Olivia Colman Ordered to Curb Swearing on U.S. Visits, But Defies Ban

25 August 2025

In an interview published today, Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman revealed that members of her team in the United States have attempted to ban her from using the “c-word” while on American soil-and that the restriction only prompts her to swear more.

Speaking to The Guardian, Colman-who won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2019-explained, “Oh I go much worse [when I’m in the US]. My first time in America, my lovely team went: ‘Um, I know you like the c-word. We can’t do the c-word here.’ And then the LA Times asked me about David Tennant and I said: ‘Oh, total c***!’ and you could see everyone’s colour just draining. It’s because I was told not to.”

Colman added that she finds expletives inherently appealing: “Everybody wants to say ‘c***’. It’s a great word.” The revelation comes amid the release of her new film, The Roses, co-starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which examines the bitter fallout of a disintegrating marriage.

During the wide-ranging interview, Colman also reflected on her personal life, praising her marriage of more than two decades to Ed Sinclair and confiding that, despite her public persona, friends rarely seek her for marital advice. “I love love. I like to romanticise love. I think it’s ace,” she said, admitting that acquaintances often react to her happily wed status with amusement rather than admiration.