Emma Thompson has learned a few things about herself over the last couple of years.
The Good Luck to You, Leo Grande star, 63, discovered "that I was sort of no longer as invulnerable as I thought," she tells PEOPLE for this week's issue. "Whilst I'm strong, because I'm getting older, I can hurt myself, and that was interesting."
During the production of her new film, Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical, "I fell over for no good reason and fractured my ankle," says the actress, who transformed herself into the role of Miss Trunchbull. "And I thought, 'That's kind of weird, I've never hurt myself like that. Huh, that's because I'm getting older.' My body's changing and I've got to be more careful with it."
Thompson then had to wear a compression boot on the Matilda set, "I said, 'I'm so sorry, I've got to wear the boot,'" she recalls. "They said, 'It's okay, you're doing a stunt today.' I said, 'What? I've just fractured my ankle.' They said, 'It's okay, we're just turning you upside down. It's fine, you're on a crane.' I said, 'Okay, all right then.'"
The Oscar winner, who has received critical praise for her role as Nancy Stokes—a widow who hires a sex worker—in Leo Grande, sat down with PEOPLE for One Last Thing:
Last time I danced: I give a party every year called the Pointless Party. There's a band, and we start dancing at 8:00, and we don't stop until 1:00. We had it three weeks ago, and I danced till my feet bled.
Last moment of self-care: I was ill in London, so I took myself off to a tiny little spa place in England where I just slept and read books for four whole days. That's all I did, and it was wonderful.
Last guilty pleasure: I'm not good at refusing cheese. I also find it quite difficult if I've finished a glass of wine and someone says, "Would you like another?" to say, "Oh no, that's plenty for me."
Last class I took: I'm learning Italian. It's great for the brain. It's a kind of antidote to the rapidly aging carcass.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is currently streaming on Hulu. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is in theaters now and will begin streaming on Netflix Christmas day.
