Caught in the act with Olivia Colman

Caught in the Act

Norfolk-born actress, Olivia Colman, tells Village People why the need to be busy far outweighs a desire to be popular.

Olivia Colman’s career trajectory has seen the true evolution of an actress, almost back to the point where she started.

The actress set out on her path to dramatic excellence at the much-renowned Footlights Dramatic Club at Cambridge University. There, she shared the stage with the likes of David Mitchell, Richard Ayoade and Peter Serafinowicz, the latest in a long line of undergraduates to have trodden the boards.

The route to a wider audience took Colman on the same path as older dramatists and comedians Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Sue Perkins; and yet despite excelling in Rev, Broadchurch, The Night Manager and The Favourite, the 48-year-old actress has arguably spent the last few years coming full circle.

Not only did she reunite herself with the simple pleasures of playing live to an audience, during a wildly successful National Theatre run as Jenny in Mosquitoes, but away from the dazzling sparks of Tinseltown’s arrogance, Colman has found herself reconnecting with the simple, organic, rustic pleasures and projects, including a spate of independent films.

“I think we all move through various stages in our lives and the worst thing you can ever do is stay in the same space continually,” she says. “I’m one of those curious characters who takes those sorts of things to extremes – I yearn for the next project, the next setting; yet when I get there I’m in it all of a few minutes before plotting another step elsewhere.”

Of course, her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown gave her perhaps a pinnacle role that may, in future, define this brilliant talent more than any other.

There is a problem, though. “I’m not good at taking praise,” she admits. “It feels very awkward to me and every time someone fawns over my work I can’t help but think there are millions of people all across the country doing jobs that are infinitely more important than mine.”

Colman, who recently moved from London back to Norfolk, returns this year in Secret Invasion, a Disney+ TV miniseries based on the Marvel Comics storyline of the same name. She is married to actor Ed Sinclair and has three children.

Perhaps it's that grounding that presents the actress with an ability to connect with an audience in a way that circumnavigates gender, social status and age.

“Ultimately, working makes me happy,” she admits, “although I do struggle to say no. That people still want to watch me is the biggest thrill and, of course, the greatest mystery!”