But it appears she is already facing criticism from an unexpected source: one of her own co-stars.
Lesley Manville, a Bafta-nominated actress who also appears in the film, said she found Boyle’s cameo appearance “disturbing” and alleged it is “not right”.
Saying “she’s not an actress”, Manville claimed the role could have gone to “any number” of talented women who can act and sing “admirably”.
Speaking to Radio 4’s Front Row, she said she “wasn’t aware of certain casting decisions” when she signed up to the film.
Boyle, who plays the wife of a churchwarden in the film, out on Friday, was cast following her rise to fame from Britain’s Got Talent, and will perform a hymn on screen.
When asked about the decision to cast Boyle, Manville said: “She sings and that’s wonderful. But she’s not an actress and I don’t like decisions like that really.”
She added: “I feel that it was a shame that such a nice cameo role was not in the hands of any numbers of actresses I can think of who can act and sing and would have done it admirably.
“It’s not Susan’s fault. The trouble is that when things like that happen, they take up so much time because they can’t just turn up and do it.
“So you lose time, people lose patience and then editing compromises happen because they’re not very good at the acting bits so you have to cut around them.”
This weekend, Boyle, 52, disclosed she had been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.
