Emma Thompson is nothing short of a Hollywood icon. The 63-year-old British actress has been in the business since the early ’90s and has proved she is full of surprises. From Nanny McPhee to Junior to Love Actually to Treasure Planet, Emma has shown us all there is no role she cannot totally master.
Now, the actress is getting candid about her most sexually liberated role yet in her newly released film, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.
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It’s no exaggeration when I tell you everyone loves Emma Thompson.
With a career that has spanned four decades, it’s hard to think of someone who couldn’t find at least one film of hers they adore.
For me, it’s Love Actually — of course. I’m only human, after all!
However, I’m going to go so far as to say that I think her new movie, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” might become my next favorite.
While speaking with Page Six at the Tribecca Film Festival, Emma explained the importance of the film and its exploration into the world of female sexual satisfaction, or lack thereof.
The film’s concept follows the Oscar winner as she plays a widow named Nancy who, after an unfulfilling sex life in her marriage, hires the titular character, a young sex worker, in hopes of enjoying a night of fun.
Don’t mind me I’m actually just going to purchase my tickets right now.
Emma began by pointing out the (rather obvious) orgasm gap that many women experience with their partners.
“I’ve always been interested in the sort of ostracization really of sexual sort of matters,” she explained. “We don’t talk about it nearly enough. And female sexual pleasure is not on the top of anybody’s list.”
The “Harry Potter” star went on to argue that “nobody cares” about women’s satisfaction in the bedroom.
“In the cultures that we live in, across the globe actually, the religious and patriarchal structures that we live in, female sexual pleasure is often actively discouraged,” she said.
“What’s so wonderful about this movie is it’s about a woman who normally if you see her in a film is a supporting character, supporting someone who’s doing the interesting thing,” the “Love Actually” star explained.
“But this time, this woman is doing the interesting thing and the radical thing and the revolutionary thing and saying, ‘ There is something I would like. I’m going to try to find it.’”
When asked if she felt embarrassed at all while filming the sex scenes, Emma scoffed.
“Why would I be embarrassed? I’m an actor; this is my profession. My job is to present a human being, so no. I think that because the movie is about a conversation and the development of an intimacy that’s not romantic, but it is very intimate.”
Okay, I’m already hooked!
Considering the fact that women over a certain age of barely represented in Hollywood, let alone represented in such a sexually liberated way, it’s easy to see why “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” is being praised for breaking barriers and stereotypes.
Way to go, Emma!
h/t: Page Six
