Olivia Colman expressed her admiration for Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon’s improvisational talents while filming their upcoming comedy The Roses. The Oscar-winning actress stars alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in a loose remake of 1989’s The War of the Roses, portraying a married couple who grow apart over the years and end up in a bitter dispute over their home.
++ Nigel Farage sets out plans for daily deportation flights
While Colman and Cumberbatch adhered closely to Tony McNamara’s script, their co-stars occasionally improvised lines, showcasing their spontaneous comedic flair. Speaking on the SmartLess podcast, Colman admitted: “Benedict and I, we’re very much, ‘Tony McNamara’s written it and our job is to do the script.’ It’s fairly boring of us. But then you’re in a room with Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon and you think, ‘Oh, I can’t do that.’ I’m so thrilled to have seen them do what they do.”
Samberg and McKinnon play Barry and Amy, friends of the Roses, while the film also features Zoë Chao, Jamie Demetriou, Ncuti Gatwa, and Sunita Mani. Towards the end, a large dinner scene brings all the characters together, and Colman confessed she felt sympathy for director Jay Roach attempting to keep the cast on track.
++ Sophie Turner warns young stars about the dangers of social media
“There were some scenes where we were all together, like a dinner table scene, and it was so hard to get through the day,” Colman recalled. “I really felt for poor Jay Roach… waiting for us to stop finding ourselves so funny.” The Roses is set to be released in cinemas on Friday.
