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Dame Emma Thompson recalls how a phone call from Donald Trump offering dinner could have changed American history.

Dame Emma Thompson has revealed one of the most unexpected encounters of her career, recalling how she was once asked out by none other than Donald Trump. The Oscar-winning British actor was speaking at the Locarno Film Festival when she shared the story, setting the audience roaring with laughter and disbelief.

The incident took place in the late 1990s while Thompson was filming Primary Colors, the political satire inspired by the Clinton era. She was in her trailer when the phone rang and what happened next was so surreal she initially thought it was a prank. “A phone rang in my trailer, and it was Donald Trump,” she said. “I thought it was a joke. ‘Hi, it’s Donald Trump here.’ I said, ‘How can I help you?’”

Trump, who at the time was a high-profile real estate mogul and tabloid fixture, offered to take Thompson to dinner. He also extended an invitation to stay in one of his “beautiful” properties. The timing was uncanny; Thompson had just finalised her divorce from Kenneth Branagh. She joked that perhaps this was why Trump thought she might be interested.

With her signature wit, Thompson told the crowd, “I could have gone on a date with Donald Trump. I could have changed the course of American history!” It was a line that drew gasps and laughter, a reminder of the strange intersections that occur between celebrity and politics.

Reflecting further, Thompson admitted she had no real intention of accepting the offer, but she can’t help but imagine the ripple effects had she done so. Would the evening have been awkward small talk? Would it have become a strange friendship? Or might it have altered Trump’s trajectory entirely?

The story, told with warmth and comic timing, fits neatly into Thompson’s long history of candid, self-deprecating anecdotes. It’s also a small glimpse into the unpredictable, sometimes absurd, situations that come with fame and how a single phone call could, in theory, rewrite history.