In her recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, actress Nicola Coughlan opened up about her journey of playing a romantic lead in the latest season of Bridgerton and the challenges that came with it. Reflecting on her career, Coughlan admitted that, at 35, she had never before played an adult role.

“I realized I was 35 when filming the season, and I’d never played an adult,” she said, recalling how this new role felt like a big leap. Prior to Bridgerton, she humorously recalled her previous roles, including her character in the first two seasons of the show, where she was known for her curly ginger hair and an oversized yellow dress that made her look more like “SpongeBob SquarePants” than the glamorous woman she would eventually portray.

Making the transition to a romantic lead in such a sexy show was both liberating and intimidating. “It’s a sexy show, a lot of sexy things happen in it, and then I realized I was going to have to do the sexy things,” she explained. This shift was a significant challenge for her, as she navigated the complexities of portraying intimacy and sensuality on screen.

Coughlan also shared her thoughts on the intimate scenes from her other recent project, Queer, which explored a different kind of beauty in its portrayal of intimacy. She reflected on a specific scene in the show that involved an action which, while difficult to make beautiful in Bridgerton, was handled with grace in Queer. She acknowledged the difficulty of talking about it without revealing too much, but ultimately praised the beauty with which it was done.

Her conversation with Graham Norton provided a candid look at how her career has evolved, from playing youthful characters to stepping into more adult and intimate roles. It was a fascinating glimpse into the personal and professional growth of an actress who continues to surprise and captivate audiences.