The “awful” scene Olivia Colman called the “worst experience of my life”
Olivia Colman has lived many lives, first rising to prominence as a dependable British comedy star in the likes of Peep Show and Green Wing, and in the years since, has lent herself to The Crown, won an Oscar for her unforgettable performance in The Favourite, and appeared in shows as diverse as Heartstopper and The Bear, proving she can really do it all.
Colman has this natural ability to imbue her roles with wit and charm, but when she is required to play someone more unlikable, she really leans into her characters’ most hideous traits, almost too sickeningly well. I mean, her portrayal of the evil stepmother in Fleabag is just perfect, being equal parts annoying and hilarious, but also cutting; you can’t look away, but God, you would not want to ever be stuck in a room with her.
The actor’s rise to acclaim allowed her to transition to some bigger parts on the silver screen, with roles in the likes of The Iron Lady, I Give It A Year, The Lobster, and Murder on the Orient Express coming during the 2010s.
Clearly refusing to box herself into any one genre, Colman has spread herself across both Hollywood and more local productions, and it seems like she’ll never fully let go of her love for appearing in British comedy films, as seen by her recent turns in Wonka and The Roses.
Yet, in the early days of her burgeoning film career, she experienced something so traumatic during the shooting of one such comedy that she called it “the worst experience of my life”, and while it’s a good thing she didn’t let the ordeal hold her back, she did admit that it really shook her up, leaving her feeling vulnerable and literally exposed.
Coleman was cast in 2006’s Confetti for one of her first movie roles, and with Nativity director Debbie Isitt at the helm, she was slotted to appear alongside many familiar faces, from Robert Webb and Jimmy Carr to Julia Davis and Mark Heap. The film had the potential to become a British comedy classic, but instead, it was bound up in controversy, due to a scene in which Colman and Webb appear nude.
“There were certain chats that took place for an entire year before filming, which suggested the nudity wouldn’t be quite as awful as it was,” Colman told The Guardian, “I would have felt better about it had I been aware how much was actually going to be on display. It was the worst experience of my life.”
As it happened, during filming, the actors were reassured that their genitals would be pixelated, but when the concerned performers sat down to watch the final cut of the film, they were unpleasantly greeted with un-pixelated images of their naked bodies, which left them feeling betrayed and humiliated.
The rightly livid actors sought legal action against the filmmakers for this breach of trust, but they quickly realised that the damage was way past done. The incident ended up being a lesson for Coleman, who learnt that you can never be too trusting, especially in the film industry.
