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The Favourite: Olivia Colman appears to compare Trump to Queen Anne in award acceptance speech

Colman plays the monarch in Yorgos Lanthimos's Golden-Globe-nominated period piece

Clémence Michallon
New York
Friday 04 January 2019 20:01 GMT
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Olivia Colman appeared to take a thinly veiled jab at Donald Trump by comparing him to her The Favourite character Queen Anne in a recent speech.

Colman, who plays the monarch in Yorgos Lanthimos's period film, was honoured on Thursday at the awards gala of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Variety reported.

After picking up the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Colman spoke about Queen Anne and seemed to draw a parallel between the 18th-century queen of Great Britain and the current US president.

The actor described Queen Anne as "someone in whom resides all the madness, frustration, confusion and instability of a powerful person unfit for a for the job".

As that depiction drew laughs and claps from the audience, Colman added: "I don't know if you know of anyone like that."

While her quip appeared to be in reference to Mr Trump, the actor pointed out that UK leaders aren't exempt from the same criticism.

"We have it in England as well," she told the crowd.

Colman has earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a motion picture comedy or musical for her performance as Queen Anne, who is depicted in Lanthimos's movie as a struggling monarch coping with physical and mental health issues.

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The actor's comments come as the government finds itself on the 14th day of a partial shutdown over Mr Trump's demand for $5b to build a wall on the border between the US and Mexico.

Congressional leaders arrived at the White House on Friday for the second time in three days for talks with the president.

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