‘Bridgerton’ Star Nicola Coughlan Used to Work in Optician’s Office

The New York Times recently gushed in a headline that “the secret is out” on Nicola Coughlan, star of the Netflix hit series Bridgerton. It was a reference to her newfound fame.

But for eyecare pros, another secret is out: Coughlan is part of the club. The Times noted that before her big break in another Netflix hit, Derry Girls, the actress worked in an optician’s office in her native Galway, Ireland.

The profile didn’t go into detail about her time in the vision care  world, but Coughlan talked about the experience in an interview last year with the Belfast Telegraph. It was a part-time job — and the only work she could find as a struggling actor.

“You can imagine I didn’t earn much money from two days a week, but something about working there gave me structure and a weird love for filing and organising,” she told the newspaper. “That’s why I’m really good at keeping my tax receipts in order.”‘

One of her tasks was to “tell people to come in for their eye tests.”

The structure of the job helped her get into a better frame of mind.

“I look back on that time fondly, even though I had no money,” she said.

March 25 marks the start of Bridgerton’s second season. It’s been renewed through a fourth season.