vulture lists

Before the Oscar: A Streaming Guide to Olivia Colman’s Previous Film Work

Photo: Rogue Pictures

If you, like the tens of millions of people who tuned into the Oscars this year, were equal parts delighted and besotted at Olivia Colman’s surprise Best Actress win for her work in The Favourite, but still didn’t totally know who she was, you’re not alone. Fret not! Your pals at Vulture already presented you with the robust history of Colman’s streamable telly Britcoms. And now, by popular demand, we’ve returned to outline the films — comedies, dramas, or otherwise — throughout Colman’s career that you can also stream with the easy click of a button, ordered by a mixture of both her involvement and their general greatness. You’ll fall in love with the actress all over again, we guarantee it.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

The second of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright’s gore-tastic “Cornetto trilogy†films, Hot Fuzz finds Pegg’s no-bullshit sergeant being transferred to a seemingly snoozy, idyllic village devoid of any and all crime, much to his annoyance. However, when a conspiracy about how exactly this village is so perfect begins to take shape, he must team up with the rest of the police department despite their incompetence, one of whom is Colman’s police constable. All she wants to do is hang around the station and have a chuckle, honestly. Where to stream: Netflix, Amazon Prime

The Lobster (2015)

Colman previously teamed up with her Favourite director, Yorgos Lanthimos, for The Lobster, a dystopian black comedy that revolves around a heartbroken man (Colin Farrell) who’s sent to a “hotel†in order to find a new romantic partner. If he does, he can leave, but if he doesn’t after 45 days, he’s permanently turned into an animal of his choice. Colman plays the 50/50 sadistic and charming hotel manager, who has to guide all of her guests through this bizarre process. Things … don’t end too well for her. Where to stream: Netflix, Amazon Prime

Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

As an amusing factoid for The Crown enthusiasts, Colman portrayed Queen Elizabeth in Hyde Park on Hudson, years before taking on the role of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in the Netflix series. While the dramedy mostly deals with the historic meeting between President Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and King George VI at the president’s countryside estate in 1939 — Hot dogs! Pool parties! War talks! — Colman gets some terrific stand-out moments, mostly as the “what are with these damn American customs?†voice of reason. Where to stream: Amazon Prime, Starz on Demand

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Colman got to be one of the many train suspects investigated by the mustachioed Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) in this remake of Agatha Christie’s beloved novel. As Hildegarde Schmidt, an ailing princess’s kicked-around German sidekick, there may be way more than meets the eye with her. But can’t that also be said for everyone on this train to nowhere? Where to stream: Amazon Prime, HBO Go

Confetti (2006)

Reuniting Colman with her frequent television co-star Robert Webb, Confetti is a mockumentary rom-com that follows three engaged couples as they try to win a “most original wedding†honor from a prestigious bridal magazine. Colman and Webb are one of these couples with their eyes on the prize — did we mention the winner gets a free house? — and hilarity ensues, given that their definition of an “original wedding†means fully embracing nudist values. Their families aren’t exactly thrilled. Where to stream: Amazon Prime

The Iron Lady (2011)

Most can agree that The Iron Lady was a master class in acting from Meryl Streep — she won her third Best Actress Oscar for her role as Margaret Thatcher — but Colman also had a key supporting role as her daughter, Carol Thatcher, a relationship that was especially poignant during their sporadic time together as a family at 10 Downing Street. The main tension comes from the younger Thatcher, an intrepid young journalist hungry for work, finding her opportunities limited due to her mother’s divisive profession. Where to stream: Amazon Prime

Tyrannosaur (2011)

A drama that brutally weaves together a tale of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and mental illness, Tyrannosaur follows a volatile widower (Westworld’s Peter Mullen) who crosses paths with Colman’s second-hand shop employee after a traumatic evening of emotional reckoning. The two embark on an unlikely friendship in order to help each other fight their inner demons — him with his dead wife, she with her abusive husband — although the results might make them worse off than they were before. Where to stream: Amazon Prime

I Give It a Year (2013)

This cheeky rom-com might not feature Colman as one half of the couple trying to save their quickly crumbling marriage, but what we get is perhaps so much better: She’s the bawdy, high-priced therapist who comes in and tries to mediate the hell out of their situation. If she can stop flirting with the very cute husband, that is. Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon Prime

Cuban Fury (2014)

We get to witness Colman put her corazón and soul into some sexy salsa dance sequences in Cuban Fury, which mostly deals with her character’s friend, a former salsa champion (Nick Frost) coming out of retirement to win the affections of his new corporate boss (Rashida Jones). Still, she fills the integral role of being her pal’s hypewoman throughout the rom-com, whether it’s making him guzzle down liquor to drown his sorrows or yelling at him to do better! on the dance floor. Where to stream: Amazon Prime

Grow Your Own (2007)

An ensemble comedy about close-minded village gardeners who have to reckon with a group of refugees receiving plots on their allotment, Colman is mostly relegated to a small supporting role as a green-thumb enthusiast who realizes, whoa, welcoming foreigners into their world might actually be a good thing. She also, once again, gets to flirt a lot, which is always welcome. Where to stream: Amazon Prime

A Streaming Guide to Olivia Colman’s Pre-Oscar Film Work