Jamie Bell keeps tapping his foot on the floor. Nerves? Not in the least. He just can’t sit still for a moment. In his case, it’s the kind of irrepressible restlessness that can turn movement into poetry, as he brilliantly demonstrated in his debut role as Billy Elliot. The magic of dance is also the subject of his next project, Fred & Ginger, a biopic about Hollywood’s golden couple of Astaire and Rogers. The film will see him making a second appearance alongside Margaret Qualley, having already shared the screen with her in the thriller Donnybrook. This affable, mild-mannered 35-year-old British actor prefers to stay out of the spotlight, despite his choice of famous partners. After his divorce from Evan Rachel Wood (they have a son called Jack), he married Kate Mara (Rooney Mara’s sister). But even with the low profile, he’s still in high demand. After Stefano Sollima’s Without Remorse, he’s already working on a sequel to The Adventures of Tintin directed by Peter Jackson, a series titled Shining Girls with Elisabeth Moss, and the drama film Surrounded. In his career he has never shied away from a challenge, even at the cost of a few disappointments (namely the not-so-amazing Fantastic Four reboot). With his exceptional versatility, he has leaped from art films like Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac to blockbusters like King Kong, or from a musical biopic like Rocketman, based on the life of Elton John, to an indie drama like Skin, in which he played the part of a neo-Nazi.
You’re British but you spend a lot of time in the US. Where do you feel most at home?
In some ways the US works better, whereas at times Britain gets tangled up in red tape. Not to mention Brexit, which is like a really embarrassingly bad joke. In the future, I think I might choose some European city like Berlin.
Does it bother you that you’ve never met your father, especially since you’ve become a father yourself?
Children need an example, and if you don’t have one then you have to find a guide. I did have that. I grew up in a house full of love, surrounded by exceptional women: my mum, my grandma and my auntie.
All three of them are excellent dancers, and you picked up the talent from an early age. Is music still a big part of your life?
I love music. I play the guitar and I compose soundtracks. Even when I’m not working, art is still my escape valve because I’m always drawing or writing stories. But don’t ask me to cook because I’m hopeless.
Do you have any talents that aren’t artistic?
I do have a degree in procrastination. My wife often tells me off because I’m incapable of sticking to a timetable. If I have to get something done by tomorrow because I have a strict deadline, then I’ll probably get around to it by next week. But I also have a hard time concentrating, even on simple things like packing a suitcase.
You’re also one of the few stars without an Instagram profile. How do you get along with technology?
I love technology. I get excited over presentations of new Apple products just like a kid. But technology is a tool and it has to be used properly. I also really enjoy using Twitter and sharing ideas.
Has there been any role that got so under your skin that you couldn’t shake it off?
Kate couldn’t stand me after I finished shooting Skin. I was filled with anger and resentment. I had nightmares and I’d start screaming at night. She was scared and kept telling me to cool down.
How can you play a skinhead without judging him?
The man in the story [Bryon Widner] now lives in the witness protection programme. I met him for four days in his garage and tried to understand him. He was the only white kid in a Hispanic school and he was bullied, and then he vented that rage on others. I don’t understand him, but then again he’s never forgiven himself either.
It was one of your most extreme looks, too, with your face covered in tattoos.
I’m not one of those actors who can also transform themselves physically, like Gary Oldman or Christian Bale. I have a metabolism that prevents me from putting on weight. But at one point I had to keep all those fake tattoos on because the film was low budget and we didn’t have the money to redo them, so I was walking around like that in New York. People avoided me because I looked so monstrous. I can understand that. If I’d met him on the street I’d have done the same.
What kind of temperament do you really have?
I’m calm and sympathetic, with an almost delicate nature. So all that venom really isn’t part of me at all.
Do you believe in second chances, or do you think everyone is bound to their destiny?
I’m not religious, but I think that every action has consequences so we need to think about that carefully.
It’s been announced that you’ll be doing the voice of Tintin again. He’s a character who has been part of so many people’s childhood. What did you read as a boy?
Roald Dahl or Mark Twain, especially The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As for films, The Dead Poets’ Society left a mark on me. But as a kid I usually preferred music. Thanks to my granddad, when I was nine I was listening to Mozart and Beethoven, and that baffled my sister. I’ve never been able to sit still, and since you can’t move about when you’re reading that was a problem for me.
Why didn’t you become a ballet dancer like Billy Elliot, then?
I always lacked the right posture. What a pity!
Photo Jamie Bell by Doug Inglish / Trunk Archive.
