Nicola Coughlan is an incredible actor who isn’t afraid to call out the unfair scrutiny of women’s bodies

Nicola Coughlan is also well-known for her role in the award-winning hit comedy series, Derry Girls, in which she played fan favourite, Clare Devlin. Series two of the hit show launched with an audience of 3.2m viewers for episode one, making it Channel 4’s biggest UK comedy launch episode for 15 years before being scooped by Netflix. 

Acting credentials aside, Nicola has long campaigned for a more feminist future. Way back in 2015, the star went door-to-door campaigning for a “Yes” vote in Ireland’s equal-marriage referendum. When the republic held a referendum on abortion law in 2018, Nicola was in the mix with her placard. Nicola is also an ambassador for LauraLynn, Ireland’s hospice for children with life-limiting conditions and residential care for children and young adults with disabilities. 

The actor also uses her social platforms to shut down body shamers; earlier this year she shared a picture of herself alongside a caption that said: “If you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me. Most people are being nice and not trying to be offensive but I am just one real life human being and it’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day. If you have an opinion about me that’s OK, I understand I’m on TV and that people will have things to think and say but I beg you not to send it to me directly.” Hear, hear.

So what’s next for Nicola? She will star in historical comedy Seize Them! alongside Aimee Lou Wood and Lolly Adefope – a female led comedy set in dark ages Britain and we’re sensing this is just the latest of many more major projects.  

To celebrate Nicola’s coup, she shares her most empowering advice ever….

Remember why you’re doing it and embrace it

To always remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. If you’re in this industry and you’re lucky enough to have a level of success, there are so many wild things that come along with it, wild and wonderful things. It can be a lot to take in. You’re going to these amazing big events and meeting amazing people and people know who you are wherever you go. It’s a lot to take on. I think you, at the end of the day, reground yourself and remember why you are doing it. Remember the little kid that loved watching movies and TV shows and was captured by that magic and bring it back to the route of that.

Respect everyone

Always treat people with respect, I think that’s just good life advice. I think the people you meet on the way up are the people you meet on the way down so always try and treat everyone respectfully – if they’re the runner that’s getting the coffee or the showrunner running the show, I think you need to treat everyone with the same level of respect.

Enjoy it

I know it sounds like a very basic thing but I think you can spend a lot of time of time striving after your goals and waiting to you get to this point but I think you have to try as much as you can to be in the moment and that’s something I’ve definitely got better at the older I have gotten. I’ve always been waiting for the next thing and the next thing but I always try to remind myself to be in the moment even if I’m having a hard day on set and I’m tired. I have to say to myself ‘you always wanted to be here’ so try and take a second to remind yourself how lucky you are to be doing what you’re doing.

Do things that scare you

Don’t be afraid to do things that scare you because when you are pushed out of your comfort zone that’s when you can find magic sometimes. I can often be sent a script and think ‘Oh god I don’t know what to do with that’ or ‘I don’t know if I’m capable’ but I try to acknowledge the fear and get past it because I think, women especially, always question if they can do things. We can hold ourselves back from doing things we want to do. I had it with writing, I had a podcast called Whistle Through The Shamrocks, a comedy podcast with my friend Camilla Whitehill, and for ages I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can write, I don’t know if i can do this’ but when I gave myself permission to go and do it, it was such a thrilling, fun experience that I learnt not to be scared of fear.

Sleep is key

If you can, always try and get a good night sleep because I am a very different person on four hours compared with 8 hours and it such a fundamental basic thing but I’ve learnt being the lead of a show that films for as long as Bridgerton, if I’m not getting enough hours, even if this means I have to go to bed at 8pm like a really boring person, I will do it. Also I love sleep, honestly I can’t get enough of it.