Maisie Richardson-Sellers

Oxford Roots and the Leap into Hyperspace

Maisie Richardson-Sellers completed her studies in Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Oxford in 2013. She wasn't chasing instant fame, but destiny placed her in front of a secret casting process that lasted months. She landed the role of Korr Sella in Star Wars: The Force Awakens right after graduating.

She appeared on screen for only a few seconds before her planet was destroyed by the First Order. It was a brief debut (though technically massive) that taught her how the studio machinery of Hollywood really works.

And the plan worked out.

Her parents are stage actors in London. She grew up watching rehearsals and backstage life, so dramatic language was not foreign to her when she decided to move to the United States. In 2014 she signed on to join the cast of The Originals, where she had to play a character who already existed but in a different body.

Taking over the role of Rebekah Mikaelson was a major technical challenge. She had to study Claire Holt's gestures so viewers wouldn't notice the change of actress. She managed to keep the audience for two seasons before moving on to another franchise on the CW network.

The Split Across the DC Universe

In 2016 she joined the cast of Legends of Tomorrow as Amaya Jiwe. But the series decided to kill off her character and then rehire her to play Charlie, a shapeshifter with a radically opposite personality.

It was a strange production decision.

But it worked because Richardson-Sellers handled the accent and physical posture so that the two characters seemed like different people. She stayed on the series until 2020, when she decided it was time to seek projects where she would have more creative control.

Before leaving traditional television, she filmed Of Kings and Prophets in South Africa during 2016. The series was a ratings flop, and it was canceled after only two episodes aired in the United States. That professional setback pushed her to diversify her income and start looking toward streaming platforms.

The Transition to Netflix's Algorithm

In 2020, she joined the sequel to The Kissing Booth. She played Chloe Winthrop, a character designed to create tension in the film's central relationship. It wasn't a deep role, but it gave her global visibility among millions of teens who had never seen her earlier work in fantasy genre films.

She reprised the role in the third installment, released in 2021.

Alongside her acting, she founded her own production company to tell stories about diverse identities. In 2023 she starred in the psychological thriller Jagged Mind for Hulu, playing a woman trapped in time loops and toxic relationships.

Critics praised her ability to carry a film almost on her own. But she prefers spending time behind the camera. In 2022, she made her debut as a television director, directing an episode of The Flash.

Filming for Jagged Mind took place entirely in Florida with a small crew during the summer of 2022.