John Wilson

Didn't he write a song about you once?

Yes, he did.

Did you know at the time?

Because it was years later, I think.

Yes, it was.

It was much, much later.

He came to see The Seagull on Broadway and a film called I've Loved You So Long, which is a French film that I made.

came out at the same time.

And he wrote this wonderful song called Better With Time, which was really, really kind.

Like fine wine.

Like fine wine.

Age is not a cage.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself and think, you know, things have been pretty extraordinary.

Your next choice, Kristen Scott Thomas, is French theatre and some of the directors that you've worked with in France.

And you've always had this dual career in France, the French dramas alongside some of the big Hollywood parts, even Mission Impossible or Gosford Park.

Was it always important for you to maintain that French connection that you started with?

Well, my Frenchness was for 42 years the first thing that came out because I lived there.

My children were there.

My whole life was there.

I mean, it's only recently that I've moved to the UK.