Emma Thompson is sharing a surprising story from the late 1990s that involves a phone call from none other than President Donald Trump.
The Oscar-winning actress spoke about the encounter during the 78th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland on August 9, recalling that the call came on a memorable day in her personal life.
A Call She Didn’t Expect
At the time, Thompson was filming the 1998 comedy-drama Primary Colors when the phone rang in her trailer.
“It was Donald Trump,” Emma said. “He said, ‘Hello, this is Donald Trump.’ I thought it was a joke and asked, ‘How can I help you?’ Maybe he needed directions from someone.”
She realized her divorce decree from actor Kenneth Branagh had come through that day and joked Trump might have people scouting “a nice divorcee” to take out. “And he found the number in my trailer. I mean, that’s stalking,” she laughed. “I could have gone on a date with Donald Trump… I could have changed the course of American history.”
Where They Were in Life
In 1999, a year after Primary Colors premiered, Trump, now serving as President of the United States, finalized his own divorce from Marla Maples. Their relationship had begun in the late 1980s, and they married in 1993 before separating in 1997.
President Trump did not comment on Thompson’s recent anecdote, but in past interviews about his split with Maples, he wished her well and expressed happiness they had reached an agreement.
Emma’s Own Relationship Challenges
Thompson’s divorce from Branagh came after reports of his relationship with actress Helena Bonham Carter, his Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein co-star. While the situation was painful at the time, Thompson has since said she made peace with both Branagh and Bonham Carter years ago.
The actress even credited the experience with helping her portray an emotional scene in Love Actually, saying she drew from real feelings of heartbreak.
Life Since Then
All three have moved on to happy chapters. Thompson married actor Greg Wise, with whom she shares two children. Branagh wed film art director Lindsay Brunnock, and Bonham Carter was in a long-term relationship with director Tim Burton before moving on with writer Rye Dag Holmboe.
This candid story adds an unexpected footnote to Thompson’s life and shows how one surprising phone call can become a decades-later headline.