Jamie Bell
Interview by Brandon Judell
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This young British actor has taken the film festival circuit by storm.
His new film,
Billy Elliot, won rave reviews at Cannes and
Toronto,
and Bell's performance is being pegged as Oscar material. Jamie talks
with PlanetOut's Brandon Judell about his character, a boy who chooses
ballet over boxing lessons and faces his father's wrath.
PlanetOut: If a young boy from that area [the small town where
the film was
shot, and where Jamie Bell grew up] wanted to become a ballet dancer,
he'd face the same prejudice that your character does in the film.
Jamie Bell: Pretty much, yeah. When the kids at school found out
I was a dancer, I
got a lot of hassle. The
usual things, like "poof," "go and get your tutu on, Jamie," "hang
around
with those," all that kind
of stuff. But them saying that made it more of a challenge to me and
gave me more determination to do
it. ... I wanted to prove to them that it's not just
for girls, but it's for boys
as well.
PlanetOut: It's such a complex film and your character is so
complex. When you
read the screenplay and saw
that one of your best friends was a cross-dresser, did you say, "My
god!"?
JB: Well, I've never had to deal with anything like that. I've
never
met someone who dresses in
the opposite sex's clothes. ... I thought it was
just quite cute, actually. He's willing to do it for his friend, and the
friend is willing to take him
under his wings, that's fine.
PlanetOut: One of the pivotal scenes in the film is when your
father embraces
you and finally supports you in
the end. Did you bring up sensations from home like that, or do you
understand why that scene affects
people so much?
JB: I think this film is for fathers
and sons ... and just
bringing the family close together. ... The dad does it because he knows
that [Billy is] growing out of his family and he wants to move on. ...
Billy wins him over through his dancing. I
think he's a bit sad to see him
go, but he knows he's growing out of his family, so he's quite pleased
with him as well.
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