Hannah Waddingham triumphs over critics and embraces on-screen success after dramatic school insults

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hannah Waddingham gave it back to her critics, after winning an Emmy Award in 2021.

While she received recognition for her role in 'The Ted Lasso' series, many missed the opportunity to appreciate her talents during her time at drama school.

Waddingham was told her face was not for 'screen'

During her appearance on the BBC Radio 2 podcast ‘Michelle Visage’s Rule Breakers,’ Waddingham revealed that she would "never work on screen."

The actress was insulted by her teacher in front of her classmates over her looks. “I had one drama teacher that said to the whole class: ‘Oh, Hannah will never work on screen because she looks like one side of her face has had a stroke,'” Waddingham said.

However, instead of discouraging her, it fueled her determination. She reflected, "I thought, 'I will do it. Come hell or high water, I will work on screen.'"

Despite it giving her "a complex for years," she channeled that comment to propel herself to work even harder.

“This is why, in my Emmys speech, I made a point — the one thing I said to myself [was] if this weird moment comes and I get this award, and I get my foot in this door, I’m going to rip it off its hinges for music theatre people, or theatre people, to follow,” she said.

Other projects of Waddingham in recent years 

Before her award-winning performance in ‘Ted Lasso,’ Waddingham also played crucial parts as Septa Unella in ‘Game of Thrones’ and Sofia Marchetti in ‘Sex Education.’

She is poised to star in the eighth installment of the 'Mission: Impossible' movie series. Waddingham had grown weary of playing small roles before the opportunity to join 'Ted Lasso' finally presented itself.

“So I said to my agents at the time, ‘I’m not doing it anymore… If it’s one scene, I’m not doing it anymore, and you shouldn’t be putting me up for it because it’s insulting,'" Waddingham said.

“‘I’ve been a leading lady for 22 years. I’m not doing it anymore. I’d rather be in a world where I’m appreciated.'” She further said, “So I fully stepped back. And then ‘Game of Thrones’ happened.”