"You Can't Be Outside": Michaela Coel On Discipline, Love & Creativity

Michaela Coel’s Creative Process: “You Can’t Be Outside”

To her, the meandering can feel frustrating, even “awful.” “The problem is in the being lost, you find stuff that you maybe wouldn’t have found, had you been so focused.” She further explained to British Vogue, “You are not looking, because your eyes aren’t wandering, and you find things. However, what I have found is that having a North Star, you can still make your way and you can meander a little bit. So there’s a balance.”

That work ethic and sense of discipline didn’t come from nowhere. In fact, the 37-year-old said she gets from her mama. “Everything I know is from my mum,” she told the mag. “My work ethic is from my mum.” The Londoner’s relentless quest for more came from seeing her mom build her and her sister’s lives brick by brick, a feat that included the move to immigrate them from Ghana to East London when they were young.

Whenever she’s back in her stomping ground of London, it’s all work and no play which she assures doesn’t make for a dull Michaela despite her willingness to sacrifice being outside for deadlines. “I got deadlines. I would say in London it is very unusual if I go out.” Social life? For Michaela, it very much so gives, what social life? When it comes to work, it's as she puts it: “You can’t be outside.”

On Writing in Ghana & Crafting 'First Day on Earth'

That commitment has helped shape her latest project and creative follow-up to I May Destroy You, First Day on Earth (where she writes, stars in, and serves as executive producer). She started writing the series in early 2023 during a four-month stay in Ghana, where she’s been building a home and spending more time with her father.

Free from Wi-Fi, distractions, and studio pressures, she was able to tap into the clarity she needed to draft much of her scripts before HBO, BBC, and A24 swooped in as partners.

For Michaela, Ghana isn’t just a backdrop; it’s where the work gets real. “Once the studios get involved, it’s no longer like you’re walking around getting inspiration from the streets and all the friends you meet along the way,” she told British Vogue. “It becomes something where there’s nothing outside for you to see. Stay at your laptop and do your work.”

Michaela on Love, Rest, and Defining Life Her Way

The writer and actress suggested to British Vogue that her mom might want something different for her in life than just work. “I think my mum wants me to be in love, which I am. And I think she wants me to rest in a way that she’s never been able to her whole life.”

Even though the grind is very much a part of her joy, Michaela does indeed make time for love. The star has been open about identifying as aromantic, but has found a love that is fulfilling and private with her beau Spencer Hewitt whom she met in 2023 on the dating app Raya. With the mag, she shared a few of her favorite things about her love: “He’s very sweet. He’s very smart. He’s very loyal. He’s very funny, makes me feel very comfortable.”

Whether Michaela is meandering her way to creative brilliance, grounding herself by way of her roots in Ghana, honoring the work ethic she got from her mom, or defining love on her own terms, Michaela makes it clear that there is no one way to build a life that moves you. Discipline and freedom, structure and softness — for Michaela Coel, it all gets to co-exist.

She pursues her dreams the same way she purses her stories on-screen: her way.

For the full cover story, read more on British Vogue here.

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