‘Patience’ Star Ella Maisy Purvis: “You Don’t Have to Be Scared of Employing Neurodivergent People”
Ella Maisy Purvis doesn’t need to have patience — she is Patience. The neurodivergent English actress has started off 2025 with a bang, thanks to her first-ever starring role in the six-part Eagle Eye Drama police series Patience on U.K. broadcaster Channel 4. And the 21-year-old is ready for more.
But let’s take this one step at a time. In Patience, which is adapted from the French show Astrid et Rapha?lle, Purvis plays Patience Evans, a young autistic woman who works in the criminal records department of the Yorkshire police department, cataloging and filing evidence from major cases. Craving routine and order, she finds solace and structure in her job.
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But the self-taught criminologist also has an instinctive eye for crime scenes as Detective Bea Metcalf, played by Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Doctor Who) discovers, opening a door to a new, exciting, but also scary world for Patience.
The show is coming to the U.S. on PBS later this year.
Previously, Purvis made a name for herself with a role in the neurodiversity themed drama A Kind of Spark on the BBC kids channel CBBC, for which she earned a nomination for a Royal Television Society Northern Ireland Breakthrough Award. And she made appearances in the Netflix series Heartstopper, about teens wrestling with self-definition and queer identity, as well as the ITV medical drama Malpractice.
The actress is next set to appear in the reboot of British crime drama Bergerac.
While she already has her eyes set on what’s next for her career, Purvis took some time to talk to The Hollywood Reporter about the representation of autistic and neurodivergent people on screen, their opportunities in the entertainment industry, how her mother and father have turned into stage parents and, yes, James Bond.
How did you come to play Patience?
It was an open call. I saw it on Twitter, and I said to my agent: “Have you seen this?” I did a tape. I’m not a person that forgets about auditions. But with this, I was filming something at the same time, and I just forgot about it. I did one take, and the sound was horrendous, it was awful framing, my eyes were red and I was just so tired. I sent it in, and then I got a call, a recall. And then I thought I blew that as well because I was weird. I shook everyone’s hand. There were eight people there. And then I walked out and still had to go to uni and thought “It’s fine!” And then I got the job. It’s always the ones you think you’re not going to get.
What can you share about Patience and her character and how it compares to your own personality? And what did you bring to the role based on your personal experience?
Patience is so driven. I think there are a lot of misconceptions that autistic people are apathetic, whereas we see in the show that Patience cares so deeply about things. And I’d say I’m the same. I think I’m more obsessive than determined. But I certainly share that. Patience is so internal and very calculated, while I often don’t know what I’m going to say next.
There were conversations every day. It wasn’t this one massive meeting about what I thought and what could I do. It was just little changes to the language or little extra little add-ons. Matt [Baker], the writer, and I had a conversation, and there were little storylines that were added. It was really collaborative. They wanted my input on everything.
There is a scene where Patience struggles and gets out of an elevator at the last second. Tell me what that scene was like.
It was actually really hard to film, because obviously I had to get out just as it was closing, and I’m so clumsy. I’ve got no depth perception or spatial awareness. And so it took a fair few takes. But I think I’m too lazy. Sure, I get a little bit anxious if there are too many people in a lift … But I’m too lazy to jump out.
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Patience and Bea. How did you and Laura develop that?
Me and Laura have a fantastic relationship off-screen as well. And, yeah, that was really fun to explore. As the episodes go on, you find out more about all of the characters. And we see the crimes through Patience’s eyes. Why wouldn’t you want to experience the world in a different way?
Patience sometimes has facial expressions or body language that tip you off to her internal struggles — if you pay attention to it. Is that part of acting a challenge or second nature for you?
It’s funny. I always think I move my face too much when I speak. And then when I watch it back, it’s like I’m not doing anything at all. But, yeah, scenes where she gets overwhelmed were all done in one long take. It’s such a usual thing for me just to be on the tube and someone’s coughing or it’s really busy, and I’ve realized that my bag is slipping from my shoulder. It’s just that general overwhelm. But a lot of my mum’s friends have said: “You’re doing the exact same faces as your mother.”
What does your family think about your acting career and starring in a TV series?
