Olivia is best known for her roles in The Crown and The Favourite and has recently taken a leading role in Jimpa, which tells the story of a mother named who takes her non-binary child to visit her gay father in Amsterdam.
The new queer film is directed by Sophie Hyde and inspired by her real-life experiences, starring her trans non-binary child, Aud Mason-Hyde, as Frances. Olivia plays Hannah, Frances’s mother, who, while not queer, is closely connected to that world.
In an interview with Them, Olivia reflected on how she stepped into the role and also addressed her own gender identity.
She said: 'Throughout my whole life, I've had arguments with people where I've always sort of felt non-binary."
Olivia added: "I've never felt massive feminine in my being female. I've always described myself to my husband as a gay man. And he goes 'yeah I get that'. And so I do feel at home and at ease.
"I don't really spend a whole lot of time with people who are very staunchly heterosexual… The men I know and love are very in touch with all sides of themselves.
"I think with my husband and I, we take turns to be the 'strong one,' or the one who needs a little bit of gentleness. I believe everyone has all of it in them. I've always felt like that.
"I'm not alone in saying, 'I don't feel like it's binary.' And I loved that. I came away from making this film with, Yeah, I knew I wasn't alone."
The actress has revealed that working on Jimpa strengthened her relationship with the trans and non-binary community.
“I do think I learned an awful lot on the way as well. And actually, I’m not sure that I spent so much time with anyone in the trans community before then, thinking about it," Olivia said.
She added: “Yeah, I did learn a bit and I got better at pronouns, as well.”
Last year, Olivia revealed that the secret behind her long-lasting marriage is the fact that she and her husband don't argue.
Speaking on the Good Hang Podcast, she said: "We're not big fighters, which apparently isn't very healthy. We have learned over the years – but really late on actually – to sometimes [think], if that was annoying, just wait.
"And it doesn't work for everyone, I know that, but I think it's much better to wait until the calmer moments to go, 'Can we talk about that moment? I did find that a little weird and is that OK that I'm saying this and yes I was a bit cross that day…"
"He's my best friend and I fancy him, which is quite nice," she added.
