Kristin Scott Thomas’s career spans over three decades. She received a BAFTA for “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and an Oscar nod for “The English Patient,” and has appeared in projects like “Gosford Park,” “I’ve Loved You So Long,” and “Nowhere Boy.”

The acclaimed actress’ latest role is Clementine Churchill, wife of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in “Darkest Hour.” Although hers is a supporting turn, director Joe Wright carefully — and rightfully — constructed scenes for Scott Thomas to demonstrate Clementine’s integrity and essentialness to Churchill’s reign.

We had a chance to sit down with Scott Thomas during press interviews for “Darkest Hour” and discussed her work, her thoughts on ageism, and her views on the recent sexual assault allegations sweeping through Hollywood.

“Darkest Hour” hits theaters today, December 1. Scott Thomas can also be seen in Sally Potter’s “The Party,” which is currently screening in the UK and will hit U.S. theaters February 16.

W&H: I’ve read that you are quite selective about the roles you play. Was playing Clementine Churchill, the wife of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in “Darkest Hour” a role that you really wanted and sought?

KST: I hadn’t really done a film in a while and had wanted to make a film with Joe Wright for a very long time. When he asked me to do this, I had just made a film with Sally Potter which warmed me up to make a film again. To begin with, I didn’t want to do it because I felt that the role hadn’t been developed enough and she was very much in the background. It frustrated me because I felt there was so much more to this woman.

We do touch on this in the film. The film is about Winston Churchill, but she was very much a strong, supportive influence in his life. There’s really a lot more in the story to tell about her. Once I started reading about her and delving into her life a little, I learned that she’s a fascinating, rich character.

W&H: When you first walked onto the set, did you immediately embrace Clementine?

KST: I did a lot of homework. We had four weeks rehearsal and it was all very well-orchestrated. The first day I met Gary Oldman on the set — I had never met Gary Oldman before. And so I met Gary Oldman but he wasn’t really there — it was Winston Churchill. He was in his full getup, looking remarkably like Churchill. His performance is just so convincing and it was a dream for me to be able to join into the pretense and make it all work. It was all quite extraordinary, actually, and it was the easiest thing in the world, working with Gary Oldman.

W&H: While you were shooting, was there talk about the current darkest hour we seem to be living in, not just in America but abroad?

KST: What happens when you’re making a film is that you do go into a kind of cupboard and we were just very concentrated on making the film. You do become very cut off from the rest of the world.

We shot it during the American election, a year ago.When watching the film now, you can certainly see parallels. You see how important leadership is and how our current leaders are not at the same level as our former leaders. I will leave you to decide that one.

W&H: We don’t see enough middle-aged women on screen and you have been vocal about ageism in film in the past. What was it like playing a slightly older woman than yourself?

KST: It’s funny you should say that. She wasn’t actually older than myself. She was actually my age. We have become so used to an artificial sense of aging because we are probably fitter now than we once were. We don’t look the same way anymore.

In the 1940s and certainly into the 1960s, women in their 50s would dress, behave, and generally have a bit of an attitude which was very different from how we are now. We still pretend that we are 30 — some of us pretend we’re 16. I think we just aren’t used to the grownup-ness of middle-aged women. Middle-aged women are sort of in denial and it’s something we are embracing nowadays.

There was a very interesting thing that came out very recently in British Vogue about a woman in the late 1940s/early ‘50s called Ms. Essex. She was the epitome of elegance in her 60s. There are articles about how glamorous she was. I can’t really imagine that happening now, to have a Ms. Essex. There’s a wonderful picture of her lying on a sofa looking incredibly sexy at 66 and it’s fantastic.

W&H: Does ageism impact the types of roles that you’re getting?

KST: Of course it does. Interestingly, [“Darkest Hour”] was a supporting role, which I’m really happy to do. I find the challenge of creating a character in five to six really well-written scenes really fulfilling. You have to nail it. You have to be very precise. You have to be economical and generous at the same time. It’s a really interesting challenge and I really enjoy it. I don’t get offered leading roles so much anymore. I play a lot of grammies, which is great because I am a grammy — a brand new one. It’s very, very exciting. It’s the best thing that has ever happened.

W&H: You’ve balanced motherhood and your career. How is a kid tagging along on the set perceived in Hollywood?

KST: I was really young when I had the kids and I sort of grew up with them. I always found people incredibly generous and understanding and really bent over backwards to make it work. Particularly I was making a film with Irwin Winkler called “Life as a House,” which was the loveliest film. I had literally just had a baby two months prior. I will never forget how great it was to feel safe and go back to work in that atmosphere with people who really understood what it was to have young children. I think that film is a very forgiving place for young mothers and I think it has always been very good to me.

W&H: You’ve toggled between American and foreign films. Where are you most comfortable?

KST: It’s not a question of language. It’s a question of the world in which you’ve been invited into. The director’s world. It can be as fascinating and interesting and fun working with Nicolas Winding Refn, who is Danish, as it was working with the dearly departed Sydney Pollack, who was a wonderful man to work with.

At the moment, I’m making a film in France with a young director whom I absolutely love. He’s a technician. He was a first AD for many years and he can run a film set. He’s just very efficient and runs such a tight ship, which gives us actors a space to do the work we love.

But I also appreciate a director who is more of an auteur, which is very exciting when you’re working with someone who takes you into a completely different world, such as Robert Altman, Sally Potter, and Joe Wright. Joe is an absolute artist. Working with him was one of the most pleasurable experiences I’ve ever had making a film because he shares his imagination with you. He shared the toys.

W&H: What is like being a woman in film today?

KST: For me, it means I know my craft. I do what I do. I know my limitations. I’m game for anything. I’ll try anything. I feel a lot more confident than I did at age 30 and at the same time, as I said I’m confident but I’m aware of my limits. It’s a period of my life where I think I can do and try anything but I can’t guarantee the success. Which makes it even more exciting because when somebody does ask you to do something which is slightly outside your box or slightly different, it’s just really thrilling. Like the film I just made with Sally Potter, “The Party,” is a comedy where I play a person in politics. It was such a laugh, it was such fun. I’m enjoying doing comedy a lot more than I did before, as well.

W&H: What do you make of the current situation in Hollywood since the Harvey Weinstein revelations? [Scott Thomas worked with him on “The English Patient.”]

KST: This is something women have learned to negotiate forever. I think that it’s extremely exciting that we are living through a period after terrible suffering. We’re changing. We have to keep at it and be vigilant not to let it become a stylistic way to sell newspapers. We need to keep it in its right place and keep it serious and keep it real and not let it get into a realm of fantasy.

I think part of what is dangerous is the focus that is happening in Hollywood. Because I think this problem is everywhere. It’s absolutely everywhere. We have to widen the field and keep on at it and take it beyond 2017. This is the moment where we can change things. These are exciting times.