You’ve probably seen the trailer or scrolled past it on your Netflix feed. It looks like one of those cozy, Sunday-night British dramas, all tweeds and rainy Cambridge streets. But Joy is actually trying to do something much heavier. It’s tackling the decade-long slog to create the world’s first "test-tube baby."
Honestly, the cast of Joy the birth of IVF is what makes the whole thing work. Without the specific chemistry between these three leads, a movie about pipettes and petri dishes could have been, well, a bit of a snooze. Instead, we get a story about three outsiders—a maverick scientist, a surgeon with a "bad" reputation, and a nurse the world essentially forgot—trying to do something everyone else called "monstrous."
Meet the Trio: The Core Cast of Joy the Birth of IVF
The film centers on a specific trifecta. If you’re watching and thinking, "Where have I seen that guy before?" you aren't alone. The casting directors leaned heavily into British acting royalty and rising stars.
Thomasin McKenzie as Jean Purdy
Thomasin McKenzie plays Jean Purdy, and she's basically the heart of the film. Most people know McKenzie from Jojo Rabbit or Last Night in Soho, but here she’s playing an embryologist and nurse.
Jean Purdy is the "forgotten" member of the team. While the men eventually got the Nobel Prizes and the knighthoods, Purdy’s name was often left off the plaques. In the movie, McKenzie portrays her as the backbone of the operation. She's the one actually looking through the microscope at 3:00 AM. Interestingly, McKenzie even learned to mimic Purdy’s actual handwriting for the filming.
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Bill Nighy as Patrick Steptoe
Bill Nighy is... well, he's Bill Nighy. He plays Patrick Steptoe, the surgeon who pioneered laparoscopy.
Nighy brings that typical dry, slightly eccentric wit he’s known for from Love Actually or Living. But there’s a sadness to Steptoe in this movie. He was an outsider in the medical establishment because he performed legal abortions at a time when that made him a pariah. He and Nighy play that "unshakeable" quality perfectly.
James Norton as Robert Edwards
Then you’ve got James Norton as Robert "Bob" Edwards. If you’re a fan of Happy Valley, seeing him play a visionary (and much nicer) scientist might be a bit of a shock.
Edwards was the Cambridge physiologist who had the "mad" idea that you could fertilize an egg outside the human body. Norton plays him as a mix of infectious energy and total frustration. He’s the guy trying to convince the BBC and the church that he isn't "playing God," even as they pull his funding.
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The Supporting Characters You’ll Recognize
While the big three take up most of the screen time, the supporting cast of Joy the birth of IVF fills in the emotional gaps. These aren't just background extras; they represent the real people who risked their reputations (and bodies) for this science.
- Joanna Scanlan as Gladys May: She plays Jean Purdy’s mother. Their relationship is the primary source of drama outside the lab. Gladys is a devoutly religious woman who thinks her daughter is doing the devil’s work. It’s a heartbreaking look at how the first IVF baby wasn't just a scientific hurdle, but a social one.
- Ella Bruccoleri as Lesley Brown: You might recognize her from Call the Midwife or Paddington in Peru. She plays the mother of Louise Joy Brown, the first IVF baby. The movie doesn't spend as much time on the patients as some might like, but Bruccoleri makes her scenes count.
- Rish Shah as Arun: He plays a colleague and sort of a "will-they-won't-they" romantic interest for Jean. He’s the "modern" guy in the lab who supports her when things get bleak.
Why This Cast Matters for the Real History
The real Jean Purdy died young, at just 39, from cancer. Because she wasn't there to defend her legacy when the history books were being written in the 80s and 90s, she was often sidelined.
The director, Ben Taylor (who directed Sex Education), has a personal connection to this story—his own children were born via IVF. You can feel that in the way he directed the cast. He wasn't just making a biopic; he was making a thank-you note.
The movie focuses on the "Ovum Club"—the group of women who underwent hundreds of failed procedures before Lesley Brown finally conceived. While the film is a bit "twee" at times (it’s very cozy-British), the performances keep it grounded in the reality of the 1970s. Back then, people actually called these doctors "monsters" and accused them of creating "Franken-babies."
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What Most People Get Wrong About the IVF Story
When we talk about the cast of Joy the birth of IVF, it’s easy to think of it as a story about a "discovery." But as the movie shows, it was more of an endurance test.
- It wasn't just the men: For decades, Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe got all the credit. It wasn't until 2015 that a plaque was finally updated to include Jean Purdy’s name.
- The "Shack" in Oldham: Most of the groundbreaking work didn't happen in a fancy Cambridge lab. It happened in a small, underfunded hospital in Oldham. The cast spent a lot of time filming in cramped, "snuggly knit" 70s aesthetics to capture that DIY feel.
- The Religious Backlash: We tend to forget how controversial this was. The movie shows Jean being basically excommunicated from her community. That’s not an exaggeration; the "morality" of IVF was a massive public debate.
Taking Action: How to Explore This Story Further
If the movie piqued your interest, don't just stop at the credits. The real history is even more "mad" than the film depicts.
- Look up the Bourn Hall Clinic: This is the clinic Edwards, Steptoe, and Purdy eventually founded. It’s still running today and is considered a pilgrimage site for fertility science.
- Read "A Matter of Life": This is the book written by Edwards and Steptoe shortly after Louise Brown was born. It gives a much more technical (but fascinating) look at the failures they faced.
- Check out Thomasin McKenzie’s other work: If you liked her performance, Leave No Trace is her breakout role and shows that same "quiet strength" she brings to Jean Purdy.
The birth of IVF changed the world for millions of families. Watching this cast bring the "forgotten" Jean Purdy back into the light is a great way to finally give credit where it's due.