Emma Thompson’s adopted son realized during his class that his mother was famous

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on November 14, 2022. It has since been updated.

Emma Thompson often speaks about parenting and the lessons she has learned from her children. In an interview with The New Yorker, Thompson told a hilarious anecdote about her son, Tindyebwa Agaba Wise, a Rwandan refugee whom Thomson adopted in 2003. Tindyebwa, who goes by Tindy, didn’t learn how popular his mother was until over a year after meeting her. In 2004, Tindy was attending a Shakespeare class at City and Islington College when his teacher showed the class Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. He was “absolutely shocked” to see so many familiar faces on television, including Thompson herself, not to mention her mother Phyllida Law and actress Imelda Staunton.

“I went to my teacher and asked, ‘How did this film come about? Because I know these people,'” he recalls. The teacher apparently just laughed and said, “Don’t be silly. These are famous actors.” Tindy said his teacher “couldn’t believe a word I said.” The following week, his teacher brought in a copy of the Daily Mirror and asked if he was in the picture leaving Thompson’s house on a bicycle. “That’s how I learned my mother was somehow famous. I had no idea,” Tindy admitted. Tindy was granted British citizenship in 2009 and is now married to He Zhang. He has worked as a detective in the London Criminal Investigation Department and has a master’s degree in human rights law. He has spent over a decade campaigning for human rights.

Thompson recounted her first encounter with Tindy, which developed into one of the most important relationships of her life. In 2003, Tindy, then 16, met Thompson at a Christmas party for the Refugee Council, a charity Thompson supports that helps refugees and asylum seekers.

Although he spoke only a few words of English and French, he wanted to thank Thompson for the warm dinner. He had been sleeping outdoors near London’s Trafalgar Square because of a mistake in his application for state aid. “His spirit was so clear in his eyes. He was attentive and silent at the same time,” Thompson recalled of their mostly visual conversation. She added: “He saw something in me that he wanted to talk to.”

When Tindy met the actress and her husband, he felt he had “nothing to give” to Thompson and Wise. “What didn’t he give!” Thompson vehemently disagreed with Tindy. “So much joy, so much insight that we can share in his empathy and understanding of the world. We laugh – and he helps me laugh – at the strangeness of people, at the oddity of life, at its cruelties and absurdities. That is so comforting.”

Thompson credits Tindy with her personal transformation, claiming he was “part of the healing.” She said, “I was told I was a wild and restless octopus. But they have three hearts and only live for two years. So now I’m looking for a more peaceful life where I’m not so angry and my heart lasts a little longer.”