Jamie Bell
Jamie Bell
Andrew James Matfin Bell is an English actor and dancer who rose to prominence for his debut role in Billy Elliotfor which he won the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He is also known for his roles in the films King Kong, Jumper, The Adventures of Tintin, and Snowpiercer, as well as starring as Abraham Woodhull in the TV series, Turn: Washington's Spies. He portrayed The Thing in the 2015 film Fantastic Four...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth14 March 1986
CityBillingham, England
I think a mantra I always told myself is, "No matter how many times somebody pitches the ball at you, if you swing every time, eventually one of them is going to connect." Being yourself and persistence are two things that became my daily mantras, I suppose.
As a kid I never had the impulse to climb anything. I think that most kids who live in small towns or rural areas outside of the city, that's what they do - climb walls, or trees, or whatever. To me, it was more dance classes and not being very boyish.
It's weird how an actor can read a script and think 'it's really good, it's really funny, that's going to be really dramatic...' and then you get there and say: "Oh, I have to get in it? I have to get in the water?! Are you kidding?"
I think I have much more appreciation for directing and movies overall versus a performance or an actor. Their body of work is more interesting.
Sometimes great things come from doing things quickly and not over-thinking stuff.
I think movie making can sometimes make you lazy in your approach. Occasionally you'll be shooting a scene and it's not even your coverage but you'll catch yourself slipping away and you'll see your mind going somewhere else. But you just can't afford to do that on stage.
I think as English people, we don't want to be reminded that at one point we ruled three-quarters of the globe, and now we're a very small country that doesn't own three-quarters of the globe.
I think it was the sense that Turn is a spy thriller, and that's a genre that really fascinates me, in general.
I don't think there's a lot of actors out there right now who really know what they're doing at all.
I don't think many people can say they've been the lead in a Spielberg film and still been able to live their normal life that they had before.
I actually don't mind rats at all. I kind of think they're quite cute, but that's just me.
I had teen angst for a while, but I think every teenager has the angst.
I have, I think, eight mentors. It's crazy, but I need them. They are all really important to me. They keep me grounded and advise me.
I think everyone still thinks I'm 13.