Olivia Colman admits she 'took a beta blocker to calm down' before Oscars win

15 March 2024 , 22:51

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Olivia Colman was very nervous the night she won her Oscar (Image: PA)

Olivia Colman has told how she was so nervous the night she scooped her Oscar that she had to take a beta blocker to calm down.

The actress, 50, also revealed she ordered a high neck dress as she suffers from a huge rash when stressed. Colman won her gong in 2019 for The Favourite, the movie in which she played Queen Anne.

She tells a new book: “I had been really anti anyone talking about it as I didn’t like the pressure. I had half a beta blocker because I was so nervous. It took away all my fear. I shouldn’t recommend that, but it was great.” The pills slow down the heart.

Speaking of ordering her dress for the occasion, Colman adds: “When I get nervous, I get the most awful red rash. So most of my evening dresses have a high neck to hide my panic.” The book, 50 Oscar Nights by Dave Karger, also reveals Elton John felt his song Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King in 1995 should not have got an Oscar. He believes the film’s Circle of Life should have won.

Olivia Colman won her gong in 2019 for The Favourite, the movie in which she played Queen Anne (Chelsea Lauren/REX/Shutterstock)

Olivia admitted she had been very nervous before the ceremony (PA)

Colman previously revealed that she was drunk while accepting while accepting the prestigious award. “I actually can’t remember it,” she told chat show host Graham Norton when he asked her about the moment.

Olivia Colman unrecognisable with yellowing teeth and white hair in new role

“The great thing about the Oscars is, there is a bar just behind (the auditorium) so almost all the time everyone is in the bar. There are hundreds of seat fillers so almost everybody is getting bladdered!” The actress left the audience in stitches with her hilarious acceptance speech.

She said: “It’s genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious. I got an Oscar! Okay, I have to thank lots of people. If, by the way, I forget anybody, I’m going to find you later and give you all a massive snog. Yorgos - my best director and the best film and with Emma and Rachel, the two loveliest women in the world to fall in love with and to go to work with every day.

"You can imagine this wasn’t a hardship. And to be in this category with these extraordinary women and Glenn Close – you’ve been my idol for so long and this is not how I wanted it to be and I think you’re amazing and I love you very much. I love you all. Thank you."

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Keir Mudie