Olivia Colman revealed that she had “loads” of Botox done over the years.
In an interview with BBC Radio 2 host Vernon Kay, the 50-year-old Oscar winner got candid about her anti-ageing skin routine while promoting her new film Wicked Little Letters alongside her co-star Jessie Buckley.
When the pair realised mid-interview that they were both the same age, she told him that she couldn’t believe it and said that she looked old enough to be his mother. “You look really young, that’s really annoying,” the Crown actor told the DJ. “How much Botox have you had?”
After he replied, “None,” Kay asked Colman the same question, she admitted to having had a full-on Botox routine. “Oh, I’ve had loads,” she revealed, and when asked if it hurt, she responded, “Yeah, it’s needles in your face.”
The interview had been posted to TikTok, with many viewers heading to the comment section to heap praise on Colman and express their admiration for her candour.
“Olivia Colman’s inability to filter her thoughts is what I live for,” one person wrote, while another added: “I love Olivia Colman. I love her honesty.”
Others were shocked that Colman had gotten any Botox in the first place, “Queen Olivia has had some!!? What? She looks so good and natural!!”
On X, formerly known as Twitter, users had a similar reaction, appreciating the actor’s honesty when many entertainers in this day and age often lie about how they obtain such youthful skin at an older age.
“Refreshing admission from a celeb for once,” said one user, whilst another added: “She looks fabulous… not all stars put their line-free skin down to good genes, thank God.”
In a 2021 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Colman was honest about her complicated feelings concerning ageing while promoting her Oscar-nominated film The Father. She reflected on the filming process, noting that it was often a stark reminder of how difficult ageing can be.
“My mum always said, ‘old age is not for the weak,’” she said. “It’s a famous saying, I don’t know where it came from, but if only you could just keep everything, your marbles, your health, right to the very end – brilliant. But the fact that something has to let you down is so cruel… and unkind. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep all this stuff at bay for as long as possible. Cold water swims are supposed to be very good for dementia, so I’m going to start doing that.”
The film is told from the perspective of Sir Anthony Hopkins’s character, an elderly man with dementia, while Colman plays his daughter Anne, who takes care of him as he gradually loses his memory. As the man’s condition gets worse, the film becomes equal parts disorienting and trippy, aiming to capture what it’s like to slowly lose your mind.
Colman’s upcoming film Wicked Little Letters follows the story of the residents of Littlehampton as they start receiving odd letters filled with obscenities and an Irish immigrant played by Buckley is accused of sending them. The film was released on 23 February in the UK and is expected to hit theatres on 28 March in the US.