Tamsin Topolski starred as Lucie Snipes in all eight episodes of Netflix’s new series The Madness.
The Madness concerns a news media personality named Muncie Daniels (Colman Domingo) who happens upon the body of a murder victim while in the Poconos. Finding himself framed for the grisly crime, Daniels must fight against the odds to clear his name.
Meet Tamsin Topolski - Actress Biography Details
Tamsin Topolski First Starred in Penny Dreadful
Tamsin Topolski’s first big-time acting role was playing the recurring character Lavinia Putney on Showtime’s popular gothic horror series Penny Dreadful.
From there, Topolski has gone on to appear in other hit programs like Slow Horses, Call the Midwife, and Donald Glover’s experimental comedy Atlanta, mostly in a guest starring capacity.
On the discipline of acting, Topolski remarked on her need to focus on her character to avoid getting caught up in her co-stars’ performances (via Tank Magazine):
"With acting, I focus on the character I'm playing, otherwise you get lost in everybody else's work. You don't need to know what other people's storylines are necessarily, although there's always a desire to."
In The Madness, Tamsin Topolski portrays Lucie Snipes, a woman who works with Colman Domingo’s Muncie to help crack the series’ central murder case.
Tamsin Is the Sister of Musician Saint Clair
Talent seems to run in Topolski’s family, as her sister is the musical artist known as Saint Clair, who sings with the band Bombay Bicycle Club. Topolski has even collaborated with her sibling before on a series of interconnected music videos, which Topolski directed.
As she explained to Tank Magazine, the project was a result of the grieving process after the sisters lost their father:
"My sister wrote an EP of four songs that explored grief and brought me on board to develop the visuals to go with the songs. She initially came to me with a fairly simple idea of four separate videos for each song, but it then developed into something much more ambitious - when seen together, the videos run as a full-narrative arc. It's inspired by the novella 'Grief is the Thing with Feathers' by Max Porter."
Tamsin is Also a Photographer
In addition to acting, Tamsin Topolski is something of a photographer. Her personal Instagram is full of images she has captured with her camera. Many of these photos appear to document her travels and personal life.
More of her work can be seen on her official site.
Tamsin Directed Her Own Short Film
Topolski is also no stranger to serving behind the camera as well as in front of it. In 2024, she released a short film entitled I’m a Good Person. The logline for the film, which can be read below (via IMDb) paints it as a “satirical exploration” of the goodness in human beings:
"Alienated by her overzealous optimism, Helen struggles to navigate an increasingly volatile relationship, forcing her to confront the darkness we dismiss by only looking on the bright side. A satirical exploration of love, language, and what makes a person 'good'."
Topolski discussed the project with Director’s Notes, and explained the process behind her pitch for the short:
"The initial concept for 'I’m A Good Person' was cooked up by our brilliant writer Ross O’Donnellan, who also stars in the film as Mark. I was sent the script to read by Carali Films, with a view to pitch and loved it. The script was idiosyncratic in its tone, a wonderful blend of darkness and satire, that resonated with me on a personal level as well as a creative one."
She continued, adding that her prior experience was in helming music videos, but had a strong desire to "move into narrative work:"
"Having only directed music videos, I was really keen to move into narrative work so it felt like a wonderful opportunity to do that. I put together a pitch deck, met with Ross to talk about my ideas and how I would approach the project and was subsequently invited on board as director."
I’m a Good Person was directed by Tasmin Topolski and starred Ross O'Donnellan Laure Stockley as Helen.
Tamsin Has Several Projects in the Works
Seemingly not one to rest on her laurels, Tamsin Topolski has a smattering of jobs in the pipeline. In 2023, she spoke to Director’s Notes about the many then-upcoming productions she was involved in at the time:
"Completely! It’s the best. I’m keen to write whatever I direct next and have several script ideas on the go, but I’m focusing on a short film script at the moment currently titled 'Eleve'n with a view to shoot next year. I’m also in the edit for a short documentary that I’ve been working on for a couple of years titled 'Genes of the Soul.'"
How To Follow Tamsin Online
Tamsin Topolski has a presence on Instagram at the handle @tam.topolski.
The Madness is now streaming on Netflix.
