fighting for freedom."
She highlighted the recent protest by Marina Ovsyannikova, who held a sign that read "No War" during a news broadcast, according to NBC News. "Killing Eve is about brave women and their courage and their power," Camille said, "and my thoughts are going to this Russian journalist Marina who just had the courage to do something that she knew would put her life in danger, which is to fight dictatorship."