Hannah Waddingham revealed that a drama teacher told her her appearance would “never work on screen”.
The 49-year-old British actress, known for her role as Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso – has enjoyed an extensive career on stage and screen and is also a skilled presenter, having co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023.
Talking about her childhood on the BBC Radio 2 podcast, Michelle Visage Rule breakersThe stage and television actress said: “I had a drama teacher who told the whole class, 'Oh, Hannah will never work on screen because one side of her face looks like she's had a stroke.'
“And I thought, I'll do it, I'll do it,” he told Visage. “No matter what happens, I will work on the screen and it gave me a complex for years. And that's why, in my Emmy speech, I emphasized this.”
She continued: “The only thing I told myself was, 'If this weird time comes and I get this award, and I put my foot in this door, I'm going to rip it off its hinges for the musical theater people or the theater people.' continue'.”
Waddingham won an Emmy in 2021 for his role in a comedy series Ted Lasso, and his speech included a recognition of professional musical theater artists. In it, she said: “West End musical theater artists need to appear on screen more. Please give them a chance because we will not let you down.”
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Also on the podcast, Waddingham said her school principal had discouraged her from pursuing a career in the arts when she refused to give her a reference.
“I remember telling my director… She said, 'Oh, you're smart enough to read drama,' and I said, 'I don't want to read drama, I want to do drama,'” he said.
“She refused to give me a reference,” he continued. “So I managed, thank God, to get a scholarship to the theater school I attended and I went back in, put it on her desk and left the room without closing the door.”
Reflecting on her time at the school, she added: “She (the principal) was always dismissive of me, because it wasn't that she wasn't academic, but she knew what she wanted to do.” “So she was upset that I turned my back on my academy,” she added. “She would intentionally put everyone else in school plays and she would make me a substitute just to punish me.”
The Emmy Award winner received the artist gong at the 2023 Glamor Women of the Year Awards and over the festive period headlined her own musical event and Christmas special, called Hannah Waddingham: Home For Christmas, at the London Coliseum.
Waddingham also won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the Critics Choice Awards in 2022 for Ted Lasso and has appeared in HBO fantasy series. game of Thronesnetflix series Sex education and the ITV drama Tom Jones.
Michelle Visage Rule breakers is available to listen to on BBC Sounds.
Additional information from the Press Association
