Whether you're making a comedy or drama, TV show or film, adding Olivia Colman always makes it better. She's played everything from the casually cruel godmother in Fleabag to a down-to-earth police officer in Broadchurch [1]. Her international stardom rightly grew when she was cast opposite Tom Hiddleston in the 2016 limited series The Night Manager, for which she won a Golden Globe, and now she's enjoying even more success thanks to a couple of real-life queens. She just won her second Golden Globe for her portrayal 18th century monarch Queen Anne in new movie The Favourite and is also about to take over as Queen Elizabeth II in Season Three of Netflix's global phenomenon The Crown [2]. Whether you've tracked Colman's career for decades or have only the vaguest idea who she is, read on to find out more about this brilliantly versatile performer.
Claire Foy Didn't Give Her Any Advice About Being the Queen
As the first actress to play Elizabeth II in The Crown, you might have expected Claire Foy to pass on some advice before Colman takes over. But she didn't think it was necessary. We're both playing two very different women in a sense and she's an absolutely extraordinary actress, so she doesn't need me to give my twopence," [3] Foy told The Daily Mail.
She's Not Your Typical Queen in The Favourite
When you think of a period piece about a former monarch (in this case Queen Anne), you typically imagine sedate, dignified characters, but her new movie The Favourite is a dark comedy [4] with a "cheerfully obscene" script in which she gives an "uproarious performance", according to The Guardian.
She asked Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Write Her a Mean Role
Producer of BBC comedy Fleabag [5] Lydia Hampson revealed to the Radio Times that the show's creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge expanded the evil godmother role with Colman in mind [6] after she asked to be involved and confided, "I'd love to play a real bitch."
Peep Show Was Her Big Break
Olivia made brief appearances in The Office and Holby City, but being cast as Sophie in Peep Show in 2003 kick-started her comedy career, and roles in Look Around You, Green Wing, and Twenty Twelve followed.
Tyrannosaur Was Her Breakthrough Dramatic Role
She was a respected comedy actor in 2011 when Paddy Considine cast her as an abused charity shop worker in his brutal directorial debut Tyrannosaur, but the movie proved she could excel at serious drama, something she'd always wanted to do. "It's the thing I'll be most proud of until I die," [7] she told HuffPost.
She Met Her Husband at University
Colman met her husband Ed Sinclair at the University of Cambridge's drama society, Footlights. She told The Daily Mail she immediately thought, "There's the bloke I'm going to marry." [8] They've now been together for more than 20 years and have two sons and a daughter, ages 13, 11, and 3.
Judi Dench's Maid Was Her Dream Role
For Olivia, getting to act alongside Dame Judi Dench in Murder on the Orient Express was the experience of a lifetime [9]. "I dreamed about that sort of a job as long as I can remember and to find out that she is possibly nicer than I even imagined was just brilliant," she said.
Meryl Streep's a Huge Fan
It's not every actor who gets name-checked during a Meryl Streep [10] acceptance speech. But when Streep won a BAFTA in 2012 for portraying Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, she paid tribute to Colman, who played her daughter Carol, calling her "divinely gifted" [11]. Meryl would know.
Fargo Helped Her Snag Her Role on The Night Manager
She was newly pregnant when she met with director Susanne Bier about playing spy Angela in The Night Manager, a character that was never intended to be pregnant. Worried it might lose her the gig, she blabbed immediately, but Bier said that in Fargo (in which Frances McDormand's character is pregnant), "the pregnancy added to the drama," [12] Colman told HuffPost.
She Went to Bed Early Instead of Picking Up Her Golden Globe
Olivia didn't fly to LA to collect arguably the biggest award of her career so far, her Golden Globe for The Night Manager, because she didn't think she'd win and didn't want to be jet-lagged [13] before starting work on Murder on the Orient Express.
Singing Scares Her
Colman told What's On TV she was "terrified" to sing [14] as part of the ensemble of 2015 musical mystery movie London Road. Good job, then, that the BBC's adaptation of Les Misérables, in which she plays Madame Thénardier, is taken from the book rather than the musical and doesn't require her to sing.
She Uses Her Fame For Good
Earlier this year, Olivia took part in Amnesty International's Women Making History festival [15]. She's also been a high-profile supporter of Marie Curie [16] and London-based anti-domestic violence charity Tender [17] and was recently named patron of blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan [18].