Olivia Colman has said she is ”totally thrilled” and “humbled” to be made a CBE for services to drama in the Queen’s birthday honours.
The 45-year-old, whose most recent role was as the twisted Godmother in Fleabag, said: ”I’m totally thrilled, delighted and humbled to be in the company of these incredible people, most of whom have been nowhere near as visible as I have, but should be – and hopefully now will be. It’s such an honour.”
The Oscar winner found fame as Sophie in Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show, and received critical acclaim for her role as an abused wife in Paddy Considine’s 2011 film drama Tyrannosaur.
She went on to lead the ITV series Broadchurch and appeared in the BBC’s John Le Carré adaptation The Night Manager..
Colman’s first brush with Hollywood success came in 2011 with The Iron Lady. While 2015’s The Lobster marked her first collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos.
The pair hooked up again to work on The Favourite, a Best Picture nominee at last year’s Academy Awards. Colman’s performance as the greedy Queen Anne won her an Oscar for Best Leading Actress.
Her most anticipated role to date will come later this year, when she will play Queen Elizabeth II in the third series of The Crown, taking over from Claire Foy.
Comparing the two queens, Colman said: “It could not be more different. I find the harder is Queen Elizabeth because everyone knows what she looks like, everyone knows what she sounds like, everyone has an opinion on whether the casting is right.
“And I am loving the job, I am loving trying to play her, but I find her harder.”
Born in Norwich in 1974, she studied at Cambridge and at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She married the actor and writer Ed Sinclair in 2001 and the couple have three children.
