'Bridgerton' Star Nicola Coughlan Wants To Be Known For Her Art, Not Body Positivity Advocacy

Nicola Coughlan is setting the public straight about unwarranted comments about her body. The Irish actress is known for her role in “Derry Girls” as Clare Devlin and Penelope Featherington in the Netflix drama “Bridgerton.” She also starred in “Harlots” as Hannah Dalton.

The actress previously talked about the unwelcome comments about her body and how she felt about them. In a 2018 issue of the Guardian, she wrote a piece talking about how her movie characters were usually reduced to a mindless hurtful comment.

In a recent interview with Tatler, Coughlan again talked about unnecessary comments about her size and said she’d rather be known for her work. She revealed that her body was hers to do as she liked and that unwarranted comments or questions about it were not welcomed.

Coughlan recently talked about her feelings towards being called a body positivity advocate. In her interview with Tatler magazine on Thursday, the actress mentioned that she’d rather be known for her work than how she looked.

She started by saying, “I know the world is very body-image-obsessed, but I always hope that people will focus more on my acting than that.” Coughlan added that she felt like everyone had a personal relationship with their body and could do whatever they wanted with it.

“I also think your relationship to your body is so personal,” the “Bridgerton” actress said. “If I decide to suddenly become a bodybuilder and [apply] fake tan and be covered in muscle, I can do that – because it’s my body, and it’s for nobody else to own or decide what to do with.”

The actress continued and added that she didn’t think someone’s weight should be a conversation topic. The only exception should be if it were part of the script. The actress wrote a piece concerning this in a 2018 issue of The Guardian and referenced the piece in this interview.

In the piece, she said her body was a gift to use how she saw fit when telling a story. She added that she was “very lucky” to use her body when playing various roles; however, how people viewed her body was inescapable.

In her Tatler interview, she said, “Everything I’d done to create my character had been reduced to a hurtful word and casual comment on my appearance. I hope in the future that more people will talk about our work, our inspirations, our drive, rather than our looks.”

The “Harlots” actress made several requests previously for people to refrain from talking about her body while discussing her career and artistry. She even went on social media to tell her fans to refrain from forwarding comments about her figure.

In January, the message came when the actress asked her 1.3 million followers to stop posting comments about her body. She said that although some people were trying to be “nice” and not “offensive.” However, it was “really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day.”

The actress added that she was aware of the opinions and views formed concerning her. Still, she had some boundaries and wanted her fans to stick to them. The actress asked her followers to stop sending those comments to her directly.

Another thing Coughlan drew attention to was the sexist interview questions thrown at actresses. She mentioned that there was a lot of focus on women reducing their weight in interviews, and it bothered her. The actress revealed she always felt uncomfortable when asked about her body in an interview which had nothing to do with it.

“Every time I’m asking about my body in an interview, it makes me deeply uncomfortable and so sad I’m not just allowed to just talk about the hob I do that I so love,” she said.

The 35-year-old also mentioned that she was speaking from a performer’s point of view, “not a body positivity activist.” She added, “I would lose or gain weight if an important role requirement. My body is the tool I use to tell stories, not what I define myself by.”