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An actress with a whole collection of awards, including two Oscars. Talented screenwriter. A woman with a difficult experience in personal relationships. A true Englishwoman, she treats everything with humor, and above all – to herself. Emma Thompson is convinced that the most interesting usually begins after the words “and they lived happily ever after.”
Still, this woman is amazing. And it’s not even about how wide her acting range is, allowing her to perform heartfelt tragic and delightfully comic roles with equal impeccability. And not that she – it seems the only one in history – managed to get an Oscar for both acting and writing. And not even that, being a Cambridge graduate and a passionate admirer of classical literature, she does not shy away from children’s “toilet” humor in her stories about an ugly nanny with a stick and warts (who she herself plays). The main thing that strikes Emma Thompson is how easy it is to feel in her company.
In the spacious suite of the London Dorchester Hotel, where she has several meetings with journalists today, quite a lot of people have gathered by the time I arrive: someone is arranging flowers, someone is collecting equipment after a photo shoot, someone is bringing coffee. I’m sure some, like me, see Emma for the first time in their lives. But the feeling is that she has known everyone present for a long time. And maybe even distantly related. There is something in this 54-year-old blonde that will remind everyone of someone close: a friend, mother, first teacher. Or is it a hairstyle that stubbornly maintains a completely human mess despite the efforts of stylists. Whether easy clumsiness in movements. Whether attentive eyes …
Psychologies: In the new film Saving Mr. Banks, you were so convincingly grumpy as Pamela Travers that it seems that there really is such a trait in your character …
Emma Thompson: Of course have! (She instantly transforms, changing facial expressions and voice.) What do you think, it’s a great pleasure for me to sit here chatting with you? Yes, I already have all these interviews in my liver. And you are also dressed like a scarecrow. How did you even think of wearing these shoes with this dress! ..
There you go, that’s exactly what I meant!
THIS.: I’m good at it, huh? (Laughs) My husband, by the way, thinks that Travers and I have a lot in common. He told me: “But you also write about a magical nanny. Is it that behind every magical nanny there is a grouchy old purse?” To tell the truth, it’s nice to be such an absurd person for a change. It is a huge relief to be able to be rude to someone at least once in your life without any consequences. That’s part of the reason why I took on this role. When I saw the script, I immediately said: “Of course, I will act. You don’t even have to pay me.” They did, however, pay. They insisted on it a lot. So in vain everyone complains that there are no good roles for women of my age.
You want to say that you are at least quite calm about your age?
THIS.: Well, of course. I think that all this panic about aging exists today because we are instilled with a stereotype from childhood: only people of a certain age category really live. And the rest – so, live out their lives. Indeed, even in fairy tales, all these “lived happily ever after” come when the heroes are 20 years old. And that’s it, it all ends there. But after all, in those fabulous times, people lived, God forbid, up to 40. And today, at this moment, the fun begins! I personally like my age. And you know, it seems that I even managed to grow up – despite all my efforts to resist this process.
What is the difference between you today and you, say, 30 years ago?
THIS.: I think it’s big. Motherhood, marriage, work, and all the hard decisions that one has to make during one’s life, of course, are a great change of perspective. You begin to understand some simple things. Here, for example, that love is like washing dishes: the plates will not wash themselves, and relationships will not build themselves if nothing is done for this. But most importantly, over the years I have learned not to take myself seriously. When I was young, I worried a lot about what other people thought of me. And now I just live my life and let myself fool around. Folly is one of the most beautiful things in the world. And for some reason people always limit themselves in this.
Actress, philologist, writer…
Emma Thompson was born on April 15, 1959 in London to actors Eric Thompson and Phyllida Lo. While studying English literature at the University of Cambridge, Thompson met actor Hugh Laurie, with whom she briefly had a romantic relationship. In the 1980s, she played in the theater, as well as in serials on the BBC channel. On the set of one of them, Emma began an affair with actor and director Kenneth Branagh, and in 1989 they got married. For her role in the Hollywood film “Howards End” (1992), Thompson received an Oscar. And the second “Oscar” she was awarded for the best adapted screenplay for the film “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), in which she played one of the main roles. During filming, she divorced Branagh and met actor Greg Wise, who later became her second husband. Their daughter Gaia was born in 1999, and in 2003 they adopted a teenager from Rwanda, Tindieboua Agaba. Today, Thompson has about 60 roles in film and television. In 2012, she wrote the sequel to Beatrix Potter’s acclaimed Peter Rabbit series.
Read more:
- Michael Fassbender: “I owe a lot to my naivete”
My humor
And how often do you allow yourself to do stupid things?
THIS.: Oh, that’s all I do from morning till night. Here, recently, I got a huge zucchini, friends brought from their garden. I didn’t really want to cook it, I was about to throw it away. And my son strongly criticized me for this – they say, how is it that food cannot be thrown away. Then I just put this zucchini in his bed, since he is so dear to him. It was very funny when he was going to sleep, and under the covers this huge green thing! Then the whole family picked up the baton, and this zucchini wandered around the house for some time – either in the toilet, or in my mother’s bedroom.
As far as I know, you do not miss the opportunity to joke in public. Is it true that at the premiere of one of your films you performed an incendiary dance, using a lamppost instead of a pole?
