Kristin Scott Thomas on the pain behind “My Mother’s Wedding”
“My blood is English, but my culture is French,” she says.
She has two sides to her.
She can warm your heart in English films like Darkest Hour, and break it in French ones like I’ve Loved You So Long.
Many of her French movies have been shown at Cine Lumiere, a French cinema in London.
“It’s a little slice of Paris,” she says.
Now she’s back in London, playing the deputy head of MI5 in the Apple TV+ show Slow Horses.
He once told her, “Stop trying to defend. Forget hiding. Be more generous.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant at the time.
But that idea stuck with her.
And slowly, she started to open up more.
Now, she’s opening up even more—creatively and personally.
She’s telling a story from deep in her past.
“When I was five, my father died,” she said.
“Then my mother remarried. But sadly, five years later, he died too.”
Both men had been pilots in the Royal Navy.
Both died in similar training accidents.
Losing them left her with a deep feeling of something missing.
“I grew up with just one parent,” she said.
“And as a young woman, I often felt like a piece of me was missing.”
To cope, she turned to her imagination.
As a little girl, she wrote and drew stories.
Stories about a mom, a dad, and two kids doing normal things—
Like going on holiday.
A family life she never got to have.
Her memories of her dad were blurry.
Just quick images in her mind.
But those memories became the spark for something new:
A screenplay.
That story has now become the first movie she’s ever directed—
“My MotheIr’s Wedding.”
it features a star-studded cast:
Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, and Emily Beecham.
They play her daughters in the film,
Each dealing with the loss of a father or stepfather,
While their mother prepares to marry again.
You can watch the trailer for My Mother’s Wedding by photo below.
That confident side of her might surprise people who knew her growing up. She spent her childhood moving around Royal Naval bases and was very shy — even into her adult years.
“I was excruciatingly shy,” she said. “I honestly don’t know when that changed.”
But these days, she’s anything but shy — just look at her bold role in Fleabag. Funny enough, she was discovered by someone else known for being quiet and private: the musician Prince.
You’d think that would make her a super cool mom (she has three kids with her first husband). But according to her, not really!
I didn’t watch it with them, but one night I was heading out and leaving my teenage kids at home. They had pizza and a friend over.
I said, “Hey, Under the Cherry Moon is on TV — you should watch it! It’ll be fun!”
But when I got back home… they weren’t exactly kind about it.
She definitely made up for it later, starring alongside big names like Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer, Harrison Ford in Random Hearts, and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.
“I’m so proud to be in Mission: Impossible, I still can’t believe it!” she said. “I’m part of this huge blockbuster, and it’s funny — kids today don’t know Gosford Park. They don’t know Four Weddings and a Funeral.
But they do know Mission: Impossible!
They have no clue I speak French or that I’ve done all these darker, artsy films in France.”
And of course, there was The English Patient. That role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
“It’s actually really moving,” she said. “Watching yourself at 30, acting your heart out.”
She also gave another powerful performance at the Royal Court Theatre, where she won an Olivier Award for The Seagull. She later performed that same role on Broadway.
“New York audiences, when they’re having a good time, it’s electric you can really feel it,” she said.
And what about London audiences?
“We’re a bit more passive, maybe. More reserved. Of course we are!” she laughed.
Even while talking at the Royal Court, her mind kept drifting back to her movie. As personal as theater is, My Mother’s Wedding feels even closer to her heart.
“I love being on stage — I truly do. But the joy, the satisfaction, and the total exhaustion that comes from directing a film? It’s amazing. It’s something else.”
Now 65 and a grandmother, she’s still working full speed. She may not take much time to slow down, but she does pause for kind words.
“A lady came up to me the other day and said, ‘I know you hate this, but I just wanted to say…’ and I told her, ‘I don’t hate it at all! Keep it coming!’” 
For more info:
“My Mother’s Wedding” opens in theaters August 8
“Slow Horses” on Apple TV+
Story produced by Sari Aviv. Editor: Steven Tyler.
