Emma Thompson revealed in an interview with Sweden’s SVT this week that she turned down a date with Donald Trump while filming 1998’s “Primary Colors.”
Bullet, dodged. Or maybe not.
Joking with the talk show hosts, Thompson said, “I wish I had [accepted] ― think of the stories!”
The invitation had come in the form of a surprise phone call, the “Beauty and the Beast” and “Love Actually” actress explained. She hadn’t ever met Trump.
“The phone rings in my trailer, which it’s never done before, so it’s like a moose had just entered my trailer,” Thompson said. She had divorced actor Kenneth Branagh in 1995, while Trump had announced his separation from second wife Marla Maples in May 1997.
“I lift up the phone. ‘Hi, it’s Donald Trump here.’ I said, ‘Really? Well, can I help you?’” she continued. Oddly, the call came while Thompson was filming a movie based loosely on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, with her character modeled on Hillary Clinton.
“He said, ‘Yeah, I wonder if I could offer you some accommodation in one of my Trump Towers. They’re really comfortable.’ And I said, ‘Why are you offering me somewhere to stay, in my trailer?’”
Thompson recalled the reply: “I think we would get on very well, maybe we could have dinner sometime.”
“I didn’t know what to do with myself,” she said. “I was on my own and I just said, ‘Erm, I’ll get back to you.’”
Clearly, nothing came of it. The actress, who says she still hasn’t ever met Trump, is currently married to actor-producer Greg Wise, while Trump is famously married to his third wife, Melania. But that won’t stop us from imagining a first lady Emma Thompson.
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