‘She would have been in awe of him’: how Laurence Olivier gave Margaret Thatcher private seduction lessons
Share:
New drama, When Maggie Met Larry, reveals exactly how the world’s most famous actor coached the fledgling Iron Lady. In 1972, a nervous Margaret Thatcher went to Laurence Olivier’s London home for a lesson on presentational skills. The most famous actor of the 20th century told the then education secretary to put a book on her head and walk around to improve her deportment. He also advised her to take long confident strides, and to use her eyes to seduce and flirt.
![[Laurence Olivier dressed in flamboyant clothing sitting on a throne playing the young king in the 1944 film Henry V]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c0e3fcb7af7f34ce3297b675684c7e0e1b1aa280/0_0_2700_1966/master/2700.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The future prime minister went on to visit Olivier’s house for a further five lessons, details of which are revealed in a new Radio 4 play, When Maggie Met Larry. Starring Derek Jacobi, who joined Olivier’s fledgling National Theatre when only 24, and Frances Barber as Thatcher, the drama tells of the previously unknown advice on style and voice offered to the Tory politician.
![[Margaret Thatcher with Mikhail Gorbachev in 1984]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1bbbe36624b127888be063240a648e9ba5db1fe7/0_97_3000_1801/master/3000.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“Thatcher would have been in awe of Larry when she first met him at his house,” said Jacobi. “He was, after all, the greatest actor. What Larry must have taught her was that politicians have to present their policies and then woo votes just like actors have to win over audiences.”.
Jacobi, noted for Shakespearean roles and for TV’s I Claudius, was a close friend of Olivier. “Yes, I knew about Larry giving lessons to Thatcher. But it was all kept private at the time.”. While Olivier’s lessons were known about, little detail has been previously revealed. The visits were arranged by her speechwriter, Ronald Millar, who took her to Olivier’s house alongside Gordon Reece, Thatcher’s image guru.
