Emma Thompson Forgives Helena Bonham Carter for Her Affair With Kenneth Branagh

The Professor Sybill Trelawney of 'Harry Potter' movie series says she made peace with her co-star a long time ago as she didn't have the energy to hold a grudge.

Emma Thompson didn't hold a grudge against Helena Bonham Carter for her affair with then-husband Kenneth Branagh. The actress who is now happily married to actor Greg Wise said, "Helena and I made our peace years and years ago."

Thompson and Branagh first met in 1987 on set of TV series "Fortunes of War" and then married two years later. They announced separation in 1995 citing hectic schedule as the reason behind their split, but many believed it was his affair with Carter that ended their marriage.

Quoting director Mike Nicholls, Thompson said that the breakup was "all blood under the bridge." "You can't hold on to anything like that. It's pointless," the 54-year-old actress added to The Telegraph. "I haven't got the energy for it."

Instead, she channeled her feelings of betrayal into her role as a wronged wife in "Love Actually". "I've had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom, then having to go out and be cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer," she explained.

Branagh and Carter allegedly started their affair while playing a couple in 1994's "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein". They remained together until 1999.

Thompson has co-starred with Carter in several movies including 1992's "Howard's End" and the "Harry Potter" series. She admitted they shared similarities. "Being slightly mad and a bit fashion-challenged," she said. "Perhaps that's why Ken loved us both. She's a wonderful woman, Helena."

Carter herself insisted she was misunderstood. "I'm a habitual, serial home breaker, apparently," she once said. "It gets frustrating because I know the story and the truth of it. It is very hurtful and, frankly, some of the things I have been called are quite libellous. But it's part of the price of being in the public eye."

The eccentric actress was romantically involved with director Tim Burton after working together on 2001's "Planet of the Apes" which also starred his then-fiancee Lisa Marie. Despite rumors to the contrary, Carter insisted her relationship with Burton started after he broke up with Marie.

"I know the truth but I'm not going to share it because it's my own personal domain," she said. "I don't want to create even more stories. By answering the accusations, you are going to be drawn into them and I don't agree with that."