Fans mock idea that Olivia Colman can't play Queen due to 'left-wing face'

Olivia Colman is used to people knowing her face. The actress does after all have one Oscar, two Golden Globes and Three BAFTAs to her name.

But she’s perhaps not used to being told she can’t play a part – especially one she’s already been cast in – because of it.

But that’s what happened this week, when Telegraph columnist Charles Moore wrote about Colman’s upcoming role in series 3 of The Crown, commenting that her “distinctly left-wing face” – as he called it – would make her unsuitable for the part.

Read more: Olivia Colman Returns to The Crown After Oscar Win – See Her as a Middle-Aged Queen Elizabeth!

Unsurprisingly, fans and actors alike took to social media to defend The Favourite actress, with David Baddiel even starting a Twitter thread, which drew comments from the likes of Ricky Gervais, Robert Webb and Matt Lucas.

Moore said that Colman looked “slightly resentful and ironic at the idea of having to play a public role which satisfies the demands of others. The real Queen has no such face.” A statement that Baddiel called “idiot columnist rhetoric,” adding “everyone knows Olivia will be brilliant.”

Matt Lucas agreed, saying “Genuinely doesn’t make the remotest sense,” with Ricky Gervas cheekily contributing, “This proves you should never judge a book by the cover. Olivia does have a left wing face but she also has a Swastika tattoo on her back.”

Peep Show actor Robert Webb also got involved, saying, “Not sure but I think Robert Carlyle once voted Labour, so how he managed to play Adolf Hitler is quite beyond me. Oh, hang on I just remembered IT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE TO WHAT SHE DOES ON CAMERA.”

Read more: 'The Crown' season 3 confirmed for November launch by Netflix

Colman has played royalty not once but twice already to great success. She won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite, and also appeared as the Queen Mother in Hyde Park on Hudson opposite Bill Murray’s President Roosevelt.