Olivia Colman’s rise from British comedy star to Hollywood royalty
Olivia Colman kicked off the new millennium with her first professional acting role, unaware that she was at the beginning of a career that would eventually see her win an Academy Award. The role was in the sketch comedy show Bruiser, written by Robert Webb and David Mitchell, whom she had befriended during her time at Cambridge University.
The actor soon joined the ranks of emerging British actors in the 2000s who frequently appeared in sketch shows and comedies, collaborating with Mitchell and Webb again in 2001 for The Mitchell and Webb Situation. Colman continued to pick up steam by securing recurring roles in shows such as Gash and Green Wing, as well as appearing in selected episodes of shows like The Office and Black Books.
To put it simply, Colman’s career beginnings were quintessentially British. Predominantly working within the comedy genre, despite her obvious talents, Colman was perhaps not an obvious choice when it came to predicting who would become future Hollywood royalty. Yet, as the 2000s progressed, she began to earn more attention for her performances, especially after rejoining Mitchell and Webb for their classic comedy Peep Show.
Starring as Sophie, the seemingly always miserable love interest of Mark Corrigan. The pair eventually get engaged, although their relationship is clearly doomed from the get-go. Colman is fantastic as Sophie, in spite of the fact her character is barely likeable. Moody and unstable, you can’t help but love (if not cringe) watching Sophie and Mark interact. Colman depicts Sophie with complexity – sometimes, she’s so humorously irritating that we wonder what Mark sees in her, but other times, we can’t help but feel bad for her having to deal with Mark and Jeremy’s useless behaviour.
For her performance as Sophie, Colman was nominated for ‘Best TV Comedy Actress’ in 2008 at the British Comedy Awards, her first taste of impending stardom. While she didn’t win, this didn’t deter her – Colman continued starring in successful British shows, flexing her comedic muscles through a range of diverse roles. Between 2008 and 2009, she gave an underrated performance as Debbie Doonan in Beautiful People, a camp comedy-drama in which she played an eccentric working-class mother who arguably makes the show with her scene-stealing moments.
However, as Colman entered the 2010s, she began to star in more serious projects that veered away from comedy, such as Broadchurch, winning a Bafta for ‘Best Actress’. Colman also began appearing on the silver screen more frequently, appearing in movies like The Iron Lady and Tyrannosaur. She once called the latter, a British drama directed by Paddy Considine, a turning point in her career, telling The Talks, “I think from that point on, I was offered different things. Also, for me from a bravery point of view, after that job, I was so scared of doing it well.”
After scooping up several awards for her performance as a domestic abuse survivor in Considine’s film, Colman’s career continued upward, and in 2015, she appeared in The Lobster, her first collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos. She would soon work with the Greek director again, but before that, she gained widespread acclaim for her performance as Godmother in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s acclaimed comedy-drama Fleeabag. Playing the despicable stepmother of Waller-Bridge’s protagonist, Colman nails the humorously cold nature that her character inhibits strikingly well.
Colman truly ascended the ladder of success when she landed a leading role in Lanthimos’ 2018 film The Favourite. She played the ill Queen Anne, who is the object of affection for courtiers Abigail and Sarah. The demanding role, which saw Colman gain almost three stone in weight, cemented her as a Hollywood star, transcending her humble beginnings as a British sketch comedy actor. The movie was nominated for many prestigious awards, and Colman took home the Oscar for ‘Best Actress’ for her complex and compelling performance.
Since then, Colman has taken on diverse roles, such as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, Leda, a middle-aged woman who grapples with memories of being a distant mother in The Lost Daughter, and the daughter of a man suffering from dementia in The Father. These roles have allowed Colman to express her range as an actor, although she hasn’t lost sight of her roots. Most recently, she starred in the British musical Wonka, playing a fun comedic role that harks back to the early days of her career.
Colman’s experience as a comedic actor has no doubt prepared her for a career in Hollywood, teaching her how to imbue her performances with appropriate levels of comedy in order to captivate audiences. This is best demonstrated in The Favourite and Fleabag, where her background in comedy allows her to bring an extra dimension of brilliance and nuance to wholly unlikeable characters.
At the same time, Colman knows when to reign the comedy in, and she has given countless stellar performances that are emotionally affecting and poignant. It seems like Colman’s winning streak will only continue, and thanks to her effortless range, what she does next could be anyone’s guess.
