Emma Thompson’s adopted son learns his mom is famous while studying Shakespeare in class

Emma Thompson’s adopted son, Tindyebwa “Tindy” Agaba Wise, didn’t realize his mother’s fame until over a year after they met.

Emma often discusses parenting and the lessons from her children. In an interview with the New Yorker, she shared a story about Tindy, whom she adopted from Rwanda in 2003.

While studying Shakespeare at City and Islington College in 2004, Tindy was amazed to see Emma, her mother Phyllida Law, and actress Imelda Staunton on TV in Kenneth Branagh’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”

“I went to my teacher and said, ‘How was this film made? Because I know these people,'” Tindy recalls saying to his teacher.

The teacher dismissed him, thinking it was a joke about famous actors, Upworthy noted.

The next week, the teacher showed him a newspaper photo, asking if it was Tindy leaving Emma Thompson’s house on a bike. This is when Tindy realized his mother’s fame.

Emma spoke about meeting Tindy for the first time, a moment that became one of the most significant relationships in her life.

They met in 2003 at a Christmas event organized by the Refugee Council, a charity Emma backs that supports refugees and asylum seekers.

Despite speaking limited English and French, he thanked Emma for a warm meal.

A bureaucratic error left him sleeping outdoors near London’s Trafalgar Square.

“I didn’t have any friendships. I didn’t know how to navigate the city. It was cold. Every white person looked the same to me,” Tindy told The New Yorker.

Emma recalled their encounter, noting his expressive eyes and keen awareness despite his quiet demeanor. She felt he sensed something in her that he wished to convey.

At the age of 9, Emma Thompson’s adopted son, Tindy, lost his father to AIDS. Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, his mother was presumed dead.

When he was 13, soldiers raided his Rwandan village, taking him and nine other children at gunpoint.

They were marched through unfamiliar terrain for days, causing him to lose contact with his three sisters.

He spent three years in a prison camp, where he underwent radicalization and training as a child soldier.

At 16, with help from a Care International worker, he escaped Rwanda and flew to London to seek asylum.

After spending many months sleeping on the streets near Trafalgar Square, Tindy finally met Emma at the Refugee Council event.

Emma invited the “very traumatized… and very lonely” teen to spend Christmas Eve at her home.

Initially cautious of her kindness, he discovered her genuine care.

2003 Greg and Emma informally adopted Tindy, and they married in the same year. He is their eldest child and Gaia’s brother.

Over the next six months, she mentored him, improving his speech and vocabulary, and arranged for lessons with dialect coach Joan Washington.

Soon, Tindy started referring to Emma and Gregas “Mum and Dad.”

When Emma Thompson’s adopted son, Tindy, met the actress and her husband, he initially felt he had nothing to give them.

However, Emma disagreed, appreciating the joy, insight, and laughter he brings with his empathy and understanding of life’s complexities.

Emma acknowledges Tindy’s role in her personal healing journey.

“I’ve been told I was a fierce and restless octopus. But they have three hearts and only live for two years. So now I’m in search of a more peaceful existence where I’m not so angry and my one heart will last a bit longer,” Emma said.

Emma Thompson’s adopted son, Tindy, became a British citizen in 2009, married He Zhang, and worked as a detective in London’s Criminal Investigation Division.

With a Master’s in human rights law, Tindy has spent more than ten years advocating for human rights.

Watch Emma Thompson and Tindyebwa “Tindy” Agaba Wise share their story for World Refugee Day: