Fans of the BBC’s Here We Go sometimes get a shock when they are shopping in Nottingham. Mica Ricketts, who plays Maia in the sitcom, works in Urban Outfitters between acting jobs, and her friends keep forwarding videos that shoppers have posted on TikTok, captioned: “Is that Maia from Here We Go?”

The 25-year-old plays Stephen Graham’s daughter and Kathy Burke’s niece in Blitz, Steve McQueen’s chronicle of life in London during the bombing raids of the Second World War, so her retail days are numbered. “Even when we were filming,” says Ricketts, “it was made apparent I was quite a significant character, and was going to be on the poster and doing interviews. Fingers crossed it hits the festivals and I can attend a few.”

Ricketts knew she wanted to act from a “very young age”. At 15, she joined Nottingham’s Television Workshop, and at 19 she signed with London’s Revolution Talent agency. Television roles followed on Bulletproof (Sky) and Best Interests (BBC), as well as Here We Go, which will be shooting a third series this autumn. “I’m happy I’ve progressed like going up a ladder rather than jumping to one big hit film and getting overwhelmed. I did my smaller roles and learnt how things work in different parts of the industry.”

Ricketts, who has a Jamaican-English background, believes Blitz will be “the most accurate representation of how integrated London was at the time”. McQueen tells Screen International that she is “an exciting, versatile and engaging actress of extraordinary and outstanding ability”. She, in turn, cites McQueen as one of two directors she had dreamt of working with, the other being Jordan Peele.

The “itch I want to scratch” is dark, independent films, “your A24 films”, but she would not be averse to the kind of blockbusters favoured by her role models. “Zoë Kravitz and Zendaya are fantastic, and being of mixed heritage, they’re definitely the most inspirational and most relatable people I see in the industry that are absolutely killing it now. My American manager Matt [Luber of Luber Roklin] said, ‘What role would you like?’ I said, ‘Catwoman. I’d absolutely love that.’”

Contact: Lindsay Kutner, Abbie Brown, Revolution Talent

Topics