Georgia Goodman Goes Global

As we continue to spotlight creatives navigating the ever-shifting terrain between global visibility and grounded storytelling, Georgia Goodman stands out as an actress who moves with quiet intention through both. With appearances in large-scale productions like Loki, Wednesday, and Uncharted, as well as emotionally resonant, character-driven projects such as Gloria, Goodman has built a career defined less by spectacle than by substance, consistently drawn to roles that offer complexity, dignity, and psychological depth.

Photography by Jemima Marriott

Now entering a pivotal chapter with new film releases including The Running Man opposite Glen Powell and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die alongside Sam Rockwell, Juno Temple, and Haley Lu Richardson, Goodman reflects on her process and the evolving momentum behind a body of work that continues to extend to global audiences. In this conversation, she speaks with LO’AMMI about grounding performance in lived experience, navigating stereotype and subtext, and what it means to grow, both personally and professionally, in an industry that’s only just beginning to catch up.

Your career moves fluidly between massive global productions like Loki, Wednesday, and Uncharted and more intimate, character-driven work. Do you approach a role differently depending on the scale of the project, or does your process always begin in the same place?

My process is always the same - script first: I read this as many times as I can, and I mark the script according to my character. For example: I’ll mark important information that another character has about my character, an event that has or will happen that involves my character, my relationships to different characters / locations / history, etc. Then I go back for a few more reads of the script with all that information in mind. I don’t really build a backstory as such, more a thought process of why I’m saying these words, to whom and what is the subtext behind what I’m saying, if any. This is all the work I do before I even start learning the dialogue. Then once my lines are learned, I then try to “unlearn” them by setting the scene somewhere mundane like my kitchen and I’ll reenact the dialogue in my kitchen while cooking for example, or doing dishes. I’ll imagine the other character either being next to me in the kitchen or in the room next door, so I’ll have to shout my lines. Sometimes, new ideas come up while I’m doing this and it’s always exciting that I can still find something new even after all the work I’ve done before. This method helps me ground the scene and the character so it doesn’t feel like a performance on screen, it feels more lived in, natural.

You’ve worked across genres like psychological thrillers, fantasy, drama, comedy - from Silo to BBC projects like Wreck. Are you drawn more to story, character psychology, or the world-building of a project when choosing what to take on?

Photography by Jemima Marriott

I’m drawn to the character and the story when an audition comes in. Then, with whom I’ll be working. I love all genres but it’s the characters in these genres that make the story. I’m not a straight offer actress yet, so I’m still auditioning for roles and I have said no to characters that haven’t been well developed or where I couldn’t see an arc. Sometimes, the thought of working with certain people outweighs the storyline and I can only hope that I can have a say in the room and try to build the character more.

Your background is incredibly rich culturally: Vietnamese and French-African heritage, with royal lineage from the Miéné tribe in Gabon! How has your cultural identity shaped the kinds of stories you feel connected to, or the way you move through the industry?

I think it’s given me an understanding about the importance of culture, but more importantly, a respect for different countries. I love meeting new people, learning new languages and experiencing different things (that I get from my mother who would encourage us to try new things). With regards to the stories that land on my lap, I try to give a dignity to the characters, especially when they might be written as a stereotype. Sadly, you still see the same tropes such as the Filipino nurse or the Latina cleaner and the characters are just defined as such - that’s what I used to get at the start of my career - but I’ve learned to bring something else behind the stereotype within the boundaries given to me. 

You’ve also built a strong foundation in theatre, including Informed Consent alongside Brett Goldstein. What does the stage give you as an actor that screen work can’t (and vice versa)?

I love stage so much and really wish I could do more of it. On stage, there is no “cut!” if you’ve messed up a line, you just have to keep going. It’s a team effort - you are all working together to make this play as seamless as possible, and you learn to trust each other for an intense period of time. I think you build stronger relationships as well because of that bubble / cocoon of rehearsals and performances. I do love screen, though it might be less intense for an actor than it is for the director. 

Photography by Jemima Marriott

You’re entering a major run of film releases, starting with The Running Man opposite Glen Powell, followed by Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die with Sam Rockwell, Juno Temple, and Haley Lu Richardson. How does it feel stepping into this new chapter where audiences will be seeing you on the big screen more than ever?

It’s exciting and humbling in equal measure. I look completely different on screen and off so people hardly recognise me when I’m out and about. As a private person, I still enjoy that anonymity. Although it is nice to have your contribution recognised on screen, I’m not going to lie!  Especially if this recognition is by the industry and allows me to keep climbing the career ladder and be thrown more interesting projects my way.   It’s not something I can control however, so I just have to make sure I do the story and the role justice.

Your performance in Gloria earned strong recognition, and the film went on to win Best Short at the London Labour Film Festival chaired by Mike Leigh. When you look back at roles like that, smaller projects with huge emotional impact, what stays with you the longest after a character leaves your life?

I loved Gloria so much and was so happy to have been cast. The film was commissioned by Unite, a workers’ union, to highlight the role of Latina cleaners in the UK and the sacrifices they make in order to build a better world for the people they’ve left behind in their countries. Because I dance salsa and used to perform it as well, I’ve met a lot of Latinos on the dance floor who were pharmacists, doctors, teachers  etc who aren’t allowed to practice in the UK and end up taking the menial jobs in order to survive - Gloria was a professor in Uruguay. It’s unfair and sadly, a stereotype that still persists today. What I cherish from that project was that the film was shown to the Latino cleaning community and they all praised my portrayal and said I did them proud. That’s what stays me with every character - the impact it may have had on someone and that they feel seen.

---

Photo Credits Photographer: Jemima Marriott

Stylist: Prue Fisher

Hair & Make Up: Alexis Day

Hair & Make Up Assist: Sneha