Hallam Foe (2007)
Hallam Foe: This Is My Story
Interview with Jamie Bell
Jamie Bell
With only 20 years of age Jamie Bell has already an impressive body of work. No wonder that he's predicted a great future as an actor. With Hallam Foe he ultimately leaves behind Billy Elliot, the role which he is probably best known for. He's now ready to take on adult roles which will make him an even bigger star. OutNow.CH met him in Berlin. He was a little tired, but very focused on the questions. A cool guy and in spite of his lanky body someone very engaging.
» Das Interview in deutscher Sprache
OutNow.CH (ON): What attracted you to the role of Hallam Foe?
On the Set of Hallam Foe
Jamie Bell (JB): I knew David Mackenzie's work. I saw Young Adam and Asylum and was fascinated by the look of the films. Hallam is just an eccentric character who goes through a dilemma in his young adulthood. It was a chance to finally play that coming of age story to put all coming of age stories that I used to play to bed. I've done quite a lot of boy to men stories. This film deals with a lot of grown up topics: A death in a family and how that affects one personally. Sex is an issue. And I've never shot a sex scene before. I knew that would come up at some point in my career and I thought that David would be the right director to do that with.
ON: Was it a pleasant shoot?
JB: It was a tough shoot. The film would have required a longer shooting schedule and we really crammed it in. We called the film "the beautiful nightmare". It was the most exhausting thing everybody has ever done, but everybody worked with a lot of passion and love.
ON: Did you enjoy doing all the illicit things in the film?
JB: The roof climbing and the lock picking is so essential to the character I did it all by myself. I'm not a big fan of heights. But I didn't bother to tell them that, so I was terrified. And a locksmith gave me all the tools and instructions to pick a lock. I was tempted to go the Dave Mackenzie's house and kick his lock and just walk in and surprise him.
ON: The great thing about the film is, that it doesn't make too big of a deal about all of Hallam Foe's eccentricities.
JB: He was never too eccentric in the original novel by Peter Jinks. When you're making a film about a voyeur it's always a fine line to sexual perversion and you start thinking he's a creep. But your really have to emphasize with him and like the guy. So we had to be aware of that.
ON: Was the MySpace-Profile done by you?
JB: No, it was done by Colin Kennedy, who also does the official Hallam Foe blog. But I wrote entries in the blog in character.
ON: Who came up with the idea?
JB: David and Sigma Films, the production company. The power of the internet is ridiculous. I was actually at a Justin Timberlake concert in Madison Square Garden and Dick in a Box is now officially a part of his set list after getting 12 million views on YouTube. That's what the internet can do. But having a Hallam Foe blog fits because the internet has that vibe of spying on people so it reflects the film.
ON: Hallam Foe has a cool soundtrack and a MySpace-profile. Does it mean that young people are the only target audience?
JB: Young people certainly get a kick out of this movie, especially if they're seventeen or eighteen. It's a big transitional time for a young person to figure out his own life. The movie reflects that quite nicely in a very strange way. It's also a very punky film. And punk is a big thing at the moment.
ON: You have an awesome chemistry with Sophia Myles in the film, for instance when you're flirting in the bar.
flirting
JB: For that scene we just got wasted. It usually helps a scene like that, if you are drunk. It's boring to pretend to be drunk. (He laughs) Sophia is playing a very interesting character. She's broken inside. She has a marriage that ended. She's now sleeping with her boss which I'm sure isn't the most pleasant experience. Suddenly this weird guy comes along who is a bit off the coffin. I guess for a character like Kate this youthful energy would be very intriguing. He really loves her and looks at her like she's coming from heaven. For such a broken character this is incredible attractive.
ON: In spite of all the Oedipus complex going on?
JB: We thought about that during the making of the film. My character is driven by the fact that he wants to fuck someone who looks like his mother. That's a weird concept. That drive is a difficult one because it usually goes into a very creepy area. It's all a question of how you translate his feelings into movie language and how audiences respond to that. David deals with it very well.
ON: What about the references to Alfred Hitchock?
JB: I love homages but it wasn't that we always talked about it on the set.
ON: You always seem to get the psychologically bruised parts. Is that something you look for?
JB: It's a nice addition to characters when they actually have to go through something or really believe in something. I feel you can really attach yourself to it and try to experience it as much as you can. I don't know if that says something about me personally. I can't figure that out, but maybe it does. But I really like to get the roles that challenge me as much as they can.
ON: Which part you played are you most proud of?
JB: It's definitively great to work with Peter Jackson and Clint Eastwood.
ON: But those are small parts.
JB: Yeah. Small parts in big movies. But more than a particular movie it's just great to have a list of filmmakers that you worked with. Passionate and energetic film makers from Thomas Vinterberg to Dave Mackenzie. Those are the kind of people I like to work with.
ON: Sounds like someone who wants to direct himself in the future aswell.
JB: Definitively. It's an ambition I have.
