Dame Emma Thompson’s HILARIOUS stories from Dead of Winter

Dame Emma Thompson’s HILARIOUS stories from Dead of Winter

I think I’ll take off a layer. Just go back to sunbathing. They’re fins. And they just went I went, “What is is that you making a hole for me or something to pee in?” It’s so lovely to see you again. You look so fresh and summery and gorgeous. I know. I thought I’d wear something that was completely opposite to this, you know. So, so yes, of course. I just I’m in pink, which is um you know, I mean, it could be regarded as a statement. I don’t know. You look lovely. fresh because obviously in this it’s quite harrowing. I mean I know you’ve endured a Scottish winter but I mean this I was watching it thinking I don’t think I’d be able to function with that level of coldness. Yeah, you have you have to take time you have to take time to acclimatize to it. What I realized when I arrived in Finland in February, we didn’t finish the film till shooting till April. In February was I I I I understood the nature of this cold. It was minus 29 when I arrived. So, and the first thing I did was put on the onesie, you know, the overalls with various layers and go out and walk in it and go, “Wow, this is different. This is a completely different nature of cold. It’s just like a a character. It’s like it stalks you, you know, and if it gets inside you too far, then you you you are done. You can’t afford to get too cold. Hypothermic in seconds, you know. Um and we were far north and then 60 miles 60 kilometers away from the Russian border. Nice. Um, and so it was a very extreme environment and it took us all a month to get used to it and thank God we had that time. I know. And it feels really trivial saying, you know, how cold was it? But watching it, I was like that I I need to know. Minus 29. I wasn’t expecting you to say that though. No, but then then suddenly it would become – 20 or -15 and you’d go, “Oh, I think I’ll take off a layer.” Just quite warm. you know, just like English people in the beach on a on a rainy day. I just squeeze out my towel, just go back to sunbeing. Um anyway, so yeah, it was it was absolutely extraordinary, but also the actual physicality of it because they had to make paths for us, right? Because the snow is 8 foot deep. So one day, my first day, I turned up and I was I was in my my doings and I went off set to try to find somewhere to pee. Right. And we we were two very very helpful gentlemen, Finn, who I hadn’t met before. They were absolutely wonderful part of our snow team said, “Ah, yes, of course. Come this way.” They marched off and disappeared into an 8-foot drift. They do. They’re fins and they just went I went what is is that you making a hole for me or something to pee in because I just didn’t understand. They said no no may we make mistake. Um so as they climbed out I say it’s all right I’ll make I’ll walk the half mile of the honey wagon because really I I’m scared scared don’t want to end up in a hole. I mean, one of our our party got into a hole and couldn’t get out of it. She sort of screaming, “Help, help.” And we all had to rush off and kind of haul her out of the snow. So, I mean, it was things like that were very not what you’re not what you expect and driving the around as well on the in the snow and you one wrong move which several of us made and the you’re in the ditch. you’re in this drift and then then the lorries have to come pull the car out and you know the practicalities of it were the snow team the Finnish snow team were constantly filling sleds full of snow either to take it away from the set because it had snowed overnight and it wasn’t matching or because it had somehow slightly thawed during the night. It actually got up to minus one at one point which was honestly it was Caribbean. It was we were all just oh that lotion. Um it it was extraordinary. But I actually what was wonderful about it was it really did inform the story and it informed the character. I loved it. I did love it. And every time I talk to you I hear the twang, the Scottish twang. It’s because you bring it out in me. I bring it out in you. But your accent and this and your voice. Yes. It’s so different. I mean, how did you did you change like an octave or something? I think I must have done I spent so much time talking to in particular one of the writers, Dalton. Adorable. They’re just brilliant, those guys. um his aunt Tracy Lynn Lee, she was someone I spent a long time talking to Arkansas and she you know just the shape of her mouth, her voice and actually um they saw it in Minnesota and some of her daughter said, “Oh my god, she sounds just like you, mom.” So you she’s she’s very she very much influenced um the accent and the way the form of it. It’s beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful actually. And a lot of Scandinavian in it as well because of course that that family um one of the the writers there were from Scandinavia. They’re from Sweden. A lot of And the story in the basement about um the her grandfather is a true story. Oh, absolutely true. Listen, you’re absolutely outstanding in this as you always are and everything, but after everything you’ve just told me 29 in the snow, I know you were also an executive producer on this. So, I get the feeling that you really wanted to do this, but why? I No, there were many moments of deep regret. Um, but you know, that’s the sign of a good old adventure, isn’t it? It just wasn’t easy, but it was a such a it was a real privilege. It was a real privilege because, you know, you don’t often get to be in that landscape. And Brian Kirk and I even when we were, you know, he was losing his mind because the sun was out. So, we were filming a the fight sequence on the lake and you they’d have to move these huge flags in just to sort of make a space in which we could actually move and I’m on my hands and knees, my knees are bleeding, I’m on the lake and then I just kept on looking at the ice and the beauty of it and just saying this is the most beautiful location I’ve ever shot in. The most beautiful. It was just, you know, you couldn’t get your mind right. And then there were some days on that lake where the wind would come and you’d see the snow just gliding over the lake like a kind of smoke. You know, it was it was an incredibly powerful environment and one I’ll never forget as long as I live. Well, I’ll never forget your performance because it was honestly outstanding. I was a we bit I was struggling to separate the character a bit. So, I was like that’s her damn Emma. Won’t you be treating her like that? But listen, we need to get you in like a travel documentary or something next. I would watch that. Yes. Yeah. What do you think? I’ll cut my one that involves deep jeopardy. No. What? No, no, no, no, no. Just you and going to all these different places. Yes, cuz I like the idea of that. Okay. Well, you put together a treatment. Let me And uh call my people. All right. Call your people. I’ll come. That’s the caveat. Yeah. It’s always so nice to see you. Thank you so much. [Music]

Dame Emma Thompson’s HILARIOUS stories from Dead of Winter . Report by Jodie Mccallum.