Following the global success of the Netflix show Bridgerton, star Nicola Coughlan is revealing how she feels about the onset of notability.

Stepping out from the shadow of Lady Whistledown has its ups and its downs.

In a recent interview with Elle UK, Nicola Coughlan—a.k.a. Penelope Featherington and (spoiler!) later revealed to also be the town’s gossip columnist—opened up about the success of the Netflix series Bridgerton.

Calling the response to the show “surreal,” she shared, “I didn’t think it was going to be the biggest show on Netflix, I didn’t think that level. But I had lunch with Phoebe [Dynevor] (who plays Daphne Bridgerton) maybe about two months before it came out. And I said, ‘I think your life’s going to change.’ And she was like, ‘No, I don’t know. I’ve done things before that people thought was going to be huge and it hasn’t worked out.’ But I just had that instinct about it.”

Considering the show became the most-watched series on Netflix at the time of its premiere, huge might be a bit of an understatement. But, that level of fame, as the 35-year-old actress noted, comes at a bit of a cost.

“Being famous is like being a dog on the Tube [train],” she said. “It’s exactly the same energy. When you get on, everyone looks at you. Some people are so smiley, while some are afraid of you and don’t want to go near. Some people touch you without asking. I can still do the things I want to do, obviously, but it is different.”

Liam Daniel/Netflix

Nicola continued, “I went to the pub with my friend a while back and it was like being an animal at the zoo. People just watching and looking. And I remember one time I was taking my Invisalign [brace] out, and this person was staring me right in the eyes, which was quite weird. But, honestly, most people are so, so lovely.”

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On the other hand, starring in a nail-biting drama in grandiose wardrobe is just as breathtaking as it sounds. “On Bridgerton, walking into a ballroom, with hundreds of extras, all in custom-made clothes and the wigs and hair, it does feel like being transported back in time,” Nicola said. “It gives me joy, genuinely.”

As she gears up for the premiere of the show’s anticipated second season, Nicola does have a bit of advice for any dear readers also aiming to make it big.

“Whenever people say they want to get into this industry, I’m like, you’ve got to want it so badly,” she said. “Because if you don’t, you’d be mad to do it, absolutely mad. I barely saw my family last year because of filming. There’s a lot of sacrifices to be made. In my twenties, I never went on holiday. I was so broke. So, I never want to sell people this ideal that it’s all wonderful and fun. It’s hard work. But it’s amazing. I wouldn’t do anything else.”