Olivia Colman on Blur, Burberry, and Bawdy British Humor

For Burberry’s latest campaign, It’s Always Burberry Weather: Postcards from London, the British heritage brand has enlisted none other than Olivia Colman to play London itself: eccentric, unpredictable, and endlessly charming. The Oscar winner channels Burberry’s signature wit and weatherproof chic alongside Amelia Gray, Tyson Beckford, Lucky Blue Smith, and Liu Wen. Last week, we stole a few minutes with the mother of all TV mothers to ask about tea, Damon Albarn, and the peculiarities of British food.

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SANDSTROM: Hi. Nice to phone-meet you.

COLMAN: And you. How are you doing?

SANDSTROM: Good! So we’re here to talk all things Burberry this morning.

COLMAN: Okay.

SANDSTROM: The first thing I want to know is, what’s the most British thing about you?

COLMAN: Oh, wow.

SANDSTROM: I know there’s a lot.

COLMAN: I think it’s my love of tea. Wherever I travel, I take my own teabags with me and people do say that’s hilariously British of me.

SANDSTROM: Love that. How much milk are you putting in it? What’s the color grade?

COLMAN: Oh, if it was a roll chart?

SANDSTROM: Yes.

COLMAN: Mine’s quite dark brown. Like a soft mahogany maybe.

SANDSTROM: That’s nice. Okay, since you sort of are the mother of all mothers on screen, let’s play a round of Shag/Marry/Kill with the fictional mothers you’ve played. 

COLMAN: So a character that I would shag, that I’ve played myself?

SANDSTROM: Yeah. The stepmom from Fleabag, the Reverend Mother from Paddington, or Mrs. Bennett from the upcoming Pride and Prejudice.

COLMAN: Oh my god. Can I do Shag/Marry/Friend rather than Shag/Marry/Kill?

SANDSTROM: Sure. That’s nicer.

COLMAN: Okay. Thank you. Shag—oh, god. I’d marry Mrs. Bennett.

SANDSTROM: Honestly, a good choice.

COLMAN: I might shag the Godmother. She’d be a fun night out. And I think the nun I would be friends with, but the sort of friend that you keep at an arms length.

SANDSTROM: Good idea. I also would not let her close. 

COLMAN: Thanks.

SANDSTROM: Also, on Roses you play a chef. You might know that Americans have this kind of morbid fascination with British food.  So I have to ask, what’s your favorite British food?

COLMAN: I love a Sunday roast. Also, Americans have a funny idea about British food, but I think it’s an attitude that they should update because those ideas are coming from the Second World War. They might be quite surprised to find that we’re not rationing here anymore. 

SANDSTROM: Yeah, I think we often lack reflection. We’re not able to face up to what we put out into the world, which is probably much worse.

COLMAN: And cauliflower cheese is one of my favorite things.

SANDSTROM: That’s a very good British one. Okay, an age-old question: Blur or Oasis?

COLMAN: It has to be Blur, I’m afraid.

SANDSTROM: Okay.

COLMAN: I don’t know why I’m saying I’m afraid, but Oasis is slightly scarier. I love them both, but Blur might’ve been the thing for me as a young’n. Damon Albarn—

SANDSTROM: Damon Albarn forever. What is your favorite piece from the new Burberry Postcards from London Collection?

COLMAN: There was a shirt, which you might not have noticed. It was so beautiful and it had a very, very fine stripe. You know those shirt ends that are long and taken up at the sides? It felt amazing to wear. I dropped so many hints about, “Maybe I could take that home with me,” and it didn’t happen. [Laughs]

SANDSTROM: Okay, lovely. On the themes of postcards from London, what is a London tourist attraction you’ll never get tired of?

COLMAN: I love the whole stretch of the South Bank. There’s the National Theatre, the Festival Hall, there’s the London Eye, there’s street performers and street food, and then you get down to the Globe and the Tate Modern and there’s no cars, so you can just saunter around. There’s kids on scooters and nice coffees. And then they have Christmas markets. This time of year it’s going to be all gingerbread-y and lovely.

SANDSTROM: When will you be back in the UK, by the way?

COLMAN: I’m in the UK now. I’m filming Pride and Prejudice in the countryside.

SANDSTROM: Fabulous. Okay, a couple more questions. How heavy are those Oscars?

COLMAN: Very heavy. I think on the day, if you win one, the adrenaline is so great that you can cope with carrying it. But the next day when you’ve woken up and realize it’s not a dream, you go, “Holy shit, that’s really like, murder weapon heavy.”

SANDSTROM: Murder weapon heavy, got it. You’re planting good ideas for screenwriters out there. Okay, next up, finish this sentence for me: When I think of Burberry, I think of…

COLMAN: If I picture someone wearing Burberry, I think they’re kind of chic and cool and British.

SANDSTROM: Yeah.

COLMAN: It’s a twist, isn’t it, on something which potentially is quite traditional, but you can see all sorts of young people wearing Burberry, which I admire.

SANDSTROM: Yes.

COLMAN: Don’t know how they’ve managed to keep that going. If I wear Burberry out. I think, “I’ve still got it.” 

SANDSTROM: Okay, my final question. What is something that the Brits do best? And then I will stop forcing you to answer questions about Britain.

COLMAN: I think what British people do is not blow their own trumpets, so I’m not going to say what British people do best because that would be embarrassing.

SANDSTROM: That’s a good response. I was going to say humor.

COLMAN: Well, that’s nice, but then it also feels that we’re a little too humble to say that we’re really good at humor.

SANDSTROM: Absolutely. And that’s what makes you guys good at humor.

COLMAN: That’s very kind of you. I’ll tell everyone here.

SANDSTROM: [Laughs] Yes, please do. It was so nice to phone-meet you. Thank you for your time.

COLMAN: No, thank you.