They love it. Sneakily, I did show them the first episode before I was meant to, and they’ve turned into stage parents a little bit. They’re not in the arts at all and have no idea about the arts really, but they’ve started giving me pointers and advice on things. My mother is like: “Well, you could have done this. I was just thinking.” My dad’s a big stage parent actually now. My dad tells all of his friends about it and puts things on LinkedIn, trying to get the word out. It’s really sweet. They’ve watched the episodes and everything I’ve been in more than 10 times.
Since Patience is your first lead role, does that bring pride, pressure or what does it mean for you?
I didn’t feel pressure from anyone else, but I put pressure on myself. Because I was like: right, okay, you’re in the big leagues now! It wasn’t a long shoot, but I was in a different country for a while, and I learned so much. I had to pretend that I knew things, because it was a lead role. But it feels great. It’s boosted my ego through the ceiling. You know, nothing can touch me now. (Laughs.)
When and how were you officially diagnosed as neurodivergent?
The diagnostic criteria for these things are based on a very old study on men, and so it’s really hard for women to get seen, let alone diagnosed. And obviously the [British health service] NHS is oversaturated and underfunded. And going private is really expensive, so it’s really hard to even get in the room for these things.
But I think I was 17, it was lockdown and obviously there was this massive change. And then questions started being asked. But when you go through that process, you really look back on all of your life and you’re like: “Oh, of course, it makes so much sense. How did no one see it?” It’s like a journey that you go on, and it’s something that never really stops. But it’s fantastic. And a lot of people are kind of scared to go in and see if they are autistic or get a diagnosis, but it sets you free.
How do you feel about the roles that are available for autistic people and whether the industry has made progress in becoming more diverse in that sense? Patience showcases the talents of a range of neurodivergent people…
I think certainly it’s moving in the right direction. But I think what a lot of people forget sometimes is that it’s not just the actors that you need but it’s also the writers, it’s the producers, the set designers, the grips. It isn’t just the skeleton of a program that you need, but also the muscles and the tendons and the bones. You can’t just have the skin. And Patience does that fantastically because there were loads of them on the team. They were everywhere. It’s certainly moving in the right direction. But I think that is something that needs to be thought about a little bit more.
How important is not only giving opportunity to autistic or neurodivergent talent across the board but also authentically representing them on-screen to you?
I am neurodivergent, and I think authentic casting is never black and white. The main thing that it comes down to, for me, is opportunities. And I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want someone with a really unique experience. On a chemical level, my brain is different. I mean everyone’s brain is different, but neurodivergent people’s brain is just wired in a different way. When things are more authentic, I think it touches more people. And that’s what was so great about this program — all of the autistic characters were autistic.
And it goes beyond just a TV program. Seeing people like you on screen is fantastic. But it comes down to opportunities, and it shows people that you know you don’t have to be scared of employing neurodivergent people. Nothing’s going to go wrong.
No spoilers, but Patience also has a romantic [storyline]. I don’t think we’ve seen that [on-screen] with genuine care and understanding because often, autistic women are infantilized. And she’s not treated like a child. She’s an adult woman with a job. I thought that was really fantastic.
I like that Patience is really smart but not a superhero without challenges.
It wouldn’t be realistic if she was like that. I mean, she does know all the answers, but she gets really overwhelmed because the world isn’t made for her, which I think a lot of people could relate to — autistic or not.
Did you ever notice neurodivergent or autistic characters on screen when you grew up?
A lot of the characters that I related to were never labeled as neurodivergent and I didn’t know that I was neurodivergent. It was always the really chaotic, messy character that says things at the wrong time and doesn’t really understand jokes and always makes a tit of themselves that I gravitated towards.
Could you maybe share any examples?
This wasn’t when I was growing up but I was just talking about this. It was Ana de Armas in James Bond [No Time to Die] because I remember that bit where she’s got a martini, and James is like, “Come on, we need to go.” And she’s like [Purvis makes a drinking gesture]. And I was watching it thinking, “Oh, God, I’d love to do something like that.” She is fantastic.
And what did you watch growing up?
It was James Bond, actually. And I can’t really say that I’m like James Bond at all.
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