Emma Thompson Interview
Emma Thompson has always moved me from the time I saw her
mesmerizing performance in the Grand Auditorium in
Cannes for Howards End and The Remains of the Day to
this totally wild ride of Stranger Than Fiction at the super tonic and refreshing Toronto Film Festival (www.tiffg.ca ).
IFQ: Stranger Than Fiction is about a man whose life is written by your character, a fiction writer. Do you have the feeling that someone writes your life or that you’re in charge of your
destiny?
Emma Thompson: Well, it’s quite a complicated question and
therefore not easy to answer. I think that in a way
our destiny is written and dictated by the way we live
our lives. I think our destiny lays in our daily habits. There are people you can tell about
[their destiny] because it’s clear. Like my character,
for example, the way she lives her life, always on the
edge and over smoking, it’s clear her destiny is to die
or kill herself. As far as the character played by
Will Farrell, it’s clear his destiny, because he is so
tight and obsessive, will be an empty destiny, an
empty life, without any love and any family. This is
what sometimes kills you – your own habits, your own
routine. I think that to free yourself in a way from
your destiny, you need to trick death and
break the routine. Then you will change the path of
your life, of your destiny. Maybe you will reach another
destination. In a way we can write the story
of our lives at all times. I do write the story of my
life in my head everyday. I think that our destiny
is also linked to our ability to open our minds and
hearts to others, to our fellow men and women.
IFQ: You narrate the life of the character [Harold Crick] played by Will Ferrell. What voice would you select to narrate your life?
ET: I would choose someone like Simone De
Beauvoir, someone European, probably French. I feel
so close to French women. I studied all these
European writers when I was a student and I have
always been fascinated by the softness and kindness of
their voices.
IFQ: The movie is about an awakening, not only
the opening as you mentioned, but about the awakening
of this man to face himself and his destiny. When did
you awake in your life? What made you realize that you were
alive and you needed to change your life?
ET: For me, it was when I got my kid. It was
not a soft awakening, but more like a bomb! My daughter,
who is 6 years old, is my inspiration in my
life. She is the motor, the propulsion and the motivation
of my life. She really brings me up. As before, I cannot act
and remain selfish and introverted. It is a total awakening when you
have kids.
IFQ: The movie is about the lack of communication in society and how everyone lives in his/her own isolated bubble. Do you agree?
ET: You’re absolutely right. It’s true that this is
a sad phenomenon and especially in the big cities. I
think it is sad that people don’t realize that we
all need each other and we all make one and to
survive we need to come together.
IFQ: The movie holds a thesis of some sort about
“death.” Would you like to know when you’re going to die? And if so, what would you
do?
ET: I don’t want to know when I’m going to die,
especially because I have a kid now. I think that the
answer would be different if I didn’t have a kid, but
I feel responsible to stay alive as long as I can.
If I didn’t have a kid, I would lead a totally
different type of life, spending time with friends and
eating too much chocolate! As far as what I would do
if I knew I was going to die? Well, I really don’t
want to know that I’m going to die, so I don’t want to
really think about what I would do!