‘Has anyone ever cried this much doing this, or am I just having an absolute nightmare?’ Nicola Coughlan asks, as we film a game of Ask Me Anything during the shoot day for her debut ELLE UK cover.
The Bridgerton star is two minutes into filming when she is played a video by Lin-Manuel Miranda, asking her what he should do when he visits Ireland for the first time. Spoiler alert: Coughlan insists he should head to her home city of Galway.
‘I can’t cope, oh my God,’ she says, dabbing her eyes. ‘I’m obsessed with Lin-Manuel Miranda.’
Also joining Miranda to ask the Irish actor questions are her Derry Girls co-stars Louisa Harland and Dylan Llewellyn, Bridgerton co-stars Luke Newton, Polly Walker and its creator Shonda Rhimes. ‘Just a casual Shonda Rhimes appearance, ok, no problem,’ says Nicola.
When Newton asks for Coughlan’s biggest ‘pinch me’ moment, she immediately settles on one they share as co-stars: the overwhelming overnight success of Bridgerton, during a global pandemic and the fact it led to a direct line between herself and Kim Kardashian.
Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness, Chewing Gum and Enola Holmes star Susan Wokoma and Encanto actor Stephanie Beatriz also had questions for their friend. Reflecting on how she makes way for self-care and downtime during hectic back-to-back production schedules, Coughlan told Wokoma it’s a mixture of sleep, baths and Escape To The Chateau.
‘The days that I’m not working, I’m like a slug, so I just retreat completely, will stay in bed and have baths. I really need a day a week just to not do anything, because if you have had the privilege, like I’ve had in the last year, of being super busy, you need to take those times to recharge.’
Self-care done well, if you ask us.
Elle UK
Written by Olivia Blair
Published February 2, 2022
