For decades nowEmma Thompsonhas redefined what it means to be a triple threat.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you first get involved with this project?
Were you a fan of Ian McEwans work already?EMMA THOMPSON: Yes!
Credit: A24
I was always a fan of Ians and met him years and years ago actually.
We were both doing a strange talk show back in the day.
At that time, he was more established than I was, and he was terribly nice to me.
I remember thinking, Thats a nice man, and then I read all of his books.
So Id readChildren Actwhen [director] Richard [Eyre] asked me to do it.
It was a no-brainer really.
It was, Yes, like, where do I sign?
I wouldnt have thought of her as an atheist.
Someone who takes faith very seriously.
A lot of the time people dont.
Theyre sort of sidelined and belittled and ridiculed.
Otherwise, theyre very unlikely to survive.
Were human, and we change, and we get older.
We change our minds.
We become different in all sorts of ways.
There are all sorts of things that can happen to people.
They can become ill.
They can lose a leg.
Everything can change and does change.
[It] explodes, knocks her off balance, but then she still has to work.
Its cost her a lot to get there as it is.
The woman judges I know are incredibly lucky because they have very, very supportive husbands.
Jacks been very supportive of her.
He must have been.
Otherwise, they just wouldnt have managed really.
The commitment shes had to show, the work level is just incredible.
Its such a demanding job.
We talked a lot about the law.
We talked about the people and the personalities that weve met.
I cant imagine having that kind of responsibility.
Nor the sort of pressure that might put upon your consciousness.
Shes not used to being questioned anymore.
The pillar upon which she rests everything is this massively, almost swollen sense of personal responsibility.
You sing onscreen here, thats not something we get to see you do often.
I used to do it much more than I do now.
Just a few years ago I didSweeney Todd.That was an amazing experience.
That was more intimidating, but it still is always scary.
Playing the piano at the same time as singing, that was a lot of rehearsal.
That took me six months to really get that under my skin.
Because we shot it live.
Thats how it was performed on the day as it were.
You re going to make mistakes, and those mistakes contain a lot of the emotion of that scene.