THIS.: Truth. I am a clown at heart, so when I came across such a beautiful prop, I just could not pass by. At these events, everyone is so solemn and serious that it even reduces the cheekbones. And pulls to throw out some number to slow down the pathos. Psychologists would say it’s a defense mechanism. I guess it is, because I feel stupid when I have to portray a glamorous beauty in front of the cameras. And then, making people laugh is a wonderful thing. Every joke is a kind of rebellion against reality.
“I FEEL INCREDIBLY STUPID WHEN I NEED TO PICTURE A GLAMOR BEAUTY IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA. MAKING PEOPLE MIX, I THINK IT’S A BEAUTIFUL ACTIVITY”
You started your acting career with sketches in the Cambridge student troupe with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.
THIS.: Yes, I realized quite early on that this was my forte. Somehow I fell head over heels in love with a guy who dated a ballerina, and complained to my friends: where am I before her? And they say to me: “Just think, a ballerina! But it’s fun with you, it attracts much more. ” I don’t know if this is true, but I really am proud of the ability to make me laugh. By the way, I noticed an interesting thing. Male and female humor are completely different in structure. It’s like an orgasm: male humor is directed to the finale, to the climactic phrase, followed by laughter, relaxation. And the female one is rather cyclical and tied around the character himself. Here you laugh, there you laugh, and then bam – and you already laugh at the top of your voice. It is possible that there is a physiological explanation for this. After all, laughter and orgasm are somewhat related phenomena.
Read more:
- Colin Firth: “I’m tired of being serious!”
My religion
Do you sometimes think about serious things? For example, about philosophy or religion?
THIS.: Well, from orgasm to religion is a rather unexpected turn. But why not? Okay, here’s one story. At the age of 16 I had one very believing girlfriend, and then I became very interested in Christianity. The idea of some benevolent force controlling everything seemed so reassuring. I started going to the vicar, asking him all sorts of questions. The decisive moment was when I asked if my gay uncle would go to heaven, and the priest hesitated: “Not really.” Then I decided that if my uncle, who was the most beautiful person and suffered enough during his lifetime because of other people’s prejudices, cannot get there, then I don’t need to. So since then I’ve been a convinced atheist. And it’s not just that I don’t believe in God, I’m not satisfied with the question itself. In my opinion, today the Bible or the Koran there, to put it mildly, is not enough to have an effective moral guide in life. We must rely primarily on what is within ourselves.
That is, to determine their own destiny.
THIS.: I believe that fate is to some extent determined by how we live, our daily behavior. Sometimes rock takes the form of our own habits, routines. Therefore, in order to deceive him, this routine must be broken. Then, perhaps, fate will turn in a different direction.
Have you already done this?
THIS.: For me, the birth of my daughter was such a turning point. It was like an awakening… No, more like an explosion. Having a baby is like swallowing a grenade, your whole inner world flies upside down. With the advent of Gaia, I can no longer afford to be as selfish and self-contained as I used to be.
My kids
Are you a strict mother or are you in favor of giving children more freedom?
THIS.: Perhaps the relationship between authority and freedom is a key issue for any parent. It is clear that some kind of boundaries are necessary, because complete freedom is really a heavy burden. In addition, it is the boundaries that make the child rebel, and this is a very important moment for the formation of personality. But I try not to overdo it with prohibitions and go for it only in case of emergency – that is, when it comes to safety. I remember the only time my mother spanked me. Our house did not have a garden, the porch went straight to the street, and every now and then I ran out to play on the road. Mom could not wean me from this in any way and, once again pulling me by the scruff of the neck almost from under the wheels of the car, in her hearts she slapped me on the pope. Then I, of course, was terribly offended, but now I understand her. As for the rest, I sometimes try to give in to my daughter so that she feels her power over her own life.
“GIVING A CHILD IS LIKE SWALLOWING A GRANATE: YOU CAN BE NEITHER SELFISH NOR SELF-LOCKED ALREADY”
In what, for example, are you willing to make concessions?
THIS.: When Gaia was eight years old, she began to beg me to buy her shoes with heels. This, of course, is bad for the back, but I decided – okay, since she likes them so much. Yes, and she puts them on a couple of times a year for going to a Chinese restaurant next door. As a child, my mother never allowed me to wear heels – maybe that’s why I still don’t know how to walk on them.
A few years ago you started writing for children. Did the birth of your daughter inspire you?
THIS.: In fact, I started writing the script for the first part of My Nanny Horrible long before Gaia appeared. And in general, I never write specifically for children. I want my stories to be understandable and close to people of any age. I would even say that films about Nanny McPhee are lessons for adults rather than for children. They remind us that behind the so-called “difficult children” there are always “difficult adults” – parents, teachers. The origins of the problems must be sought in them. That is, in yourself.
Read more:
- Hugh Laurie: “I have someone to love”
the main role
“Save Mr Banks”
The plot is based on the story of the creation of the classic Disney musical “Mary Poppins”. Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) promised his daughters to make a film based on their favorite book, but faced desperate resistance from the author, the wayward British Pamela Travers (Thompson), who did not want her creation to be “spoiled” by Hollywood tinsel. The brilliant acting duo Thompson and Hanks were accompanied by Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman and Colin Farrell.
Directed by John Lee Hancock.
Available from January 23st.