Why We Love ‘The Knick’s Eve Hewson

SHE PLAYS: Lucy Elkins, the meek, religiously raised nurse from Appalachia who blossoms—in the most outrageous ways—in Steven Soderbergh’s 1900s-era medical drama The Knick. “Steven told me Lucy was heading down a rabbit hole but wouldn’t elaborate,” Hewson says. “He just kept saying, ‘It’s f—ed up! It’s f—ed up!’” And it is. After being callously dumped by her lover, Dr. Thackery (Clive Owen) and severely beaten by her preacher father (Stephen Spinella), Lucy “can’t put up with people pushing her around anymore,” Hewson says. “Now she’s ballsy. She wants to move up in society and will do whatever it takes.” That includes sexually pleasuring Chinese drug lord Ping Wu (Perry Yung) in order to afford the nice outfits that will help her snare wealthy Henry Robertson (Charles Aitken). “Lucy is looking back going, ‘Holy s–t, what have I done with my life?’” says Hewson. “Now she’s being shamelessly resourceful. She wants to be the predator, not the prey.”

WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER: Hewson plays Tom Hanks’s daughter—and narrowly escapes death—in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. And she was just cast as a badass Maid Marian in the Leonardo DiCaprio–produced movie Robin Hood: Origins.

WHY WE LOVE HER: Where do we start? Where do we stop? The drop-dead gorgeous Hewson pulls off an awesome hat trick, somehow bringing both angelic naiveté and steaming sensuality to Lucy and adding a blazing blast of intelligence. The result is deeply, endlessly fascinating. “And she makes it all feel as natural as a waterfall,” says cocreator Jack Amiel.

FAMILY MATTERS: The 24-year-old Hewson grew up in a famous household, but her mom and dad—antinuke activist Ali Hewson and rock god Bono—did not want her to pursue acting. “That’s all changed,” Hewson says with a laugh. “They love The Knick! But they live in Dublin and are horribly annoyed that they won’t get Season 2 until early next year. All their friends in the U.S. are telling them, ‘You won’t believe what your daughter is doing on her show!’ I had to forbid my parents from doing an illegal download.”

The Knick airs Fridays, 10/9c, Cinemax