Kelly Macdonald hits the jackpot on US television

SHE was working as a barmaid when she landed the role which catapulted her to fame in one of Scotland's most successful films of all time.

• High stakes: Kelly Macdonald, left, with Michael Stuhlbarg, Aleksa Palladino and Paz de la Huerta in Boardwalk Empire. Picture: Getty

Now Trainspotting star Kelly Macdonald looks set to become the latest British actress to conquer American television after she made a critically acclaimed debut in the opening episode of the series already hailed as the next Sopranos.

Boardwalk Empire premiered last night and reviewers have already heaped praise on Macdonald's part in the show, which depicts the Atlantic City of Al Capone and Lucky Luciano.

The Scot has already been signed for at least six years to the programme, which is directed by Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese.

The deal could see her career given the kind of boost already enjoyed by other British actors who have landed major roles in successful US TV shows, such as Hugh Laurie in House and Joely Richardson in Nip/Tuck.

Although she has taken iconic roles in a string of successful films after Trainspotting - including Gosford Park and the Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men - Macdonald remains largely unrecognised and has previously spoken of being able to walk down the street without being noticed.

Boardwalk Empire, created by Sopranos writer Terence Winter, could change all that.

Macdonald stars alongside Hollywood favourite Steve Buscemi, playing the role of Margaret Schroeder, a poor Irish immigrant married to a poor German immigrant, who drinks, gambles and beats her.

In a five-star review in the New York Daily News, Macdonald was praised for creating an "intriguing, multidimensional" character.

The Washington Post also singled her out for special praise. The newspaper's TV reviewer, Hank Stuever, wrote that "she quickly emerged as my favourite character".

A lavish, high-gloss journey to Prohibition-era Atlantic City of the 1920s, expectations were high ahead of the premiere of Boardwalk Empire.

Episode one alone reportedly cost between $20 million and $30m to make.

HBO built a $5m, 300ft-long boardwalk on the Brooklyn waterfront to recreate Atlantic City circa 1920.

The set required 150 tonnes of steel.

The glossy series features plenty of action, violence, nudity and bad language - perhaps not surprising given the writing and directing credits.

A special VIP premiere screening in Manhattan was a star-studded bash, attended by A-list stars Mick Jagger, P Diddy and Mark Wahlberg, as well as the Sopranos stars, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.

Scorsese was originally involved as a producer of Boardwalk Empire, but, according to Winter, after he read the pilot script he told HBO he wanted to direct it.The TV channel reportedly signed him up on the spot.

Macdonald's role as Carla Jean Moss in the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men in 2008 exposed her to an American audience like never before, but directors have described her strength at "invisible acting", disappearing into a film.

She grew up in Glasgow's Southside, until the age of nine when her father, Archie, a painter and decorator, and her mother, Patsy, were divorced.

There followed a succession of schools and temporary homes, until finally Macdonald, her mother and her brother were rehoused in Newton Mearns.

The Scots star is married to the bass player of Travis, Dougie Payne, and the two have a son together.

They divide their time between London, Los Angeles and Glasgow's West End, where the couple recently bought a 1m Victorian villa.

• Boardwalk Empire is expected to be shown in the UK on Sky later this year.