Emma Thompson, who played Matilda in “Matilda the Musical,” said that a crew of “six people” was required to bring her outfit to the stage since it was so heavy.
In the forthcoming Netflix film, which is based on a Broadway musical adaptation of the well-known Roald Dahl novel, Thompson plays the infamous evil Miss Agatha Trunchbull.
For the part, Thompson underwent a significant change that included wearing a military costume with substantial prosthetics beneath to give her Miss Trunchbull’s hefty, athletic frame.
Insider was there for the press conference for the movie on Wednesday at the London Film Festival, where Thompson acknowledged that she was “worried” that her outfit would be difficult to play in and that she wouldn’t be able to live up to previous portrayals of the role.
Six persons were needed to get the lady to get dressed every morning, according to Thompson. “Three hours, six individuals, and I’m just one of them. You were a member of the Trunchbull group.”
Thompson said that she tried out the outfit by making an effort to startle Matthew Warchus, the director of the film.
“I thus engaged with it completely for the first time. I then suggested that we try it out on Matthew. Let me try to scare him,’” said the “Nanny McPhee “actor went on. But as he approached, I sort of marched at him, barreling for him with all of my weight.
“It was extremely effective,” Warchus, who took part in the news conference, remarked.
Since Miss Trunchbull is often portrayed by male performers on stage, Thompson said at the press conference that she was perplexed when she was originally given the part. The filmmaker clarified that they were attempting to make the character seem more “genuine,” nevertheless.
Thompson said that the Broadway play served as inspiration for the attire.
She remembered that back in the 1920s, in Chicago, “they used to go and fix the piles of bridges underwater,” and that’s how [Rob Powell, the costume designer] obtained an old set of diving boots. “The thick, heavy boot, which has a little Frankensteinian quality, is great. She is a demon.”
On December 25, “Matilda the Musical” makes its Netflix debut.