Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman has revealed that she worked as a cleaner and secretary before achieving fame. The 45-year-old star, who recently won an Academy Award for her role in The Favourite, recalled struggling financially in her early days as an actress.
Colman, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, said that she and her husband, Ed Sinclair, once had just £1 left in her overdraft and had to find enough pennies from their sofa to buy a single potato to share. She described it as their 'Angela's Ashes day', referencing Frank McCourt's memoir of poverty.
The actress took odd jobs to support herself and Sinclair, who was also pursuing an acting career. 'I actually really loved my cleaning jobs,' Colman said. 'I loved the job satisfaction. I'd really go to town. I'd wipe skirting boards, the top of lights. I never looked in drawers.'
Colman, who now lives in a five-bedroom Victorian house in south London, went on to land her breakout role in Channel 4's Peep Show in 2003. She now reportedly earns £350,000 per series playing the Queen in Netflix's The Crown.
