Hannah Waddingham remembers hearing her drama teacher say she would “never work on screen.”
One acting teacher said Hannah Waddingham would never make it big in TV or movies before she won an Emmy.
In an interview on Wednesday, January 17, for the BBC Radio 2 podcast “Michelle Visage’s Rule Breakers,” 49-year-old Waddingham described being made fun of and humiliated by a previous professor for how she looked in front of her peers.
“Hannah will never work on screen because she looks like one side of her face has had a stroke,” my theater teacher once told the entire class, according to Waddingham. Before beginning her TV career in 2002 with the BBC sitcom Coupling, the British actress performed in theaters throughout her native England. Waddingham stated that she didn’t allow the disparaging remarks stop her from applying for jobs. “I decided to do it. “I will work on screen come hell or high water,” she continued.
Waddingham did acknowledge that the remark left her with “a complex for years,” though. She eventually became more self-assured, which led to almost 40 credits in movies and television shows, most of them little roles. She was motivated to get to main roles after more than 20 years of performing. “I told my representatives at the time that I was quitting doing it. Waddingham remarked, “If it’s just one scene, I’m not doing it anymore, and you shouldn’t be putting me up for it because it’s offensive.” “I’ve spent 22 years as a leading lady. I will no longer be doing it. A world where I am valued is what I would prefer to live in.
