Nicola Coughlan Talks About How Fame Has Affected Her Life Since 'Bridgerton' Premiered

Nicola Coughlan shot to fame with her role as Penelope Featherington on the Netflix series Bridgerton and with the second season on the horizon, she’s opening up about how her life has changed since the show premiered.

The 35-year-old actress it the cover star for the new issue of Elle UK and she talked about the intensity of fame.

Click inside to find out what she said…

“Being famous is like being a dog on the Tube,” Nicola said. “It’s exactly the same energy. 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. I can still do the things I want to do, obviously, but it is different. 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.”

Nicola also talked about the sacrifices she made to work in the industry.

She said, “Whenever people say they want to get into this industry, I’m like, you’ve got to want it so badly. Because if you don’t, you’d be mad to do it, absolutely mad. I barely saw my family last year because of filming. There’s a lot of sacrifices to be made. In my twenties, I never went on holiday. I was so broke. So I never want to sell people this ideal that it’s all wonderful and fun. It’s hard work. But it’s amazing. I wouldn’t do anything else.”

For the rest of the interview, visit Elle.com/uk.