Emma Thompson Says She Felt 'Free' After Turning 60: 'I'm Not Really Scared Anymore'

Glenn Garner
·2 min read
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Dame Emma Thompson has captivated audiences for years, and recently described turning 60 as "a watershed" moment.

In her interview with British Vogue, the two-time Academy Award winner, 62 said "I think what I feel principally now is free" in a new chapter of life.

Thompson, who stars alongside Emma Stone in Cruella, which premieres on May 28 in theaters and on Disney+, also said that she is not like her fashion icon character.

"I am uncomfortable trying to look slim and fashionable because I am not, and now it's allowed that I am not," she said, noting that she'd rather perform than pose. "I fancy a bit of fun."

For the British Vogue shoot, Thompson expertly served couture by Schiaparelli and Giambattista Valli, which she said was "welded to my post-menopausal body and looking like a Christmas pony."

RELATED: Emma Thompson Gives Emma Stone Some Killer Advice as They Face Off in New Cruella Trailer

Walt Disney Studios

She also shared that she doesn't sweat the small stuff anymore, including death. "I'm not really scared anymore," she mused. "Well, I get scared ... I feel like I could die at any time. Then COVID turned up. I've had pneumonia, so I thought I'd better be careful, but no one's through the woods yet. Anyone could die of this thing."

Thompson added, "I feel interestingly impermanent. Which is odd given I've been a permanent fixture here for decades."

The Late Night actress has been candid about aging in Hollywood over the years. "The age thing is insane," she told Vulture in 2015. "It was ever thus. I remember saying years and years ago, when I was 35, that they'd have to exhume somebody to play my leading man. Nothing's changed in that regard. If anything, it's got worse."

RELATED VIDEO: Emma Thompson Reveals She Once Threatened to Quit a Movie After a Producer Asked Her Costar to 'Lose Some Weight'

At the time, Thompson said she got flack for her age difference with Hugh Grant, who played her love interest in their 1995 film Sense and Sensibility. "I remember somebody saying to me that I was too old for Hugh Grant, who's like a year younger than me," she recalled. "I said, 'Do you want to go take a flying leap?'"

Cruella premieres on May 28 in theaters and on Disney+.