Nicola Coughlan felt like a failure before she landed her big break

She told the Guardian newspaper: "Just before I turned 30 and got 'Derry Girls', I was living back at home. I had a two-day-a-week job at an optician.

"I was like, 'I've failed at this. I'm a loser. It's just not happening for me.' It was a really ... tough time."

Nicola's next role is in comedy series 'Big Mood' which is described as a humorous portrayal of millennial life in London, and the actress admits she can see parallels between her own life and the thirtysomething best friends portrayed in the show.

She added: "My friends from back home in [Ireland] are married and have 'normal' jobs and kids.

"Then my friends in London are more what you see in 'Big Mood'. There are lots of different ways of being in your 30s.

"But also, the [stuff] that's cute in your 20s is a lot less cute in your 30s. You have to start figuring yourself out."

Nicola previously admitted she doesn't take her acting career for granted because she realises she's very "privileged" to be able to do a job she loves. Speaking at the reopening of the Disneyland Hotel at Disneyland Paris, Nicola explained: "I think the constant drive for me is to make things that will make people feel something, whether it's laugh, cry, evoke some memory, all that kind of stuff drives me.

"I love my job, I feel really privileged. I want to do it forever. It was a long road to get to do it, and now I think I just soak up every moment. When you meet people who watch the things you've done and it made them feel something, that's the best thing."