Man behind the Iron Lady: Jim Broadbent in profile

With another historic performance as Denis Thatcher in the bag, Kate Whiting speaks to Jim Broadbent, the man behind the Iron Lady.

You can almost hear Jim Broadbent breathing a sigh of relief, as he reveals he’s back home after a whistle-stop tour of Majorca, Glasgow and Berlin.

The British actor has been working in such disparate locations for Cloud Atlas, the latest film in his 30-year career, alongside Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant and Susan Sarandon.

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“Travelling used to be the main thing when I first started acting, now I’m quite happy to be at home,” he says, with an abrupt snort of laughter. “I quite enjoy the airports and the hotels to a degree, but I’m happier at home.”

That Broadbent is still as busy, if not busier, at 62 as he was at 32 is no great surprise, given he’s one of Britain’s most loved and versatile character actors. His ability to play anything from a fearsome ringmaster in Moulin Rouge! to the eccentric titular Lord in Longford has won him two Baftas and an Oscar.

But if he were responsible for choosing all his own roles, Broadbent admits he would have played it much safer.

“Other people have a much better idea of what I might do than I,” he reveals. “It would never have occurred to me that I might play Denis Thatcher, Lord Longford or Harold Zidler [in Moulin Rouge!] or any number of the roles I’ve done.”

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Broadbent plays the husband of arguably Britain’s most notorious Prime Minister in The Iron Lady, a film which is vying for the Oscar vote in January.

Reuniting Mamma Mia’s director Phyllida Lloyd with its star Meryl Streep, the film is shown from the point of view of the now 86-year-old Baroness, reminiscing about her career in politics and struggling with the onset of dementia.

Denis, who died in 2003 aged 88, is shown as a figment of Margaret’s imagination, which made the role more challenging for Broadbent. Added to that was the fact that Denis, often billed as the long-suffering husband, kept his cards close to his chest.

“He did one major interview. [His daughter] Carol interviewed him on television and she wrote the biography, so that was all there was to go on, apart from glimpses of him in the background saying the odd word. There is a view that he was playful, humorous and self-deprecating. One of his lines was that it’s better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt. And that sort of humour pervaded his personality.”

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In Margaret’s flashbacks, viewers see her as a young woman, the daughter of a grocer and newly-selected parliamentary candidate, meeting the young Denis at an official function and their subsequent romance, lending the film the air of a love story.

“I don’t think he pushed her [into politics], he wasn’t the strong man behind her in that way, but I think he was supportive. When she really came to the fore and took over leadership of the party, that was when he retired, so as not be in the way really.”

As the sole American cast member playing a woman in a man’s world, there were certain parallels between Meryl and Margaret’s experience. Broadbent remembers a “crucial” day rehearsing a scene when Margaret was working with her all-male cabinet.

“All those English actors of a certain age were in a rehearsal room – 30 of them or so – and Meryl was five minutes late. She came into a room and had an exact parallel experience of a woman going into a group of men who she was, to some degree, at odds with.”

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Even before its release date, the film has sparked debate over the portrayal of the ageing Baroness’s frailty.

“It’s an imaginative piece of work by Abi Morgan. I think the dementia is sensitively and carefully depicted, but it’s not a film about dementia. That’s an interesting way of getting into her story really, and showing what has been important to her – and how it sticks in her memory and imagination.”

Broadbent has barely had a chance to consider whether he might be walking the awards red carpets this season.

“They’re always interesting depending on whether you have a lot of involvement, either terrifying, exciting, disappointing or delightful,” he laughs.

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“And sometimes boring. The full range of life experiences happens at award ceremonies. But if projects you’re involved in get suitably acknowledged, that’s very satisfying.”

And with that, he’s off to record a voice-over for a film version of Postman Pat. Unlikely to be a big awards hit but, like many of his roles, it’ll certainly raise a smile.

JIM BROADBENT: MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

• John Bayley in Iris (2001): Broadbent won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Iris Murdoch’s husband, who looked after her through her battle with Alzheimer’s.

• Lord Longford in Longford (2006): He won a TV Bafta for playing the British politician, who attracted controversy over his campaign for the release of Myra Hindley.

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• Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! (2001): Broadbent won a Bafta as the owner of the infamous Parisian cabaret club.

• Topsy-Turvy (1999): More awards recognition for Broadbent as WS Gilbert in Mike Leigh’s musical drama.