Irish actor Nicola Coughlan has compared fame to feeling like ‘an animal in a zoo’ as she posed on the cover of Elle UK Magazine.
The Derry Girls star, who was catapulted to even bigger worldwide fame last year as the star of Netflix’ record breaking series Bridgerton, has opened up about the reality of her new found fame.
The 34-year-old Galway native said: “Being famous is like being a dog on the Tube,
“It's exactly the same energy," said Coughlan, who first found fame as Clare in Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls.
"When you get on, everyone looks at you. Some people are so smiley, while some are afraid of you and don't want to go near. Some people touch you without asking."
Coughlan said she can still do things she likes to do, but said "it is different" now due to her celebrity status
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Speaking in the March issue of Elle UK, in a pink Molly Goddard dress, the cover star explained: "I went to the pub with my friend a while back and it was like being an animal at the zoo.
"People just watching and looking. And I remember one time I was taking my Invisalign out, and this person was staring me right in the eyes, which was quite weird. But, honestly, most people are so, so lovely."
Bridgeton's December 2020 premiere on Netflix proved a huge success for the streaming site, and quickly became one of their biggest ever shows with 82 million viewers worldwide.
Coughlan admitted she had a feeling the Shonda Rhimes-produced series would be successful, but never anticipated the global phenomenon it turned out to be.
"I didn't think it was going to be the biggest show on Netflix, I didn't think that level," she said. "But I had lunch with [my co-star] Phoebe [Dynevor] maybe about two months before it came out. And I said, 'I think your life's going to change.'
“And she was like, 'No, I don't know. I've done things before that people thought was going to be huge and it hasn't worked out.' But I just had that instinct about it."
Ahead of season two, which premieres March 25, Coughlan teased the possibility of some potentially steamy scenes with co-star Luke Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton as the Julia Quinn book series the show is based on would suggest.
"Oh God, yes, it's going to happen! We used to joke about it, really inappropriate jokes, like, 'Wouldn't it be funny if we did this when we do it?' And then as time goes on it becomes more real," she said.
"Now it's not funny anymore! Everyone's like, 'You're going to have to kiss Luke! On the lips!'"
The March 2022 issue of Elle UK goes on sale on Feb. 2.
