Emma Thompson: Rowan Atkinson is our modern-day Charlie Chaplin

“He’s our Buster Keaton (late actor-comedian), our modern-day Charlie Chaplin really. You don’t need to hear him speak, he’s just funny,” she added.

Thompson plays the role of a Prime Minister in Johnny English Strikes Again. “She’s a real mix. She’s (Margaret) Thatcher and (Theresa) May. She is the darkest version of those politicians who use their office because the power appeals. By the time we get to meet her, she is desperate,” she said.

“She is making quite catastrophic decisions. Even though this is a comedy and is silly, it has been interesting to think, well what if you did hold that kind of power. This PM feels herself to be very important, and as she senses that slipping away, it makes her desperate, like a caged animal.”

Johnny English Strikes Again is the third instalment of the Johnny English spy comedy series, with Atkinson returning as the accidental secret agent.

It will release in India on September 28.