Emma Thompson deals humiliating blow to Donald Trump | UK News

Emma Thompson has revealed she once turned down a dinner date with Donald Trump – in a rejection she joked might have modified the course of American political historical past. Speaking at the Locarno Film Festival, the Oscar-winning actor recalled an sudden telephone call from the future US president while she was filming the 1998 political satire Primary Colors. The call, she said, got here the very same day her divorce from Kenneth Branagh was finalised. According to The Telegraph, the 66-year-old – who obtained the Leopard Club Award on August 8 – was sitting in her trailer when the telephone rang. “Hello, this is Donald Trump,” the voice said. Thinking it was a prank, Thompson replied: “‘How can I help you?’ Maybe he needed directions from someone.”

Instead, Trump’s voice continued: “I’d love you to come and stay at one of my beautiful places. Maybe we could have dinner.” Thompson politely declined, saying: “That’s very sweet. Thank you so much. I’ll get back to you.” It was only later that she realised the call was real. Trump had just cut up from Marla Maples and, Thompson suspected, was trying for a “nice divorcée” to step out with. “I bet he had people searching for suitable women,” she said, including: “You know, a nice divorcée, that’s what he was looking for. He even found the number for my trailer! That’s stalking.”

Laughing at the reminiscence, Thompson mirrored on how different historical past might need been had she accepted. “I could have gone on a date with Donald Trump. I could have changed the course of American history!”

Thompson also recalled how the Monica Lewinsky scandal exploded while she was capturing Primary Colors – a story that in the end led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment.

She famous the uncanny parallels between the real-life drama and the movie’s plot, quipping that it might be a reduction if the most important downside in politics today was “just a sex scandal” relatively than the “everything else going on”.

The acclaimed actress’s personal life has also been carefully adopted over the years. She met Branagh in 1987 while filming Fortunes of War, marrying him two years later before their 1995 cut up following his affair with Helena Bonham Carter. Thompson later married actor Greg Wise in 2003.

Although widely recognised for her function in the Harry Potter movies, Thompson was frank about her restricted involvement. “This is not really an important part of my creative endeavour,” she said. “I’m really sorry. I don’t mean to be rude to those of you who like Harry Potter, but you know, I really came in, did a bit with glasses and hair, and then left, having been quite well paid.” She added: “I’m very grateful to them.”

During the pageant look, Thompson seemed back on her decades-long profession, from her start as a politically minded comic to her acclaimed performances in Howards End, The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility, and Love Actually.