Olivia Colman reveals toughest aspect of working with child stars

Olivia Colman can act as tough as she wants but she will always have a hard time being cruel to children.

The actress, who stars alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in The Roses, discusses the most challenging roles that she had played.

Both actors have played multiple villainous roles over the course of their career, but they admitted that acting harsh with young stars is the most difficult task.

During the conversation on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, The Crown star and Sherlock were asked if they ever apologised to cast mates after reading a "vile" line from a script. 

They both agreed that they try to check in with children before and after abusive scenes.

The Favourite star recalled crying on the set of BBC's TV adaptation of Les Misérables after a scene in which her character hits a child.

"She had padding all down her back, but I had a belt and I was meant to hit her," she said. "And then I hit her once half-heartedly and I burst into tears."

The Broadchurch actress shared that the actor reassured that she was fine, but Colman "struggled" with the act.

The 51-year-old artist also confessed that she accidentally made a younger performer cry, which she described as an "awful" experience.

"She started to look like she was crying and I went, 'Oh, shut up,'" Colman said. "I thought she was acting, but she actually started to cry and I went, 'Oh my god, I'm so sorry.'"

Colman and Cumberbatch star in The Roses, a modern adaptation of 1989's The War of the Roses. They play a couple going through a bitter, vicious divorce which forced them to say some nasty things to each other.

The Roses was released on August 29.