Nicola Coughlan on her five-year journey from ‘failure’ to ‘feeling like a competition winner’
Nicola Coughlan for The Observer. Picture: @nicolacoughlan / Instagram
Nicola Coughlan feels like “a competition winner” after years of feeling like “the worst failure in the world.”
The Galway actress, who graced the cover of The Guardian’s magazine on Sunday, said she is still amazed at where she is today given where she was just five years ago.
“Literally, I was working part-time in an optician’s five years ago,” she said.
The Bridgerton actress said she was working two days a week in Galway opticians after “failing” to make it as an actor four years out of drama school.
In those four years, the 35-year-old had moved to London on three separate occasions as she chased her dream of becoming an actress, before being forced to move back in with her parents in Galway.
“I just felt like the worst failure in the world,” she told
“Like I’d wasted time. I was pitying myself: ‘Why did you think you could do this?’”
“My bank account was dry,” she said, revealing she was also in debt having taken out a loan to pay for drama school.
“I say all the time: ‘Yes, money doesn’t make you happy’ — but unless you’ve been really broke, you don’t know the stress, how it takes up all of your time, and sucks the joy,” she said.
"It’s not that long ago that I couldn’t afford a cup of coffee.”
Coughlan, who portrays Penelope Featherington on Netflix’s hit show , said she could never have predicted how successful the show would be — but says she knew there was “a real gap” in the market for it.
“It was such an escape, and unapologetically joyful – there’s no cynicism to it. I love a dark, moody drama as much as the next person, but there was a real gap for something like .”
The actress also said she has been given “so much more to play with” on the forthcoming season of Shonda Rhimes’ Regency England drama — we can’t wait.
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