The actress turned down the US president’s invitation, but jokes she might have “changed the course of American history.”
The idea of President Donald Trump and Dame Emma Thompson as a couple might stretch the “opposites attract” theory to its limits.
According to The Telegraph, The 66-year-old actress revealed that Trump once personally invited her to dinner—on the very day she finalized her divorce.
Speaking at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, Thompson recalled being in her trailer during filming of Primary Colors—the 1998 film loosely inspired by Bill Clinton’s path to the White House—when the phone rang.
“It was Donald Trump,” she said. “He said: ‘Hello, this is Donald Trump.’ I thought it was a joke. I asked: ‘How can I help you?’ Maybe he needed directions or something.
Then he said: ‘I’d love you to come and stay at one of my beautiful places. Maybe we could have dinner.’ I replied: ‘Well, that’s very sweet. Thank you so much. I’ll get back to you.’”
At the time, Trump had recently separated from his second wife, Marla Maples, and was expanding his New York property empire. Thompson, meanwhile, had ended her marriage to actor Kenneth Branagh in 1995 and was in a relationship with co-star Greg Wise, whom she later married.
Reflecting on the timing, Thompson said:
“I realised that on that day, my divorce decree had come through. I bet he had people looking for suitable women to take out—someone like a nice divorcee.”
Laughing, she added: “And he found my number in the trailer. I mean, that’s stalking.”
A lifelong Labour supporter and outspoken activist, Thompson joked to the festival audience:
“If I’d gone on that date with Donald Trump, I could have changed the course of American history.”
Thompson also spoke about her enduring surprise at the lasting popularity of Love Actually, in which she starred alongside Alan Rickman.
“It’s honestly a constant source of astonishment to me that the film has lasted. I like it very much, but it’s weird,” she said, noting that the scene where her character discovers her partner’s infidelity resonates deeply with viewers. “It touched a nerve, especially for women, because we often have to hide heartbreak.”
The Locarno Film Festival honoured Thompson with the Leopard Club Award for her career achievements.
