The always gracious, funny, amazing and talented Emma Thompson is adding some new jobs to her resume over the past few weeks. At the Golden Globes, she seemed like the head cheerleader, or den mother, to younger (mostly British) actresses. Now it appears she’s adding another title: Defender of Madonna. Thompson recently spoke out about Madonna’s immediate post-separation statement that Guy Ritchie was “emotionally retarded”.

Actress Emma Thompson felt a rapport with Madonna when the pop superstar publicly referred to her ex-husband Guy Ritchie as “emotionally retarded”, because she thinks the same of her spouse, actor Greg Wise.

The Oscar winner admits she was stunned to hear Madonna’s comments on stage during her Sticky + Sweet world tour last October (08) just days after her separation from director Ritchie was announced.

But Thompson confesses the singer did have a point about many British males. She says, “I felt very badly for British men when she said that. I thought, ‘Well, it’s not across the board, but it is true that an awful lot of them are a bit kind of closed down.’”

And Thompson insists the problem lies with bad parenting. She adds, “I blame the class system, which resulted in two centuries of the most appalling parenting you could possibly imagine, with children being sent away to school at a very young age, which is a very odd habit when you think about it…I know that my father was quite reserved with his emotions. And so is my husband, too. I’ve been with him for 14 years now, and it’s sort of like living with a clam. I try and try and try to open the shell, and, yes, after all these years, I have managed to get it very slightly open – and then, sometimes, it shuts again and I have to start all over again.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with it, and very happily married. But it is the way it is.”

[From Contact Music]

You see, when she says it, it sounds great. But coming out Madonna’s mouth – well, let’s just say it didn’t seem this thoughtful or pleasant. It’s interesting to know that Greg Wise is a bit stuffy. That way, Emma gets to be the crazy-brilliant one. Awesome! But speaking of men who dated Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie (“House”) recently gave an interview to Playboy. He talks about how much fun he and Thompson had when they used to date.

Hugh Laurie looks back on his romance with ex-girlfriend Emma Thompson with fond memories. Laurie was Thompson’s first boyfriend at university.

And the House actor – who has been married to wife Jo Green since 1989 – enjoyed dating the Love Actually actress before they both became famous.

He tells Playboy, “Those were blissful days, I must say. We couldn’t even imagine a life in Hollywood back then. Hollywood was as distant and impossible as El Dorado.

“It was all about fun. Watching Emma was like watching the sun or wind or some other elemental force. Her talent even then was inescapable.”

[From Showbiz Spy]

Sigh. That’s how I imagine British men – romantic and lovely, not “emotionally retarded”. I wonder why Emma and Hugh ever split up? They were probably very lovely together. I guess she has to make do with Willoughby.

Here’s Emma Thompson arriving at the Ed Sullivan Theater for The David Letterman Show in New York on November 17th. Images thanks to WENN.

Last Chance Harvey trailer featuring Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman

I was pleasantly surprised to see a Best Actress – Comedy or Musical Golden Globe nomination announced for Emma Thompson yesterday morning. Surprised, because I had no idea that she was in this film with Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey. Now that I’ve looked it up, I really hope this small little film makes it my town because it sounds like a really sweet love story for adults.

Last Chance Harvey takes place in London, where Harvey (Hoffman) has traveled to attend his daughter’s wedding. Even though a wedding ought to be cause for celebration, Harvey’s world seems to be unraveling around him and he meets Kate (Thompson) just as he’s hit bottom (in a bar, naturally). The story looks sweet and hopeful with both of these tremendous actors sparking a nice chemistry together.

The film opens in limited release on Dec. 26.

[From Buzzsugar.com]

As it turns out, Thompson has done some limited press for the film in England and I found this cool little interview from Reuters UK.

THR: Emma, you grew up in a theatrical family.

Emma Thompson: Yes, I did. There was a lot of juggling before breakfast, I can tell you. (Laughs.) Like Sally, I wanted to be a comedian. My mom was an actress; my dad was an actor. I resisted it for a long time. I wanted to be a hospital administrator. A hospital administrator came to the school, and I thought, “Hmm, you get to control people. Very interesting.”

I always say to young people who want to be actors, “Have another string to your bow if you can. Train your brain if you can.” If I hadn’t trained my brain (at Cambridge University), then I don’t think I would have ever been able to write. Writing has freed me a lot.

THR: Has writing changed what you‘ve done as an actor?

Thompson: Not really. I love acting. For me, acting is an absolute release and writing is harder. But I discovered something about writing quite recently, which was, I’m prone to depression and to all sorts of mental illnesses. With writing, if you ever get sick, you can pick a pen up and say, “I have to write.” And you should certainly write your early experiences because they’re fascinating.

THR: Theatre or film, what do you prefer?

Thompson: I prefer film. Because I’m a morning person. I know that sounds utterly pathetic, but I did a musical for 15 months. Eight shows a week with Robert Lindsay in the West End, and I became clinically depressed even though I was being paid to be cheerful. But by the end of the night, you were ready to take morphine. So 15 months in, I thought, “I don’t think I can do that again.” Also, musicals are dreadfully hard. I had no life at all. I lived like a nun. I didn’t drink. I didn’t have sex. I was 24, for crying out loud. No wonder I was depressed.

THR: What do you do when a director has a different vision for a character?

Thompson: The capacity to be complicit, to make a plan with you, to play with you. Ang Lee, the first note he gave to me (on 1995′s “Sense and Sensibility”) was, “Could you do that again, but not so boring?” The next note was “Don’t look so old.” We used to shriek with laughter. But yes, that’s very useful. Because he wasn’t being mean, he was just being completely honest — and he couldn’t speak English very well.

THR: Does being well-known limit the roles you can play?

Thompson: I’m a character actress, always have been. So I don’t think I’ve had that problem. It’s much better to be a character actress.

[From Reuters UK/The Hollywood Reporter]

Can you imagine? Ang Lee calls you over and tells you that you’re old and boring? But she seems to laugh it off. Which is why she is a queen among peasants, and I’m not saying that in a snarky, Gwyneth Paltrow-ish way (Paltrow wishes). Thompson has two Oscars, one for adapting Sense & Sensibility, and one for Best Actress in Howard’s End. Both of which are amazing films, she does costume dramas very well. It’s still nice to see her play a modern character, and just imagining her being silly with Dustin Hoffman (one of the silliest men in Hollywood) has me giggling in anticipation. Emma’s rather famous for giving wonderful awards-acceptance speeches, so I’ll be rooting for her at the Golden Globes.

Here are stills from Last Chance Harvey, thanks to WENN.