Denis Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher's husband appears at her side as she settles into Downing Street, a former businessman content to golf, drink gin, and stay out of the spotlight. He offers quiet support and dry commentary at home, a steady presence who seems to want little more than to keep her company and let her run the country.

Stephen Boxer plays him with a wry, unshowy warmth that makes the marriage feel real rather than symbolic — a man secure enough in himself to stand slightly behind a famously formidable wife without resentment. The performance finds humor and tenderness in the domestic margins of a political drama, and never overplays either.