Nicola Coughlan's 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

Nicola Coughlan began acting professionally at a young age in the 1990s, but struggled with success in the industry until her thirties, and many of her best movies and TV shows come from more recent projects. Before getting her big break on television in 2018, Coughlan also made a name for herself in theater. She’s an accomplished stage actor and has diversified her work in the arts in many mediums. In addition to working on stage and screen, Coughlan has lent her voice and her writing skills to scripted podcasts.

Most of Coughlan’s best work has been in television. Though she has many roles that are simply one-off appearances, Coughlan has also landed several roles that have earned her international acclaim, like Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton and the Irish comedy Derry Girls. Both series have helped to make Coughlan a household name and are among her best work.

10 Seize Them! (2024)

As Humble Joan

Seize Them is not a movie that critics in the UK looked upon favorably. Despite that, it outranks some of the other onscreen projects Coughlan has been in because it allows her to be on screen for longer. Many of Coughlan’s projects prior to 2018 were simply guest spots or even uncredited roles that did not allow the actor to show off her skills.

Seize Them is a comedy in the vein of some classic parodies. In this case, it parodies a historical epic. The movie sees a British queen in the Dark Ages losing her throne because the people rally behind Humble Joan. Joan becomes power-hungry and tyrannical while the queen continues to try to find a way to get her throne back.

The movie includes a bevy of rising British comedic talent. Alongside Coughlan as Joan is Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education) as the deposed queen. The trouble is that a lot of the comedy of the script does not quite land as well as intended. It’s a shame because the actors involved in the project are all hilarious in other roles. At least Coughlan and Wood get the chance to be rivals in a ridiculous set-up.

9 Dodger (2023)

As Queen Victoria

Not to be confused with the Australian series Artful Dodger, which acts as a sequel to Oliver Twist, this UK series is a prequel to Oliver Twist set in England instead. The series follows the titular Dodger while he tries to survive on the street and hones his thieving skills before he ever meets Dickens’ Oliver.

Coughlan only appears in one episode of the series. She appears in the holiday special in 2023 that focuses on a plot to steal the crown jewels of England. Coughlan is the queen and the person whose coronation is about to occur when the theft happens. She is brash and entitled in the role, really selling the idea of a monarch who cannot handle things not going her way. It’s a great one-off appearance for her, especially since it was bookended by other more dramatic roles for her.

8 The Great Christmas Bake Off (2019)

As Herself

The Great British Bake Off has become a show known around the world. The cooking competition series is as much about the antics of the hosts and the contestants as it is about the food. Every so often, the series hosts celebrity contestants instead of bakers hoping to get the prestige of the win.

The holiday special episode in 2019 featured the main cast of Derry Girls competing. The cast did several promotional competition shows during the show's run, competing against one another in game shows as well. The Great Christmas Bake Off, however, is more fun than it is competitive. The actors all appear to be enjoying themselves, even in moments that cause them stress, and it is great for fans to see the real camaraderie among them.

The show demonstrates how funny all of the cast, including Coughlan, are even without a script in front of them as they banter with one another while competing in festive-themed challenges.

7 The Velveteen Rabbit (2023)

As The Playroom Fairy

The Velveteen Rabbit and the Playroom Fairy talk in the snow in the Apple holiday short

Part of the reason her characters are so distinguishable from one another is because she creates voices based on her characterization of them.

The Velveteen Rabbit marks yet another holiday special for Coughlan. The actor has certainly racked up a few of them in recent years, which might be an indication that she enjoys holiday fare as much as her audience does. It also might indicate that her breaks from larger projects like Bridgerton just happen to coincide with the filming of holiday projects.

The Velveteen Rabbit is technically a short film available through Apple rather than a movie. At 40 minutes, it’s a relatively quick watch for people who are familiar with the children’s book or want to introduce their children to a new adaptation of the story.

Here, Coughlan voices a fairy for the short along the Velveteen Rabbit’s journey. Coughlan has already proven her impeccable ability to create new voices for her characters in live-action. Part of the reason her characters are so distinguishable from one another is because she creates voices based on her characterization of them. It’s not a surprise then that she is so suited to voice over work like this.

6 Doctor Who (2024)

As Joy

...it’s actually a great look into how she can be very subtle in her acting choices as well.

Coughlan also appeared in another unique holiday special. She makes an appearance in the holiday episode of Doctor Who in 2024 in a rare case of the Doctor getting a new companion for a single episode.

The holiday special sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) visiting a hotel in the future that specializes in time travel. It allows its guests to travel to certain points in history to explore. While there, the Doctor also investigates a mysterious briefcase that controls those who carry it. Joy (Coughlan) becomes a victim of the briefcase and the Doctor and Joy work together to figure out the purpose of it.

Some critics believed that Coughlan’s talents were underused here, but it’s actually a great look into how she can be very subtle in her acting choices as well. Many of her best movies and tv roles have involved her comedic performances needing to be larger than life. Here, she gets to be more understated. Her role in the special is also heartwarming, carrying on the tradition of the holiday specials working to bring people together.

5 Harlots (2018)

As Hannah Dalton

Bridgerton is not the only period drama fans will have spotted Nicola Coughlan in. She also appears in the second season of the Hulu drama Harlots.

Harlots centers on a brother in 18th-century London. At the time, there are few ways for women to be financially independent from the men in their lives. One way is sex work. The show follows a woman who runs a brothel, but as more puritanical values begin to take hold, she attempts to gain new clientele from the wealthier neighborhood to save her girls from ending up on the street.

Coughlan only appears in seven episodes of the series as Hannah. Her scenes in the brothel, however, are a great showcase of her comedic timing as she is able to make scenes that may appear even slightly uncomfortable humorous. The series is not a love story, so Coughlan’s character is not getting the Bridgerton treatment here, and she did not return for season three.

Coughlan’s future Bridgerton costar Hannah Dodd also appears in Harlots.

4 Barbie (2023)

As Diplomat Barbie

Barbie was a runaway hit when it debuted in theaters in 2023. Though the movie focuses on the traditional (or stereotypical) Barbie and her journey, there is a huge ensemble cast bringing other Barbies to life in the movie as well.

Barbie combines fantasy and reality. The dolls exist as living beings in Barbieland where their lives are informed by the children who play with them in reality. When Barbie (Margot Robbie) finds herself changing, she sets out on a journey to the real world with Ken (Ryan Gosling) to find the human who has been changing her. That leads her on a larger journey of self-discovery.

Nicola Coughlan plays Diplomat Barbie, and she does not have a ton of screen time in the movie. She appears to award another Barbie, and that is her biggest moment in the movie. It might be surprising then to see the movie ranked so high. One of the reasons that is, however, is because Barbie’s casting team went out of their way to cast Barbies of all shapes, sizes, and colors, allowing the movie to really explore the idea that everyone is Barbie.

It’s also entirely possible that Coughlan, or any of the large number of Barbie and Ken actors could make an appearance in a Barbie sequel if one manifests, so there is the potential to explore her character further.

3 Derry Girls (2018-2022)

As Clare Devlin

Though Nicola Coughlan had been working on stage and screen for about 20 years before Derry Girls, this series is easily her breakthrough role. Made in Ireland for television in the UK, the series became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to it being made available to stream on Netflix.

Set in the 1990s during the Troubles in Ireland, Derry Girls follows a group of teenagers growing up alongside the threats of bombs and the divide of religious differences. The group, made of four Irish girls and one of their English (male) cousins all attend a private Catholic school and come of age during a time when their political decisions are weighed with the same importance as their attempts to sneak out to a concert.

Despite some of the serious subjects happening in the background of the show, Derry Girls is firmly a comedy. No one single character is the comedic relief either as all of the main characters provide the one-liners, the puns, the physical comedy, and the straight-man personas in turn.

Coughlan’s Clare is the most tightly wound of the group. She is always worried about them getting in trouble because of their schemes and, as a result, she provides a lot of rapid-fire explanations and anxiety info-dumps on other characters. Coughlan plays that anxious teenager to perfection - even though she is already 30 when playing the character for the first time.

Derry Girls won an International Emmy for Best Comedy Series.

2 Bridgerton (2020-)

As Penelope Featherington

Though Derry Girls is Coughlan’s big break, Bridgerton is likely her most popular project to date. The period romance is currently the biggest show on Netflix with all three of its seasons among Netflix's most-watched television series around the world.

The series centers on the Bridgerton family. Each season spotlights a different sibling of the eight children, highlighting their romance as they fall in love and marry. The show is inspired by a series of novels by Julia Quinn, and like Quinn, utilizes different romance tropes to make each season’s romance unique. While the first season used fake dating, the second used enemies to lovers, and the third used friends to lovers. That, alongside the different personalities of the Bridgertons and the people they fall in love with, keeps the show from getting stale.

Coughlan has been in the series since the very first episode as Penelope Featherington, the best friend of one of the Bridgerton daughters and the very writer who pens an anonymous gossip sheet about society. Coughlan has done a fantastic job at showing Penelope’s growth each season with subtle changes to her posture, body language, and even her voice. Penelope is also part of the love story of the third season, allowing Coughlan to be the romantic lead, which she has not done often in her career just yet.

Coughlan has been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role.

1 Big Mood (2024-)

As Maggie

...easily offers up Nicola Coughlan’s best performance in TV or film to date.

Big Mood is a lesser-known role for Nicola Coughlan fans. It is also one of the most critically lauded roles of her career so far.

Big Mood allows Coughlan to dabble in both drama and comedy, but unlike Bridgerton, it is not a period piece. The modern dramedy explores themes of mental health. It focuses on two friends who have been in one another’s lives for over a decade, but they find their bonds strained when one of them begins struggling with complications caused by their mental health issues.

Coughlan’s Maggie is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, but it has not yet been fully managed by behavioral or pharmaceutical methods. Throughout the series, she attempts different techniques, but she also finds herself spiraling into both manic and depressive episodes. Coughlan is perfection in the role, completely raw and vulnerable at either end of Maggie’s mood spectrum.

So far, there are only six episodes of Big Mood, but it easily offers up Nicola Coughlan’s best performance in TV or film to date.

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