Olivia Colman Says She and Her Family Left London After Being “Scared” by Paparazzi

Olivia Colman is getting candid about a scary experience she had with paparazzi in London that led her and her family to relocate.

During her cover story interview for British Vogue, the Wonka actress also opened up about how she really feels about her growing fame and the negative things that come with it.

“We’ve moved to the countryside, and it’s lovely,” she told the publication of her husband Ed Sinclair and their three children’s move back to her home county. “It’s where I’m from. We never fell out of love with London. I love London, but it became difficult.”

When asked what became difficult, the Secret Invasion actress said, “Just arseholes standing outside your front door, following you on the school run,” adding, “I was scared. At one point, there were two cars chasing us, and I was having a sort of meltdown, terrified. I was crying, and they were laughing.”

Before Colman became an Oscar winner, there were years when she didn’t work, and she was grateful for that time. She feels like that all changed when she was on Broadchurch because it was such a popular show. After she started getting recognized for it, she would stay home more often because she didn’t think she was good at dealing with people noticing her on the street.

“People taking what they think is a sneaky photograph,” she explained. “It’s always obvious, you always know, and it’s awful. Don’t do it. It happened the other day at my kids’ school, a mum took one. You can’t even go: ‘Sorry, don’t do that,’ as then they say, ‘I wasn’t! I didn’t!’ And then you look like a dick. It’s a shame. I wish I was braver, but I’m not.”

So, instead, the Paddington actress chooses not to go out all that often. She does, however, acknowledge that she has great friends and is familiar with the area they live in, so she can go places where she won’t be bombarded by fans.

“I don’t tend to [meet at restaurants],” Colman admitted. “Unless you can have a little quiet place. Because you know… people.” And the hardest part for her is that she genuinely likes people, “so long as they’re not dicks.”