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Gillian Anderson Couldn’t Get Enough Of Ex-President, Bill Clinton After Meeting Him

Home / News / Gillian Anderson Couldn’t Get Enough Of Ex-President, Bill Clinton After Meeting Him

By Favour Adegoke on April 16, 2022 at 2:00 PM EDT

Gillian Anderson's film career spans many decades and almost a hundred acting credits in various genres. The dynamic actress has worked with the greatest of the best in those films, bringing to life some timeless classics that have given her critical recognition and reputation.

While Anderson is presently playing Eleanor Roosevelt in Showtime's forthcoming series "The First Lady," the 53-year-old experienced a similar presidential situation when she met a particular politician back in the day.

In a recent live show, the OBE alumni recounted meeting Bill Clinton, and according to what she stated, the incident left a big impression on her and made her want to receive a call back from him.

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Gillian Anderson Sail Bill Clinton Did 'The Most Miraculous Thing In The World' When They Met

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8y6b9qgc0s

Anderson spoke with Jimmy Kimmel on his eponymous show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" about a chance encounter with then-presidential hopeful Bill Clinton in the past. Clinton was in the midst of his campaign trip at the time, and Gillian was invited to a luncheon that was held to help him drum up support for his candidacy.

During the occasion, "The Crown" star had a face-to-face meeting with Clinton, who is now 75, and was taken aback by how the interaction, which she termed as intimate, went.

"He did the most miraculous thing in the world. He shakes your hand, then he grabs your elbow, and at the same time he holds your arm further up," Anderson told the show's host.

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The actress added: "[It was a] slightly intimate little thing. [He] makes eye contact. And he moves on to the next person. Then he looks back at you."

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Anderson Hoped Bill Clinton Would Call Her After Meeting Him

Anderson described that the most shocking thing happened to her after her encounter with Clinton. Due to the seemingly intimate nature of their meeting, the "X-Files" star was hopeful that the former president would ring her up afterward.

"I went home, I thought – this was in the days of answering machines – I literally thought that I was going to go home to a message from him," she said. "I did. It was that real."

The mother of three went on to say that the politician gave everyone he met a special handshake and made eye contact. Although Anderson claimed she never heard Clinton's call, she stated on the show that she voted for him nevertheless.

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Gillian Anderson Opened Up About The Risque Cake She Got After her Recent Emmy Win

In the episode, Anderson also talked about the enormous penis cake she was given to celebrate her Emmy victory in 2021. The outlandish present was delivered to the "Sex Education" star from fashion brand Chloé and was most likely spurred by her role as a sex therapist on the critically successful Netflix program.

"Congrats on a BIG one!" read the quote on the cake, while the actress also captioned her Instagram post of the cake with effusive comments to the brand's creative director, Gabriela Hearst, and the Chloé team who styled her for the award ceremony.

Anderson described the amusing experience, explaining that the baked present was half her height and that, despite its risqué look, she mustered the courage to eat some of it while sharing the remainder with others in her house.

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Gillian Anderson Plays Eleanor Roosevelt In "The First Lady'

Gillian Anderson at The Fashion Awards 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall
MEGA

Later, Kimmel showed Anderson a clip from her role in "X-Files," where she unwittingly foretold that she would portray Eleanor Roosevelt. Anderson went on to say that she was taken aback when she was given the role in Showtime's upcoming series "The First Lady," owing to the height disparity between her and the previous first lady.

The showrunners eventually handled the height issue by making Anderson wear high heels throughout the film's filming. However, the actress stated that she was still a few inches shorter than the rest of the cast.

Anderson's latest film, "The First Lady," covers three of the most renowned First Ladies in history: Eleanor Roosevelt (Anderson), Michelle Obama (Viola Davis), and Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer). The series will look back on Barack Obama's, Franklin D. Roosevelt's, and Gerald Ford's historic presidency through the eyes of their wives, who looked to be pulling key political strings behind the scenes.

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