Billy Elliot Grows up!
tMF takes a close look at award winning young actor Jamie Bell!
by Jed Medina

Determined to portray unconventional characters while collaborating with cutting edge filmmakers, Jamie Bell has more than departed from his most famous role as an aspiring ballet dancer in Billy Elliot.

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The Billy Elliot Days: "I was 13. I had just finished Billy Elliot and I was thrust back into school again, and that was the hardest thing for me to do. There you are after making a film, and your head and your mentality are as a child's, and you're thinking, I have everything, everything and everybody is at my disposal, and I'm in charge. And instantly you're not. It can really ruin a person because you think you are the biggest thing that this planet has ever seen, because that's what they've built you up to be, and then you're not so hot anymore.

Going back into school in Billingham [England, Bell's hometown], I had to start all over again. But one advantage I had is that all the other kids in my school still had their dreams from when they were 6 years old--"I wanna be a fireman," "I wanna be a police officer"--they hadn't really thought of what they wanted to do. But, luckily for me, I had this road already laid out for me, one which I will continue on." says Bell.

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Becoming Billy Elliot: But his breakthrough role was not given to Bell on a silver platter. It was said that more than 2,000 auditioned for the role. Tiscali reported a rather amusing story when the film’s director called Bell to inform him of the role…
First time movie director Stephen Daldry was determined that the role of Billy should go to a local child but the task of finding a young Teesside boy who was also a ballet expert proved to be virtually impossible. More than 2,000 children auditioned for the role and it wasn't until young Bell, who is also from a single parent family, turned up that Daldry found his 'needle in a haystack'. But despite landing the once-in-a-lifetime part the youngster took the news that he'd been successful firmly in his stride.

"I was sitting on the sofa watching football and the phone rang and me mam picked it up and I was like, 'Shut up I can't hear the football'," he smiles. "Me mam said, 'It's Stephen' and passed me the phone and he said, 'Hello this is Stephen Daldry' and I went, 'Yes I know' and he said, 'I'd like you to do the film' and I was like 'Yeah,' then passed the phone back to me mam and I just sat back on the chair and started watching the football again," he grins.

Says Bell of his director:

"He has been a major part in my life. He has given me a foothold in one of the greatest industries in the world. I think this is a brilliant game to play. He gives me so much advice and is so supportive. Some of the advice he has given me has been dealing with the idea of a long term career. But mostly he has told me about continuing to be a real person and supporting your friends.

After Billy Elliot: Bell surprised his growing fans and filmgoers alike when he went for the part of Smike in the film adaptation of Charles Dickens ‘Nicholas Nickleby’

Were you chosen because of Billy Elliot?

I don’t think so. I had to read for the part. Smike is such an important part of the movie that I had to read a few scenes before a decision was made. I had them all crying in the room. Immediately after I was asked if I would play Smike. I loved the opportunity because it meant I was working with such a great cast.

Was part of the appeal the fact that Smike was such a different role for you to tackle?

Yes that was something I have to achieve. I have to shatter the Billy Elliot image. People see me as this dancing kid with ballet shoes round my neck and I want to move on. That was also why I did the World War I horror film Deathwatch. Now people are going to see me in Nicholas Nickleby and it is good for me to show some variety in what I do.

What was it like working with such an amazing cast in Nicholas Nickleby?

It was quite intimidating, especially when you are so young and new to the industry. When I was told that the cast included Jim Broadbent, Christopher Plummer, Edward Fox, Juliet Stevenson, Nathan Lane and Barry Humphries it felt like quite a pressure on the younger members of the cast - Charlie Hunnam, Anne Hathaway, Romola Garai and myself - who all have important parts in the movie. The great thing though was that because I am still learning about this business it meant that I was learning from the best people. I have not had any formal training so this was a chance to watch and learn from some of the best actors in the world.

Choosing Film Roles: Unlike some of his contemporaries who seem to fall into the stereotypical trap, Bell managed to amaze his audience by the choice of roles he played. From his intense portrayal of a young southern American teen in Undertow, to his teen-angst rendition in the Chumbscrubber to being casted in Peter Jackson's King Kong to the up and coming Hallam Foe, Bell is innovative and unpredictable in what he might do next.

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"I think what's important with films like King Kong is that you keep on changing, and you show people your range and show them what you can do. You keep people guessing. From David Gordon Green to Thomas Vinterberg to King Kong, it keeps people guessing...." he said in an interview recently.

Says critic Stephen Holden of the New York Times about Bell's performance for Undertow: "Mr. Lucas and Mr. Mulroney, both capable actors, grasp at the primal, but they bring too much Hollywood to their roles. The movie is stolen by Mr. Bell. Unrecognizable from his celebrated turn in "Billy Elliott," he is entirely convincing as a tough but lost Southern teenager aching for sex. "

Working with Lars Von Trier for the film Wendy can be considered as a challenge to Bell, as he has to deal and study for a role that is his exact opposite…

What did you make of Von Trier?

Lars, I think, always seems to be having problems communicating what he’s thinking at any given time. He likes to make people feel uncomfortable as well. That’s the way he is, that’s his nature. I love that as well. It’s a different vibe. It’s electric when he does that to you. But I find him incredibly innovative. He’s changed cinema and he tells stories that people don’t dare to tell. I think he should be celebrated because of that. I love his work and it was an honor portraying this character that he wrote so beautifully.

As an actor, what is your relationship to guns?

I’m terrified of them. Being British, guns are illegal and it’s completely illegal to own handguns at home, so the idea of guns is very foreign to me. It was something I never really considered. I’m terrified of guns and I’m a complete pacifist. Before I did the film, I hated the guns. I detested them. I was never allowed toy guns as a child. Guns were something that was in films and on the news. So actually holding a gun for the first time was absolutely terrifying. I was shaking my arse off; I couldn’t hold it properly. I was worried about the kickback. We actually shot some live ammunition on a shooting range in Denmark. Once you get over that fear element, you suddenly feel yourself change. You’re holding something that can do the ultimate thing, of take someone’s life.

That’s a big feeling. It’s scary as well. Once you learn to control the fear of it, it becomes exciting. You can feel more relaxed and take people on, confront them and look them in the eye. You can be very forward. But then also, putting a gun on the table and isolating it – especially the guns we were using – it’s actually a beautiful piece of machinery. It’s designed for one thing and one thing only, but the intricacy of all the pieces that fit together so perfectly, and the designs on the grips can be sometimes very beautiful. The history of gun making goes back for centuries, and some are very elegant. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.

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Fast Forward: At 20 and ready to play more matured roles, Bell will next be seen as Hallam Foe, perhaps his most challenging role yet. Directed by David McKenzie, it tells the story of a teen (Bell) who suspects his seductive step mom as responsible for the death of his mother.

While his role as the gun-touting pacifist in Lars Von Trier's Dear Wendy is as unconventional and challenging, playing the lead as Hallam Foe will provide Bell with another opportunity to expand his range as an actor. The film which is spiced with issues of sexual awakening and self-identity will bring Bell in the forefront of cutting edge cinema.

Last Word: Who is your role model? Leonardo Di Caprio is a great role model for me because he started so long and has managed to get through his teens and everything as an actor and keep progressing. He did a great movie when he was 18 – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? - And has had blockbusters like Titanic and Gangs of New York.

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Comments (6)

Favorite Jamie Bell movie

Luv to put a top list! Can I start with Jamie's? :grin

1. Billy Elliot
2. Undertow
3. Dear Wendy

I think Gordon Green's Undertow is one of the most amazing films ever, Bell was so good in it, you should watch this movie if you can!

Lukas Jamieson , July 12, 2007

Jamie Bell at european-films.net!

Boyd van Hoeij's european-films.net is one of the most resourceful and informative sites on the net about films and actors in the European cinema, and perhaps much more. There was a particularly insightful interview he did with one of tMF's favorite actors, Jamie Bell.

Hallam is one of the biggest outsiders Bell has played so far, though he can hardly relate to being an outsider. "Even though I was into dancing when I was younger," Bell explains, "I never really was an outsider in the way Hallam is. I had the full support from my family. Hallam is much more of an outsider and has all these issues of anger, guilt and sadness inside". On the question of whether the actor thinks he could have been friends with someone like Hallam, Bell answers after some hesitation: "Be friends? Yes, I guess so. He has as good heart, a good soul".

More of theInterview

Admin , September 16, 2007

Jumper

OMG!
I watched this movie "Jumper" just to see Hayden Christensen (I'm a BIG fan of Anakin =D)... but I have to say Bell stole all of my attention!


He is one of the best actors I've ever seen... but I had never heard about him before... now I jus NEED to watch all of his movies! =D

Just have to say that I am really impressed by his acting!

Clara , May 21, 2008

ta.

thanks for features like this guys. greatest guy ever! not a bad actor either..

Jo , June 22, 2008

Wow, Jaime

I can't wait to see Hallam Foe (Mister Foe, US). It has finally arrived in the US after a year of waiting. I've watched Jaime Bell's films and I have to admit that he is one hell of a gifted actor. The roles and characters he plays are just so offbeat, you can't help but like him. He is simply too talented to miss.

Joy , August 28, 2008

...

Well i saw Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot and thought he was a great actor for being so young. Then i saw him in Chumscrubber, now he is one of my favorite actors. Jamie is a great actor, and helps so well that he is very good looking .

Lydia , September 01, 2008

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