In the run-up to Bridgerton Season 3’s premiere on Netflix’s 2024 schedule, Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton did countless interviews about Colin and Penelope’s love story. Of course, that included them answering a ton of questions about their sex scenes in the series, and on many occasions, the actress was called "brave" for being nude in them. However, she doesn’t see being called “brave” as praise, and she candidly explained why.
Whenever Nicola Coughlan discussed her season of Bridgerton, she was always very open and positive about the sex scenes she filmed with Luke Newton. She recalled requesting to be nude in certain Season 3 scenes, and both she and the Colin actor were very open and candid about working together on such an intimate level. However, when it comes to being called “brave” for doing that work, the actress does not like it, as she told Time:
Don’t call me brave. I have a cracking pair of boobs. There’s nothing brave about that, that’s actually just me showing them off.
Don’t get it twisted, the Big Mood star is incredibly proud of her nude scenes, and she’s open about working on the sexually explicit Netflix show. Right before saying this, she noted that she’s “so proud” of Penelope and Colin’s intimate moments because they showed how vulnerable the two characters were together and how much they trusted each other.
However, when it comes to people commenting on the actress’s body and being willing to do the scenes, that’s where she has a problem. The Derry Girls actress continued to honestly explain why she doesn't want to constantly be asked about this topic by saying:
I’m a few sizes below the average size of a woman in the U.K. and I’m seen as a ‘plus-size heroine.’ I worked my arse off for that show. I barely saw my family and friends, and people were just going, ‘But your body …’
And she's right, she did get asked about it a lot. For example, at a screening earlier this year, someone called Coughlan “brave” for doing nude scenes. In response, she gave the best body-positive statement:
You know it is hard because I think women with my body type — women with perfect breasts, we don't get to see ourselves on screen enough and I'm very proud as a member of the perfect breast community. I hope you enjoy seeing them.
In this new Time interview, Coughlan was a lot more candid and blunt about comments that sparked the response above. The story noted that she knows these “brave” questions can be meant as a compliment. However, she does not see them that way. Calling them “reductive and boring,” she said:
But I don’t take it as nice. Making it about how I look is reductive and boring. What if I was suddenly going to play a ballerina and lose a sh-t ton of weight, are you not going to like me anymore? That’s insane and so insulting.
She made a very clear point here that her looks should not define her work, noting that she could transform physically for a role, and that shouldn’t be at the center of attention. As she said, there’s a lot that goes into making a show like Bridgerton. While there is a time and a place to talk about the nudity and sex scenes, she believes that conversations surrounding physical appearance shouldn’t be the primary focal point.
Now, it will be interesting to see how the conversation surrounding nudity and sex on screen evolves. Bridgerton Season 4 is currently in production, and odds are, Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha will face a similar level of attention that Coughlan and Newton got during their season. As this discourse continues, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
In the meantime, you can steam the first three seasons of Bridgerton with a Netflix subscription.
