Few actors can flip between heartbreak and hilarity with the ease of Olivia Colman. At 51, the Oscar winner brings that trademark mix to The Roses, a sharp, very British take on the classic story of love turned war. Here, she speaks about working with Benedict Cumberbatch as her on-screen husband and how she keeps herself refreshingly grounded with the projects she chooses.
How did this role come about for you?
It started in Venice eight years ago. I was at the Venice Film Festival at the same time as Benedict Cumberbatch, whom I have known for years. All this time, we have been saying how much we would love to work together. It turns out that saying it at the Venice Film Festival in front of people like writer Tony McNamara and producer David Greenbaum made it happen.
This isn’t the first adaptation of Warren Adler’s book, War of the Roses, of course. How did you feel about that?
This film is quite different from the original War of the Roses film, which is brilliant, of course. Our film is very much a different take while also being a respectful nod to that film. You can see its influence. But Roses is not a remake. McNamara did such a brilliant job in taking this story to another level. It’s still the story of a couple at war, but it’s even funnier, I think.
You play Ivy Rose. How would you describe her relationship with her husband, Theo?
She loves him. She thinks he’s a wonderful man until it all goes horribly wrong. I think Theo knows he’s brilliant, or at least he thinks he is, which is part of the appeal to Ivy. But they are a very loving couple, very funny and supportive of each other, before it all gets nasty and resentful between them.
The Roses is a very British take on the War of the Roses, including some of its more colourful put-downs. How much fun was that for you?
I loved it. That was very much Tony’s idea. He wanted to take this very English couple living in America and then have them really go at each other in the midst of all their American friends. But it was fun to play it in a very English way.
Was having Benedict Cumberbatch as your screen husband everything you hoped it would be?
Everything, and more. Working with Benedict is such a joy. He’s so talented and so much fun. I couldn’t wait to go to work every day.
How was working with the rest of the cast?
Amazing. All the American cast were just brilliant. To get to work with Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg, two comedy greats, was the most exciting thing.
How much of the brilliant one-liners and putdowns in the film were improvised, or were they all from the script?
Kate and Adam would improvise a lot. It was a thrill for Benedict and I to witness that. But for me, I’m just not that comfortable doing it. It was a case of, know your limits! But the script was so brilliantly written and so funny that it made it easy for us.
Were there moments when you found it hard not to laugh at some of those lines in the middle of a scene?
There were so many moments like that. The dinner table scene was especially like that. Everybody and everything was just too funny. I’m a terrible giggler anyway, but those scenes when we were all together were especially hard.
Do you prefer serious roles or comedy?
I love both. I try not to compare and contrast. Also, even when it’s the most serious of roles, I try to have fun and to have a giggle. You have to, I think. But this in particular was so much fun.
How has being an Oscar winner changed your life?
It really hasn’t. To be quite honest, I still can’t believe it ever happened. Even now, it’s all like a blur to me. Even now, when I look at it, on the bookshelf, it’s like a huge pinch-me moment.
What is it that you look for in a project?
I don’t know. The truth is I love to be home, so I don’t take many jobs that take me away for too long. I get homesick easily. So that is something I look for in a project, something that doesn’t take me away from home for too long. Other than that, I’m always looking for the next challenge—something that’s different and maybe a little bit scary.