Donald Trump once tried to date Emma Thompson. The Oscar-winning actress revealed the story during the Locarno Film Festival.
“A phone rang in my trailer, and it was Donald Trump. I thought it was a joke. ‘Hi, it’s Donald Trump here,’” Thompson recalled. “I said, ‘How can I help you?’ I thought he needed directions. He said: ‘I would love for you to stay in one of my beautiful places, and maybe we could have dinner.’”
It happened on the same day her divorce was finalized. “I bet he has people looking all over for suitable people he could take out, for all these nice divorcees — I mean, he found the number of my trailer! That’s stalking! So yes, I could have gone on a date with Donald Trump. I could have changed the course of American history!”
Thompson, who began as a comedian, has long mixed political humor into her work. “I did jokes about Margaret Thatcher and herpes. I said that Thatcher and herpes were both very difficult to get rid of. It still stands to this day.”
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
She recalled her unusual path to acting, saying she once considered becoming a hospital administrator “mostly because she had nice shoes.” But acclaimed roles in Howards End and The Remains of the Day soon followed, with the latter inspired by her grandmother’s story of hardship and abuse as a young servant.
Thompson’s career later took her to Hollywood, where she starred in Primary Colors during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. “We sat down thinking: ‘What are we going to do?’ We are making a film about something that’s happening at the same time.”
Her work has ranged from Harry Potter — which she described as “doing the bit with glasses and hair and leaving” — to the heartfelt Nanny McPhee, which she wrote. She said the story was about grief and connected to losing her father when she was young.
She’s also known for Love Actually, a film she never expected would become a holiday classic. “I think I’ve touched a nerve because we, women, when we are experiencing heartbreak, sometimes we have to hide it. What moves you is not her crying, it’s her covering it up.”
More recently, Thompson played an older woman seeking sexual fulfillment in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. She described it as a story about fear, body image, and late-life discovery. One scene showed her standing naked in front of a mirror. “It was about someone having this neutral acceptance. And God knows it’s hard.”
At Locarno, she picked up the Leopard Club Award and reflected on her career. “Most of the women I know are incredibly heroic. And the fact that [this character] was old and grieving, I haven’t seen it before.”
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
