‘I’VE NEVER FELT SO POWERFUL AND SO CALM’
says our cover star Dame Emma Thompson
We love Emma Thompson for breaking our hearts (that crying scene in Love Actually) just as much as we love her for her passion for good causes. And when Britain’s newest Dame invited Good Housekeeping into her home for a cup of tea, we discovered she’s just as we’d hoped she would be…
‘It’s grounding having a temperamental boiler,’ says Emma Thompson, who is perched on a kitchen worktop, twiddling knobs and searching for any sign of a pilot light. We’re in her office on the same street in north London where she lives, having an afternoon cuppa. She’s made the tea and organised sticky patisserie tarts and chocolate biscuits. As far as hosts go, she’s impeccable. And as far as downto-earth national treasures go, she’s one of the best.
There are no airs and graces, which makes her engaging company. When it was announced she was being made a Dame in the Birthday Honours list, she reacted with her signature brand of self-deprecating humour, saying, ‘It’s a huge honour. I’ve always wanted to be able to refer to myself as a dame. Small D. Dame with a capital D is even more thrilling. I was, however, disappointed it didn’t come with a castle! I plan to go on being very difficult, just in case anyone was wondering if it might shut me up.’
Emma, 59, comes from a thespian background. She’s the daughter of actor Phyllida Law and Eric Thompson, who created
The Magic Roundabout. Her first husband was Sir Kenneth Branagh, and she’s now married to actor Greg Wise. Their daughter, Gaia, is 18 and they also informally adopted a son, Tindy, 31, a former Rwandan refugee.
Her stellar career includes two Oscar wins (Best Actress for
Howards End and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense And Sensibility) as well as stand out
roles in Remains Of The Day and Nanny Mcphee. She’s back on the big screen this month in The
Children Act, an adaptation of Ian Mcewan’s bestselling novel about a judge ruling on difficult family cases while dealing with the breakdown of her own marriage.
Across the kitchen table, Dame (with a capital D) Emma talks about staying grounded, her guilty pleasures and not taking her happy marriage for granted.
You’re an Oscar winner and hugely popular. What do you think is key to your appeal? You’d probably know more than me! I’ve always lived here [in the UK] and I’ve always lived in the same street. I’m very close to my roots, so I suppose I haven’t been allowed to become too much of a plonker. I think it’s very easy to become one if you’re successful, rich or lauded in any profession actually, but in ours, definitely.
What helps to keep you grounded?
I’ve got Mr Carmelli, the local car mechanic up the street, who’s been yelling at me for years since I was a child. ‘What are you wearing that for?’ ‘Why haven’t you got any children?’ ‘What are you trying to stop the war for? You’re so stupid!’ But I’m sure I’ve gone through phases of being perfectly frightful.
And being close to your family is clearly part of it, too…
Definitely. I live in a house more or less like the one I grew up in. My sister’s very close, too, and so are my nephews. My son lives up the road, my sister-in-law, who died in 2016, was down the road. There’s also an extended family up in Scotland as my mum’s Scottish. I think we’ll go there a lot more now Gaia’s 18 – she’s not leaving home yet, but she’s going to university, hopefully.
Is the idea of having that empty nest a worry?
It does feel funny sometimes. I think it’ll be very strange, but we’ve always lived such odd lives, with bits going on here and there. With friends who’ve got much more regular employment, the empty nest syndrome’s more noticeable because they’ve got a really specific pattern of work, whereas I don’t. Everything’s changing all the time, so I reckon people who are self-employed in the kind of work that we
do are more accustomed to that.
So do you think it’s easier to adapt as an actor?
You’ve got to be ready to be anywhere and pretend to be someone else. We’re quite good at adapting, so I’ll just have to pretend to be someone who hasn’t got any children again. Easy!
What was it like playing such a powerful role as a judge in The Children Act?
It was great. The book is so good and clear and clean. Ian Mcewan’s writing is like looking into a limpid pool. He just writes so well and so cleanly. I think that the best bit was learning about the family court. I met really admirable, extraordinary women of the law. I made friends with two women judges who I admire so much. They work really hard, day and night. They’re remarkable. Absolutely the best thing about that job was meeting these women and discovering their lives.
The gender pay gap is finally being discussed openly. Is it something you have experienced?
