“I think the children had a lucky escape!” Olivia Colman, a.k.a “Collie,” was speculating on an alternate career path. I’m sure we all feel very fortunate to have Olivia on our screens rather than in a classroom. Colman’s jaunt at Cambridge was supposed to involve studying at Homerton to become a Primary School teacher, but in reality she found herself biking to and from auditions and rehearsals rather than visiting the library. Olivia’s appearance at the Watersprite film festival allowed us a glimpse of the woman whose mercurial acting career has surpassed all expectations. Originally appearing with Footlights veterans David Mitchell and Robert Webb in Bruiser, Colman has gone from short appearances in sketches to playing opposite Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. This metamorphosis has certainly earned her some credentials, including rather appropriately a plethora of Film Festival nominations and awards.

            The talk was conducted rather like a television interview, with BBC comedy producer Gareth Edwards introducing us to Collie and interacting as an old friend, which is to be expected seeing as he worked with her on That Mitchell and Webb Look. A particularly amusing, though somewhat disquieting element of the proceedings was that Collie often forgot details of her own life story and had to defer to her husband Ed Sinclair who was sitting in the front row. Olivia also had some perhaps surprising comments to make on some of her most conspicuous roles. On Sophie Chapman, one of Mark’s objects of affection in irreverent comedy Peep Show, she simply remarked that she is a “bitch” who she has no sympathy for, though this does mean she was an extremely fun individual to play.

            What I find particularly fascinating about Colman is how she seems to work most affectively in longer term working partnerships, such as the Mitchell and Webb collaborations, and most recently with Paddy Considine. Her role as Hannah in Considine’s Tyrannosaur turned heads: Colman emerged as an actress with the gravitas to play the very challenging role of a woman suffering from domestic abuse. Collie explained how she had to throw herself completely into the role, not only because she wanted to impress Considine, but more crucially because she felt that anything less just wouldn’t be acceptable. When asked about the difficulties of working on a film set, Colman referred to the advice that fellow Tyrannosaur actor Eddie Marsan gave her: “pretend no one’s watching.” 

            From tales of being mortified at dancing in a leotard at drama school, to how opening a door for Paddy Considine convinced him she would be perfect for his film, Olivia Colman was never short of surprises. As a woman of many faces, Colman seemed simultaneously down to earth and yet somehow remained enigmatic. She may not remember her own story, but she’s lived through many, many others.