Kerry Condon makes intelligence visible without making a performance of being clever. We rate her precision and restraint; in F1, the writing gives those qualities far too little to do.
Fi1m perspective
In F1 (2025), Kate McKenna designs the car and then gets to listen while a man tells her about it. Condon makes the technical director credible, with the most precise acting in Joseph Kosinski’s film. We were irritated on her behalf: the writing gives her expertise, then gives someone else the attention. The racing is thrilling, but this is where the familiar sports-film script wastes an opportunity. We wanted more of McKenna because Condon makes her seem capable of more than the film needs.
Supporting work has made good use of that restraint. Before The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) brought her film breakthrough, Condon had played Octavia in Rome (2005–2007) and taken the recurring role of Stacey Ehrmantraut in Better Call Saul (2015). These are parts in a career built largely through supporting work, where a character has to register without being given the whole evening. The strength we value is her ability to hold a scene with little dialogue: she can suggest private grief without insisting that everyone stop to notice it.
The long collaboration with Martin McDonagh, as playwright and writer-director, is central to that work. It includes originating a role in The Lieutenant of Inishmore and playing Siobhán Súilleabháin in The Banshees of Inisherin. In the latter, resilience and private grief belong to the same woman, and Condon does not need to exaggerate either to make us notice. It is a useful place to start for anyone who has seen the care she gives Kate McKenna and wondered what happens when the part gives her more to carry.
In Pressure (2026), she plays Kay Summersby alongside Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser. We recommend its tense, tightly handled drama, with a reservation about how neatly the script makes its case for professional expertise. Her presence in these prominent ensemble parts is welcome, though F1 is a reminder that a substantial job title does not guarantee a substantial role. There is little pleasure in watching an actor establish someone’s competence only for the script to find so little use for it. Give Condon a character whose judgement affects what happens, rather than one who must listen while a man explains her work.
Biography
Kerry Condon is an Irish actress. She was born on 9 January 1983 in Thurles, County Tipperary.
She was the youngest actress to play Ophelia in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet (2001–2002). Condon played Octavia of the Julii in the series Rome (2005–2007) and Stacey Ehrmantraut in Better Call Saul (2015–2022). She provided the voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y. in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Condon has collaborated frequently with Martin McDonagh, appearing in his plays The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001) and The Cripple of Inishmaan (2009), as well as the films Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). For the latter she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and received an Academy Award nomination. She played Kate McKenna in the film F1 (2025).