Of course. I was always paid less than my male counterparts. If we had financial transparency across the board, even with regard to our taxes and what they’re spent on and all the money spent by the Government, we’d be so much better off. Publishing figures is the first step. It’s a forensic way of looking at how women are second-class citizens and I really appreciate that because it’s not emotional. This is the fact: this person does the same work for less money, and that’s just wrong.
Will it change your approach to what you earn?
I’m about to do a film where I think I’m going to get paid the most, so I’m not going to ask any questions about that at all! I’m going to
[continued from previous page] take the money and run… [Laughs.] I also think you need to keep putting inclusion riders (a clause that ensures production staff meet certain levels of diversity) into your contract so they can’t hire you unless they have that.
What do you think makes a woman independent?
Money! Earn your own living and keep your own money. It’s your cash and you should always decide what to do with it. In our society it’s certainly true, but in all societies I’ve had the privilege of ever visiting all over the world, that is the key – you must be able to earn your own money, otherwise you cannot be independent. So I think that’s the most important thing.
How do you keep fit and healthy?
I’ve always been into exercise. I do yoga and Pilates and I really enjoy it. Just do it if you enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, find something else. I bung music on and bounce around – my favourite exercise is dancing!
So it’s important to you that you look after yourself…
If I don’t, I can’t work. So I try to be as healthy as possible. Plus my dad died young and I don’t want to do the same. I think if that was to happen then my kids would mind. I feel like my work here is not quite done, put it that way. So that’s why I look after myself.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Booze.
What’s your favourite drink?
Wine. If I had to choose a spirit, I’d go for a really good gin. My sister gave me some rosemaryflavoured gin for my birthday, which is absolutely gorgeous. I’m not a whisky drinker or a beer drinker; my husband is, but I love good wine. When I say good, it doesn’t have to be expensive, just well-produced wine. Wine’s my vice. Actually, I don’t think it is a vice, I really don’t.
How do you feel about getting older?
I’ve never felt so powerful and calm. I just don’t care because I’m too old. It’s such a great feeling. You don’t get to judge me. I’m my own person, I don’t care what you think. I put as much thought as I’m sure you do into decisions in life, I try to balance stuff out, I don’t get too wound up or bruised about the mistakes that I make, I’m not a perfectionist and I’m never too hard on myself. It’s all very well saying, ‘I don’t care what anybody thinks,’ but the most important thing is not to care about the little voice in your head. That’s the voice you need to be able to ignore and that’s the voice I’ve learnt to ignore over the last 20 years.
You’ve been married to Greg for 15 years. Do you still celebrate your anniversaries?
Not really. We do our ‘when we got together’ anniversary. God, is it really so long? Jesus. I really do forget, and sometimes we forget our anniversary as well – we’re not very good at that.
Even so, what’s the secret to a happy relationship?
Just lots of times of being unhappy and ambling through to the other side. You’ve got to hold on through the bad bits, and if you get through to the other side it’s always better. I think people in long, happy marriages tell a lot of fibs, like, ‘Yes, it’s been marvellous,’ whereas I say, ‘No, sometimes it’s been awful.’ I hope it carries on, but we don’t know. We’re very clear about it, we say, ‘Well this is nice, isn’t it?’ We don’t take anything for granted.
What does success mean to you?
For me, it’s a kind of peace of mind when you know everyone’s okay in the family. I’ve got a checklist I do at the end of the day and I suppose that’s the definition to me of a peaceful, successful day. I know that sounds odd, but I don’t mean to say that I expect there’s going to be some ghastly disaster all the time. There have already been many, so it’s quite surprising that I’m not constantly in fear of everyone dropping off the tree young. But if I get to the end of the day and everyone’s okay, I think, ‘That’s great, I’ll go to bed with my Philippa Gregory book now.’ That’s a guilty pleasure of mine, actually, historical novels. I love her. I do balance it out with a bit of Rebecca Solnit, though.
What do you see as your ‘third act’?
I’ve started to develop a musical version of Nanny Mcphee. That’s something I’ve never done before. I grew up surrounded by thespians so I feel as though it’s a natural place for me. The fact is I’ve done a lot more film than I’ve done theatre, but to be in that situation feels to me like a different story and one that I loved. So watch this space.
I’M NOT A PERFECTIONIST AND I’M NEVER TOO HARD ON MYSELF
The Children Act is in cinemas 24 August