Dame Emma Thompson is set to have her first on-screen nude scenes in her latest movie, but reveals she was never asked to do them before as she ‘doesn’t conform’ to what male execs think people want to see.
The actress, 63, stars in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, where she plays a 55-year-old retired widow who hires a male sex worker help her finally have an orgasm.
The film was created by screenwriter Katy Brand and director Sophie Hyde, and tells the story of a retired RE teacher who seeks the human connection and playfulness she was deprived of in her marriage to her late husband.
It will mark Dame Emma’s first time baring all on camera, as she told she had ‘never really been offered’ sex scenes in films before, and has played ‘good’ women.
She added: ‘I have also they might want to see n**ed.n**ed. And by “they”, I mean male executives.
‘I’m too mouthy, not pretty enough, not the right kind of body. And, crikey, you are constantly told what kind of body you have.’
Towards the end of the film, and examines her body, marvelling on what it is capable of.
Dame Emma admitted that she has never been able to do the same without judging her body, explaining: ‘When I’m looking in the mirror, I’m always trying to make myself look “better” – turning this way or that, checking out my a**e, pulling something in.
‘Simply revealing my utter incapacity to accept my body as it is.’
The actress revealed that she had chosen to take on the role to address the taboos relating to female sexuality and pleasure.
She explained: ‘The energy that comes from one’s sort of perennial fury at what’s done in the world – to women in particular, but all injustice.
‘It informs my decisions and my writing and everything I do. Maybe it would be nice to ignore it. But for me, it’s just not possible.’
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is released in cinemas on June 17.
