Olivia Colman

Olivia Colman (born 30 January 1974) is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show, and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.

Biography

Colman was brought up at Freethorpe near Acle in Norfolk and educated at Gresham's School, Holt, briefly at a teacher training college at the University of Cambridge, before finally training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

She lives in London with her husband Ed Sinclair and their two children.^[1]

Career

Colman has appeared in supporting roles in numerous comedy films and other BBC, ITV and Channel 4 television programmes such as Bruiser, People Like Us, Look Around You, Black Books, The Office, The Time Of Your Life and provided the voice-over for Five's poll for Britain’s Funniest Comedy Character.

She regularly features in BBC Radio 4 comedies, such as Concrete Cow, Think the Unthinkable, The House of Milton Jones, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and is also the voice of Minka, the Polish secretary in the Radio 4 comedy Hut 33, set in a fictional codebreaking hut of the real-life Bletchley Park during WWII.

Her film credits include the British mockumentary film Confetti (in which she plays a practising naturist - a role she has described as "the worst experience of my life")^[1], Alice in Grow Your Own, Doris Thatcher in Hot Fuzz, and I Could Never Be Your Woman. Her most recent role is starring alongside Paddy Considine in the Shane Meadows film Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival on 23 June 2009 and is scheduled for general release in September 2009.^[2]

She appeared as 'Bev', alongside Mark Burdis as 'Kev', in a series of television adverts for AA car insurance. She has provided voices for the Andrex "be kind to your behind" adverts and Glade fragrance adverts where her character is a gorilla.

In October-November 2008, Colman appeared in BBC sitcom Beautiful People (based on the life of Simon Doonan) as Debbie Doonan, Simon's mother. She also made a guest appearance in the popular series Skins, in the third series episode "Naomi".

Mitchell & Webb

Colman is a central member of comedians Mitchell & Webb's acting ensemble. Colman met the duo when they were all students at Cambridge University, and has stated that she "adores" them.^[1] Their solid working relationship has seen her appear alongside them in many TV and radio projects, such as radio's That Mitchell and Webb Sound, and the television version, That Mitchell and Webb Look. However, she decided to leave the programme, deciding that she was becoming too closely associated with the duo and needed to widen her horizons: a decision that was made "with tears".^[3] However, she will continue to appear on Peep Show.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

• Olivia Colman at the Internet Movie Database