But Thompson also has a long history with another great British writer: Shakespeare.
Until recently, Thompson hadnt done Shakespeare on screen since, not that it was a personal choice.
Nobody asked, she tells EW.
Credit: Ed Miller/Amazon Studios
I never intentionally take a break from anything.
It just happens, you know?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What about this adaptation appealed to you?
We had always said, Whenever we get the chance, lets do something else.
[Thompson won an Oscar for Best Actress opposite Hopkins in 1992sHowards End.]
Suddenly, this wonderful piece came along and we felt so fortunate.
Tony, whos an extraordinary actor and person, was so generous and so wonderful to watch.
Every take he would give everything that he had.
Goodness me, it was an extraordinary thing watching him do it.
I thought [director] Richard [Eyres] vision was so clever.
It was so resonant and ghostly and amazing.
Theyve had enough of him, his childishness.
Everything about it makes it very, very clear that theyve had it up to the eyeballs.
We felt very clear about why they behaved the way they behaved.
Yes, theyre very cruel….
When something makes emotional sense, theres no problem with it, really.
you’re able to see her rage and her unhappiness make absolute sense.
She wasnt hard to inhabit in that sense.
I wasnt thinking, Oh my God, Im playing a monster.
Shes following suit, isnt she?
Shes been taught by masters.
Why do you think that is?
Our leaders are all over the place right now.
Because were really in trouble.
There are so many corollaries, arent there?
So its not surprising, is it?
Its a dark vision.
All the more important now.
