Why Queen Maeve From The Boys Looks So Familiar
Despite the title of the series, some of the most complex and compelling characters on The Boys are, well, the girls. One case in point is Queen Maeve. This idealistic member of the corrupt corporate superhero squad The Seven frequently finds herself pulled between her desire to improve the world by saving lives and inspiring young women, and her obligations to Vought.
The contradictions of Queen Maeve's existence are brought to life thanks to the compelling performance of Irish actress Dominique McElligott. Because of the Wonder Woman-inspired costume, it's entirely possible that you didn't recognize McElligott at all while watching The Boys, but there's actually a pretty good chance you've seen her before. We're only talking about on-screen appearances, though, as one place from which you certainly won't recognize her is Twitter. The actress told Hot Press, "I don't play the game — I'm not on social media. I don't want the audience to have too much info ... I've never sought the spotlight."
So, we'll have to stick to her work in film and TV. That should be easy enough, as McElligott has a career that spans over a decade and includes a diverse list of film and TV roles. Let's take a look at some of the most memorable of them.
A failed pilot led to film work for Dominique McElligott
McElligott began her career mostly working in the Irish film and TV industry, but soon made her way onto the international scene. It wasn't exactly a smooth transition. McElligott's first big role on an American TV series ended in disappointment when her part was cut out of the show completely. The show, NBC's The Philanthropist, only lasted one season, so it was clearly not meant to be, regardless. And, as the actress told The Herald, the opening in her schedule helped her land a role in a major movie.
McElligott said of the experience, "It was really fun while I was out there, so I was disappointed I didn't get to stay for longer but what can you do? ... I was glad the way it all worked out because it meant I was able to do Leap Year when I got home."
Rom-com fans will remember Leap Year as the movie in which Amy Adams travels across Ireland to try and propose to her boyfriend. McElligott has a small, but memorable, part in the film as a blushing bride who gives a touching toast at a wedding Adams' character attends. After Leap Year, McElligott went on to have roles in films like Moon, in which she played the wife of Sam Rockwell's isolated astronaut, and Not Fade Away, the feature film directorial debut of The Sopranos creator David Chase.
Dominique McElligott came to America for Hell on Wheels
Not everyone gets a second chance to make a first impression. Thankfully for McElligott, after the disappointment of The Philanthropist, she got another opportunity to debut her talents on American TV. The actress was cast on AMC's birth of the railroad western, Hell on Wheels.
McElligott played the widow Lily Bell, one of the few women in the temporary encampment for railway workers and the people who profited off them called Hell on Wheels. As a widow, Lily is not only in a precarious position as an unaccompanied woman in a place where law and order have only a tenuous grip, but she's also a British citizen in a foreign land. McElligot told Collider that Lily's fish out of water status is what attracted her to the role: "I love that she's an outsider. I love that she's from this alien place, in comparison to where she ends up, in Hell on Wheels ... She's lost, and she's trying to find out where she belongs, and form a place for herself."
In the same interview, McElligot also mentioned, "I read that the average lifespan for a woman, when she arrived at Hell on Wheels, was 17 months." Unfortunately for McElligott, Lily didn't beat the odds — the character was killed off at the end of season 2. McElligott, however, had more TV roles lined up for herself when her time on the railroad came to a close.
From The Astronauts Wives Club to trying to topple the House of Cards
After playing an enterprising widow on Hell on Wheels, McElligott took on some very different spousal roles. The first was in the 1950s-set historic drama The Astronauts Wives Club. The series is a dramatized account of the lives of the partners of the first American astronauts, who faced their own struggles when they became overnight celebrities thanks to their husbands' work. McElligott played Louise Shepard, whose husband Alan Shepard was the first American to travel into space (via NASA).
The Astronauts Wives Club only lasted one season, but when it ended, McElligott joined the cast of Netflix's political thriller House of Cards. In the fourth and fifth seasons, she played Hannah Conway, the British wife of American presidential candidate Will Conway (Joel Kinnaman), who challenges Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) for the top job in the US. Although Hannah never assumes the mantle of First Lady, her chicness and media-savvy presence made for a refreshing new addition to the series.
She was also a regular on Amazon Prime's F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation, The Last Tycoon, on which she played a waitress having an affair with a Hollywood producer in the 1930s. That series only lasted one season, but don't fret! Dominique McElligott's next big part was as Queen Maeve on The Boys, which we know will last more than one season as it debuts its second installment on September 4.