[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Wicked Little Letters.]

The Big Picture

‘Wicked Little Letters’ is based on real-life events that could be described as the 1920s version of social media trolling.
Olivia Colman kept a framed letter from the film as an amusing bathroom decoration.
Colman praises collaborating with co-star and friend Jessie Buckley, and expresses interest in working together again.

Wicked Little Letters tells the story of two neighbors in a 1920s English seaside town, conservative local Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and raucous Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), who start out as friends until Rose is charged with sending fellow residents letters full of profanities. As a community uproar surrounds the trial and female police officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) realizes that having a foul mouth doesn’t actually mean you’re guilty of anything, everything starts to point to someone else being the one responsible.

During this interview with Collider, Colman, who is also a producer on the film, talked about not having been aware that this story was based on real-life events, how these letters are essentially the 1920s version of trolling on social media, why she’s not on social media herself, keeping one of the letters to get framed and hang in her bathroom, what Edith might have been had she not made the choices she did, and the fun of getting to sear at one of her best friends. She also talked about getting to be a part of Paddington in Peru, and that she hopes to get to work with Buckley again.

Wicked Little Letters (2024) When people in Littlehampton–including conservative local Edith–begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town’s women investigate.Runtime 100 Minutes Writers Johnny Sweet

Olivia Colman Had No Idea ‘Wicked Little Letters’ Was Based on a Real-Life Story
Image via Sony Pictures Classics

Collider: This is the 1920s version of trolling on social media. There was obviously no internet or social media then, but really what is said in these letters is not that far off from internet trolls. Did you see those connections as you read the script and looked at the real-life scandal? Had you been aware of that?

OLIVIA COLMAN: No, I had no idea about the real story. When I was reading Jonny [Sweet]’s script, on the script, he had a black and white picture of Edith Swan and Rose Gooding, and I thought, “Wow, is this real?” And then, I Googled it and went, “Oh, my God, this genuinely happened.” It was debated in Parliament, and it was covered by all the broadsheet newspapers of the time. The whole country was gripped by what was happening in the court case, week by week. And it did become apparent that this would be a great time to do this. We think in the 1920s, it was all so civilized and lovely, but there was extraordinary oppression of women, which in many countries is as bad as it was back in the ‘20s, or sometimes worse. We’re doing better in our countries, but still, it’s not perfect. Trolling is not brand new. It’s just gone on to a whole other level, on a much bigger scale. So, it felt like a good time to do it.

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As a writer whose work posts publicly for anyone to read, I’ve gotten my fair share of comments and messages that were less than pleasant or friendly. When it’s something absolutely absurd, it doesn’t bother me. I have a laugh about it. It would only really bother me if it were personal. Have you ever received message, that would be the equivalent of these letters? Would you be offended? Would you get a chuckle out of it? Would it depend on what was being said?

COLMAN: I think it would have to depend a bit on what was being said. I am not on any social media, nor is Jessie [Buckley], and we feel the same about it. I know myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t be able to cope. It’s actually brave to do the job. A lot of us actors are quite shy people, intrinsically. You get to be someone else, and it’s quite scary to put yourself out there and try to be someone else and show your emotions. And then, when someone doesn’t like it, which they’re allowed to do, and they say it out loud, I know I’d find it really upsetting, so I choose to take myself out of that arena. I know most people are really nice, kind people, and they understand when someone’s trying to tell a story or do something that might make someone laugh, but some people don’t get it. I also know that they are probably people who are hurting in some way. Why else would you want to anonymously have some power over somebody else? But I’m still not brave enough to see it. I don’t want to know.

As the one that got to embody this character for the length of the shoot, I would imagine you got to know her and her background and her motivations a bit. If things could have been different, what sort of life do you think she would have chosen for herself?

COLMAN: We hear a bit about how she was bright at school and did really well. Had she been in a different time, she would have carried on with her education and gone to higher education and maybe got a degree, or just got a job and had some sort of autonomy and some freedom. Had she met Rose earlier, maybe Rose would have said, “Come be your true self.” I think they were destined to actually be friends. I don’t know. It’s lovely, that thought about what could have been for her. She clearly was very inventive in her imagination. She could have done great things.

