Emma Thompson was first seen in the 1982 television special ‘Cambridge Footlights Revue.’ That same year, she also appeared in the British television series ‘There's Nothing to Worry About!’ where she played the role of ‘Mrs Wally.’ She went on to appear in television series like ‘Alfresco’ (1983-1984), ‘The Comic Strip Presents’ (1984), ‘The Young Ones’ (1984), ‘Tutti Frutti’ (1987), ‘Fortunes of War’ (1987), and ‘Thompson’ (1988). In 1989, she made her silver screen debut in the Kenneth Branagh-directed British historical drama film ‘Henry V’ where she portrayed Catherine of Valois. The film opened to universal acclaim and came to be regarded as one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations ever made. In 1991, she starred as ‘Grace / Margaret Strauss’ in the American neo-noir romantic thriller film ‘Dead Again’ directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a moderate commercial success. The same year, she also appeared in the James Lapine-directed period drama film, ‘Impromptu.’ The film received a mixed response from critics. Thompson received the ‘Academy Award’ for playing the role of ‘Margaret Schlegel’ in the 1992 period romantic drama film ‘Howards End’ directed by James Ivory. The film saw wide critical acclaim upon release and grossed over $26.3 million on a budget of $8 million. In 1993, she starred as ‘Miss Kenton’ in the British-American drama film ‘The Remains of the Day’ directed by James Ivory. The film was a critical and commercial success. Thompson also received an Academy Award nomination for her role. That same year, she received yet another Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Gareth Peirce in the biographical crime drama film ‘In the Name of the Father’ directed by Jim Sheridan. The film was lauded by critics and audiences alike and performed well at the box office.
She next appeared in films like ‘Junior’ (1994), ‘Sense and Sensibility’ (1995) also screenwriter which earned an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, ‘The Winter Guest’ (1997), ‘Primary Colors’ (1998), ‘Maybe Baby’ (2000), ‘Treasure Planet’ (2002), ‘Imagining Argentina’ (2003), ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (2004), ‘Nanny McPhee’ (2005), ‘Stranger than Fiction’ (2006), ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (2007), ‘Brideshead Revisited’ (2008), ‘The Boat That Rocked’ (2009), ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ (2010), and ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ (2011). In 2012, she played the role of ‘Agent O’ in the Barry Sonnenfeld-directed American science fiction action comedy film ‘Men in Black 3.’ The film received a positive response from critics and was a box office success. She went on to star in films like ‘Beautiful Creatures’ (2013), ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ (2013), ‘Men, Women & Children’ (2014), ‘A Walk in the Woods’ (2015), ‘Burnt’ (2015), ‘Alone in Berlin’ (2016), ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (2017), ‘Sea Sorrow’ (2017), ‘Johnny English Strikes Again’ (2018), ‘Late Night’ (2019), ‘Men in Black: International’ (2019), ‘Dolittle’ (2020), ‘Cruella’ (2021). She was last seen in the 2022 British sex comedy-drama film ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ directed by Sophie Hyde. The film received positive reviews from critics.