Olivia Colman 'Changed Color' Reading the Wicker Script: A Wild Transformation Behind the Rattan Mask

Olivia Colman's spontaneous reaction when she first read the Wicker script became one of the most notable stories from the film directed by the duo Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. The Oscar-winning actress likened herself to an octopus changing color as she went through page after page of a screenplay she considered far from cliché.

Colman, 52, plays The Fisherwoman, a single woman who marries The Wicker Husband, played by Alexander Skarsgard. For her, the Wicker script offered something she rarely found in the stack of scripts sent by her agent. "I often receive scripts that feel like I've seen them before. But when I read this one, I was like an octopus. I changed color and went, 'Oooh!'" she told The Guardian.

Colman's interest was not merely in the strangeness of the premise, but in how the character The Fisherwoman responds to the institution of marriage. According to Colman, her character lives happily in her solitude, and it is precisely when she comes under pressure that she chooses to shake up the norm. "She's happy with her life. Only when pushed does she say, 'I'm going to mess this up and mock your precious marriage convention.' Then she gets a kind and beautiful creature, and suddenly the world feels more joyful," she said.

For Skarsgard, the biggest challenge was not dialogue but the costume. The 50-year-old actor admitted that behind the rattan mask, subtle expressions would not read, so he had to exaggerate his movements and voice. "Because of that mask, I had to overdo everything and I felt like I was overacting. Under that beautiful suit, I was like, 'Aaah!', 'Grrr!'" he said.

Colman came to her co-star's defense. She judged that Skarsgard was able to convey a great deal despite working within extreme physical constraints. "Alex is very awkward about receiving praise. Anyway, I don't think many people could convey that much while acting under those kinds of constraints. That's a sign of how good he is. Sorry!" said the star of The Favourite.

"I will never forget that day. When the costume went on, I found the character's physicality, then came out of the trailer and Olivia was outside gasping," Alexander Skarsgard recalled.

The moment he first wore the full costume apparently left a deep impression on Skarsgard. He admitted he had been gripped by anxiety because if the costume was not designed correctly, the result could look like a horror film. "If it doesn't work, it looks like a horror film because it's like someone's face has been cut off and stuck onto your face. That's not the vibe we were going for," he told Variety.

But that worry vanished once the rattan mask truly adhered and followed the movements of his face. Skarsgard said the result exceeded the production team's expectations. That experience, he said, actually helped him build the character's physicality and reinforced his confidence that Wicker's visual approach could work.

This behind-the-scenes story shows how Wicker depends on its cast's willingness to step out of their comfort zones. Colman, known for dramatic roles, accepted an offer that required her to play with a satirical tone toward marriage. Meanwhile Skarsgard, popular through Succession and Big Little Lies, was willing to 'disappear' behind a costume in order to find the physicality of an unusual character.

For Indonesian audiences, Wicker could be an alternative watch that challenges perspectives on narratives of marriage and loneliness, although its distribution in Indonesian cinemas may not be as wide as mainstream films. The presence of these two big names at least signals that odd stories like this still have room in the global film industry.

The question then is whether Wicker will be received as a fresh work or instead considered too experimental. In the coming months, the response of festivals and the international market will determine whether Colman and Skarsgard's bravery bears appreciation or merely becomes a footnote in both their careers.