Kristin Scott Thomas has banned her grandchildren from watching cartoons, saying they were mimicking an "insolent" and "vicious" tone from the shows. The 66-year-old actress, known for playing pragmatic women, said her grandchildren "completely changed" after she chose films for them to watch instead.
Concern over cartoon tone
In an interview with a newspaper, Scott Thomas said: "I've noticed that my grandchildren speak to each other in a tone that is completely lifted from the cartoons they watch. It's a little bit insolent. A little bit vicious. It's unbearable."
The actress, currently starring in the sixth season of Slow Horses as MI5 boss Diana Taverner, has children Hannah, 38, Joseph, 35, and George, 26, with ex-husband François Olivennes. She keeps her three grandchildren's names private.
Choosing films over cartoons
Scott Thomas added: "They've [the grandchildren] been staying with me this summer, so I banned them and chose some films for them to watch instead. And they completely changed."
She also criticised the pacing of modern television, saying: "We've been watching Charles Sturridge's Brideshead Revisited, from 1981. Gosh, it's good. It's very close to the book. And yes, the editing seems slow to modern audiences, but you understand everything, even though the Catholicism might appear a bit wacky. It demands concentration."
She added: "These days people just wipe out great chunks in order to make [a story] more relevant to the modern day. And everything happens so fast. So confusing."
Award-winning career and views on ageing
Despite being a multi award-winning actor - with a BAFTA for Four Weddings and a Funeral, an Olivier Award for The Seagull, and an Oscar nomination for The English Patient - she initially doubted she had the talent to act for a living.
Scott Thomas, who married second husband John Micklethwait two years ago, said she is not letting age stop her, although she has ruled out having cosmetic work done to land more roles.
She said: "There are more interesting roles for grown-up women than there were before… Actresses such as Imelda Staunton keep on working. I think a facelift has now become a kind of status symbol. I'm quite conflicted about it, because it's always slightly diminishing when someone says, 'That woman hasn't taken care of herself.' Deep down we do care about these things."
