Over the course of her time in the spotlight, Olivia Colman has grown from cult favourite to national treasure to Oscar-winning international household name.
Even now, she’s still reaching new levels in her career, and on Thursday unveiled her first ever cover shoot for British Vogue.
In an accompanying interview with the magazine, the former star of The Crown spoke candidly about how fame has impacted her life – including some of the pitfalls.
Olivia explained that she and her family have now relocated to the countryside, after life in London “became difficult” as someone in the public eye.
“We never fell out of love with London,” she insisted. “I love London, but it became difficult just [because of] arseholes standing outside your front door, following you on the school run.”
Confirming that she was referring to paparazzi photographers, Olivia continued: “I was scared. At one point, there were two cars chasing us and I was having a sort of meltdown, terrified. I was crying and they were laughing.”
Reflecting on her career, Olivia named her role opposite David Tennant in Broadchurch as a moment when things really changed for her.
“Everybody really watched that,” she recalled. “That was weird. I ended up staying at home. I’m not good, turns out, at all that.”
One other downside of being in the spotlight for Olivia is having people take “what they think is a sneaky photograph” of her without her consent.
“It’s always obvious, you always know, and it’s awful. Don’t do it,” she stated. “It happened the other day at my kids’ school, a mum took one.
“You can’t even go: ‘Sorry, don’t do that,’ as then they say, ‘I wasn’t! I didn’t!’ And then you look like a dick. It’s a shame. I wish I was braver but I’m not.”
Fans of Olivia Colman have a number of big projects starring the award-winning star to look forward to, including the star-studded musical Wonka, the third Paddington film and the black comedy Pretty Little Letters.
However, there’s one major franchise she’s keen to break into – as she revealed elsewhere in her British Vogue interview.
The December issue of British Vogue is available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 21 November. Read Olivia Colman’s full interview here.