Olivia Colman has ‘learned an awful lot’ about trans community and pronouns

Actress Olivia Colman has spoken candidly about her enduring relationship with the queer community, and how she came to learn more about trans people.

British star Olivia Colman, who is known for her roles in queer shows and films from Heartstopper to The Favourite, takes on a leading role in new movie Jimpa, about a mother named Hannah (Colman) who takes her non-binary child to visit her gay father in Amsterdam.

Directed by and based on Sophie Hyde’s real-life experience, and starring her own trans non-binary child Aud Mason-Hyde as Frances, Jimpa is a tale of intergenerational queer experience, from the horrors of the AIDS epidemic to the evolving language around gender identity.

Speaking to Them alongside Hyde, Colman, 52, reflected on how she stepped into the role of Hannah who, while not queer herself, is on the periphery of queerness due to her relationship with her father and child.

“I suppose I am on the outside. I have a heterosexual relationship. But then in the world I live in, I’m with queer community a lot,” she explained, adding that she has “never been part of a more welcoming group of people”.

“For all those naysayers or haters or meanies, if [only] they could spend the time with the most welcoming, kind bunch of people. I kind of want everyone to just come and say hi and actually feel total love.”

Colman urged that it “wasn’t too much” of a stretch for her to play Hannah, as although she’s not queer, she understood her character’s viewpoint.

“I think it’s a community that I love being welcomed into. I find the most loving and the most beautiful stories are from that community. And I feel really honoured to be welcomed. Throughout my whole life, I’ve had arguments with people where I’ve always felt sort of non-binary,” she explained.

“I’ve never felt massively feminine in my being female. I’ve always described myself to my husband as a gay man. And he goes, ‘Yeah, I get that’ And so I do feel at home and at ease. I feel like I have a foot in various camps. I know many people who do. I don’t really spend an awful lot of time with people who are very staunchly heterosexual.”

Despite being around the LGBTQ+ a lot through her work, Colman shared that working on Jimpa strengthened her relationship with the trans and non-binary community specifically. 

“I do think I learned an awful lot on the way as well. And actually, I’m not sure that I spent so much time with anyone in the trans community before then, thinking about it,: she said. “Yeah, I did learn a bit and I got better at pronouns, as well.”

Jimpa also reflects on the AIDS activism of the 1980s, with Hannah’s father, Jim, being a HIV-positive gay man.

The role is played by John Lithgow, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a trans woman in 1982 film, The World According to Garp.

In 2025, it was confirmed that Lithgow will star as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the HBO adaptation of JK Rowling’s wizarding novel series, Harry Potter. Lithgow’s decision to accept the role, given his past LGBTQ+ roles and Rowling’s known stance on the trans community, has caused some controversy.

While Lithgow has referred to Rowling’s views as “inexplicable”, he has defended his decision to accept the part.

In a new interview with Out magazine, Jimpa’s young star Aud Mason-Hyde called Lithgow’s decision to star in Rowling’s new project “a difficult moment in time”.

“It was definitely a difficult moment in time,” they said. “I don’t think it’s worth speaking to John’s reasoning by any means, but I do also think that it’s a strange decision, for sure. And also I found it disconcerting, maybe, is the right word.”

Jimpa is in select New York and Los Angeles cinemas now. A UK release date is yet to be confirmed. 

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