American socialite Judi Dench as Arabella, an aspiring artist and art lover Lily Tomlin as Georgina 'Georgie' Rockwell, an openly lesbian American archaeologist Tessa Pritchard as Connie Raynor, a journalist for The Morning Post Baird Wallace as Luca Innocente, as a teenager Charlie Lucas as Luca Innocente, as a child Paul Chequer as Wilfred 'Lucy' Random, Lady Hester's grandson Paolo Seganti as Vittorio Fanfanni, a lawyer and Elsa's lover Mino Bellei as Cesare, an art dealer and close friend of Elsa Massimo Ghini as Paolo Guarnieri Innocente, Luca's father Michael Williams as the British Consul Claudio Spadaro as Benito Mussolini Pino Colizzi as Dino Grandi Paula Jacobs as Molly Michael Williams, who was married to Judi Dench in real life, died not long after the film was finished. This film marks his last screen appearance. Production Angela Lansbury was offered the role of Mary Wallace, but had to drop out when her husband became ill. Lady Hester Random is based upon a real resident of Florence whom Zeffirelli knew in his childhood. Zeffirelli mentions her and a couple of other ladies of the Scorpioni in his autobiography. He said: "I don't remember if she was called Hester, but I remember this terrible, fantastic woman. She was the dowager of the community. I remember the many outrageous things she did because she could afford to be arrogant and bossy." Reception The film opened tenth at the U.S. box office with $1,633,183 for the weekend, eventually grossing a worldwide total of $45,566,200, considerably more than its budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 64% from 39 reviews with the consensus: "Tea with Mussolini contains few surprises, but this amiably ambling drama is too likeable – and well-cast – to completely resist." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "There are some scary, somber moments in this lushest of period pieces, yet Zeffirelli wisely sustains a gallant, predominantly blithe spirit throughout. Tea With Mussolini leaves you feeling that, if in reality not everything that Zeffirelli recalls had quite so much dash, whimsy and gallantry, it’s the way it should have been." Awards and nominations Won 2000 – BAFTA Awards – Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Maggie Smith. 2000 – Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards – Best Period Hair Styling Feature; Vivian McAteer. 2000 – Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists – Best