It feels like she would have been a good fiction writer if she’d had the chance to do something like that.

COLMAN: Yeah, I bet she would have given Agatha Christie a run for her money.

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I read that you have one of the letters from the film framed in your bathroom. Did you request the specific letter that you have? Is it one that you specifically wanted?

COLMAN: I asked the props master, “If there are any letters going, can I have one? This is the perfect thing to stick in your downstairs loo.” And he said, “Yeah, here’s one that’s been used on camera. We’re not gonna use that one again.” And I went, “Great, thanks!” I’ve got it in a little frame. It was quite confusing for people because the film hadn’t come out yet and people coming to my house were going, “What is that in your downstairs loo?”

Did you hang it just to see who would actually ask about it, or who would pretend they had never read it?

COLMAN: I think most of my mates don’t read anything when they’re sitting there and having a wee. Not many of them have noticed it. Only my mum has actually noticed that letter.

‘Wicked Little Letters’ Olivia Colman Had Fun Swearing at Jessie Buckley

I’m guessing that you’ve probably never gotten to swear this much in a film before. Does it feel freeing to be uninhibited in that way? Were there any swear words or phrases that you wanted to personally contribute, or were they all in the script?

COLMAN: They were all in the script. And yeah, it’s really fun to go to work with one of your best friends and swear at each other all day. It was enjoyable. It’s a funny story that this pious Christian woman wrote such filth in these little letters. I heard some people walked out of screenings because of the swearing. This was the 1920s, and they were doing it then. But I bet they’ll watch a murder on telly. They’ll watch something violent on the telly and that’s fine, but women swearing in the 1920s is too much for some people to bear.

You and Jessie Buckley got to share the same character in The Lost Daughter. You’re a bit mean to each other in Wicked Little Letters. Are you looking to do another project together? Would you like to play best friends in something?

COLMAN: I hope so. We should have it in our riders that, once a year, we have to work together. I think we’d both be up for that.

I love that your career has really been all over the place, in terms of types of projects and characters. You played a very memorable character in Wonka, and you’ve joined Paddington for Paddington in Peru. Are you just having fun with this kind of whimsical fantasy?

COLMAN: It’s fun. There’s no game plan. The scripts that have come towards me recently have been those, and I’ve been like, “Yeah! Hell, yeah! That would be great fun to do.” Maybe in the next few years, if I manage to keep working and people still send me scripts, it might be another strain of something. It’s just how it’s turned out recently, and I’ve had a lovely time doing it.

Olivia Colman Was Already A Fan When She Joined ‘Paddington in Peru’
Image via StudioCanal

Were you already a Paddington fan?

COLMAN: Yes, I remember that there used to be a Paddington cartoon on the telly when I was little, which was these black and white drawings of the Brown family, and I don’t think they really moved. The only one that really moved, in quite a stiff and staccato way, was Paddington, with his blue coat and red hat. Michael Hordern was the Narrator. I loved that as a kid. And then, when the films came out, I had small kids and I remember watching with our eldest two when he puts the toothbrush in his ears, and he has that lovely cross-eyed pleasurable face, and they giggled. I thought, “Oh, my entire family are in.” They were in love with Paddington from that moment on. So yeah, when that opportunity came up, I said, “Yes, please!”

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What’s it like to find yourself on a set like that, for something that you were a fan of as a kid and that also shared with your family? Is that even more special and surreal?

COLMAN: Yeah. The first day or so, when you see Paddington, it’s so exciting. I was very uncool and took so many selfies of me with Paddington. And then, after that, you’re on set, and it’s your normal day job where you do your normal thing of knowing your lines, know everyone’s names, being nice to everyone, and not being late. But it’s particularly fun, doing things like that. I got to do some very fun things with Julie Walters. It was like a dream come true.

Wicked Little Letters is now playing in theaters. Check out the trailer:

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