Fleabag: Olivia Colman asked Phoebe Waller-Bridge to make her character 'a total ****'
'I always wanted to play the baddie and she’s written a really good one,' actor says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Olivia Colman has said she begged Phoebe Waller-Bridge to make her Fleabag character as awful as possible.
The Oscar-winning actor revealed she was overjoyed to be a part of the show, but wanted to use the opportunity to play a villain for a change.
“I think I begged Phoebe to be in it, when she was writing the first [season],” Colman told Entertainment Weekly.
“I will be eternally grateful to Phoebe, because she said, ‘What sort of things do you want to say?’ And I went, ‘Could you write me someone who’s a total [spells out a four-letter expletive]?’ So she made up this person for me.”
Waller-Bridge went on to cast Colman as the new love interest of her widowed father, with whom she has a fraught relationship.
“I always wanted to play the baddie and she’s written a really good one,” Colman added.
The British star, who will play the Queen in the third season of Netflix’s The Crown, also revealed she had asked Waller-Bridge for a role in Bond 25; the Fleabag creator has helped out with the film’s script.
It comes after it was announced Colman was to play a “femme fatale” in a future episode of The Simpsons.
The Crown will return to Netflix in November.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments