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‘The Crown’ star Olivia Colman is scared of sex scenes: ‘I feel like I’m cheating’

Olivia Colman has one royal rule.

After a decades-long career in Hollywood, the actress, 51, revealed she no longer wants to engage in certain types of scenes on camera.

“Anything where I have to show any skin,” Colman replied when asked by host Amy Poehler on her “Good Hang” podcast what she fears in work.

Olivia Colman on Amy Poehler's podcast.
Olivia Colman on Amy Poehler’s podcast. YouTube/@Good-Hang-with-Amy-Poehler

The “Crown” star teased on Tuesday’s episode that her other non-negotiable is “pretending to have sex with someone. I don’t like it. I feel like I’m being unfaithful.”

Colman tied the knot with husband Ed Sinclair in 2001. The couple met while in school in Cambridge, England. They share three children: Hall, Finn and a daughter whose name they have not revealed.

“Even when they go, ‘You can wear your jeans and a cushion between you.’ I don’t want to do that with someone I don’t know,” Colman, who starred as Queen Elizabeth II in the third and fourth seasons of “The Crown,” added.

Olivia Colman talks about not doing sex scenes anymore.
Olivia Colman talks about not doing sex scenes anymore. YouTube/@Good-Hang-with-Amy-Poehler

Poehler, 54, who was married to Will Arnett from 2003 to 2016 chimed in, “By the way, bless the people that are good at it.” 

Colman concurred and gave a shout-out to onset intimacy coordinators.

Meanwhile, the English producer couldn’t help but joke about what she loves most about her other half.

Olivia Colman and husband Ed Sinclair attend the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre.
Olivia Colman and husband Ed Sinclair attend the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre. AFP via Getty Images

“The thing that makes me laugh more than anything, belly laugh, and it doesn’t happen often enough, is watching my husband fall over or hit his head by accident,” she told Poehler.

Colman also revealed she made her love with Sinclair permanent with a tattoo on her arm.

“It’s a bit like he pissed on me,” she joked while Poehler noted: “He just stamped it on you.”

Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair at the New York premiere of "The Roses."
Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair attend the New York premiere of “The Roses.” AFP via Getty Images

Colman shared that the ink was, in fact, her “choice.”

In 2023, the star told British Vogue that having a friendship with Sinclair was the secret to keeping their marriage alive.

Years later, Colman still feels that tight bond with her significant other.

Olivia Colman portrays Queen Elizabeth II in a scene from the third season of "The Crown."
Olivia Colman portrays Queen Elizabeth II in a scene from the third season of “The Crown.” AP

In an August interview with The Guardian, Colman expressed, “I’m quite in love,” to which her “Roses” co-star, Benedict Cumberbatch, quipped: “I am too! It’s all great. It’s, y’know, life. And I know Ed annoys you sometimes.”

“Only a bit, and it’s been 30 years,” she responded. “It’s not bad to be a bit annoyed with each other.”

Cumberbatch, 49, meanwhile, wed Sophie Hunter in 2015.

An image from "The Crown" with Olivia Colman, Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin.
An image from “The Crown” with Olivia Colman, Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin. AP

He also shared the secret to keeping their spark alive after 10 years.

“Being away from home pissed them off,” the actor admitted while on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast.

Therefore, he implemented a “two-week rule” to keep close to his wife and their three sons: Christopher, 10, Hal, 8, and Finn, 6.

“It pissed me off too, so we try and do as much to make that not the case — the two-week rule, and try to work as hard as possible on making work happen here nearer home so I can get home, or take them with me,” Cumberbatch explained.