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In probably the first article that introduces her as “Left-wing star Meryl Streep”, the Daily Mail’s Baz Bamigboye has all the insight on the upcoming “The Iron Lady”: Many feared the worst when they heard Meryl Streep was to play Margaret Thatcher in a new film. Not only was Baroness Thatcher to be cast as a rather befuddled, elderly woman looking back on the triumphs and disappointments of her life, but Streep is also of a very different political hue from Maggie. It was commonly agreed that our greatest Prime Minister since Churchill would be vilified. Such fears are misplaced. Having just seen the film in a London preview before its release in January, and then having spoken at length to Meryl Streep about her role in The Iron Lady, I can state categorically that the doomsayers were wrong. Streep’s portrayal will, I have no doubt, come to be seen as magnificent portrait of Lady Thatcher. And when I spoke exclusively to the double Oscar-winning actress about playing her, she declared herself to be in ‘awe’ of Lady T, adding that this was the biggest role she had undertaken in her career. ‘It took a lot out of me, but it was a privilege to play her, it really was,’ she told me. ‘It was one of those rare, rare films where I was grateful to be an actor and grateful for the privilege of being able to look at a life deeply with empathy. There’s no greater joy.’ The 62-year-old star, who was in London to see the completed film, explained how she admired Thatcher’s willingness to stand and be leader, a decision which meant she had to offer her life, and her family’s, ‘on an altar’ to the public good. The complete article can be read here.
