(laughing)
- Helena Bonham Carter
- How are you doing?
- Very well thanks, how are you?
- I'm fine.
How are you enjoying your acting career so far?
(laughing)
- I'm enjoying it, thanks.
- Let's say that I'm your fairy godmother,
and you'd say,
"Hello fairy godmother, can you just adjust things
"and take a few of the bad bits away?"
What would the bad bits that you want me to take away be?
- I'd quite like, I love doing the job,
love working with people you work with,
I'd quite like no one to ever watch it.
- That's exactly what I think, too.
- 'cause that's where it gets ruined.
- I prefer not to watch it,
and not anyone to watch it.
It's kinda nice up til now, we've been in this bubble,
and this is never gonna come out.
But now its suddenly gonna come out.
- [Olivia] Yeah, that's where it all goes wrong.
- What's the question you don't want me to ask you?
- Tell us some funny stories from on set.
I hate that one. - Yeah, or can you tell me,
how did you research - No, they're my funny stories
- for this part? - with my friends on set.
- Research the part (laughs).
- Can you tell me about that, how did you approach the part?
- How did you approach the part, Helena?
(laughing)
You tell me.
- It's very funny 'cause I think
we're utterly different on that bit.
Aren't we, we are quite different.
I think we're quite similar in some things.
But, I think I do everything
and you don't do anything.
(laughing)
But, she's amazing.
I mean you are, you're a phenomenon.
But I think you're quite private about what you do.
- Maybe that's what it is
that makes it sound better. - So in fact,
I think you do a lot but you just pretend
that you don't do anything.
I think you must have a photographic memory.
Do you have a photographic memory?
- No.
- How do you learn your lines?
Just out of, I know,
a lot of people don't like talking about it
and I know you don't like talking about it,
'cause there's a sort of
- But?
- But,
but how do you actually?
- I don't do any differently to anyone else.
- How do you know?
(laughing)
- Well, I presume,
because I don't have a photographic memory
- You don't?
- No, so you do have to sit there and
short scenes I won't bother learning until on the day.
- Really?
- Because I don't think there's room in my head to.
Some people learn stuff for a whole week.
I can't do that.
- See, if I left it to the day, I'd get too panicked.
- Only a short scene.
- Even a short scene.
I can't, it won't stick.
I'm gonna have cue cards everywhere,
it's gonna be a disaster.
- You won't, just literally, a little scene,
maybe if you had a couple of lines,
you wouldn't have to learn that in advance, would you?
- No, I wanna feel, I think I just
I can't absorb.
- I quite like the panic.
- Do you like the adrenalin?
- Yeah.
- I've got a few friends
who like the adrenalin. - I love the end of the day.
You know the end of a day when they haven't,
everyone's a little bit panicked
and everyone's, we've got to finish at six.
I love that.
- [Helena] And you can only do a few takes?
- I love that.
- Yeah, you like that bit.
Except when you're knackered at the end of the day
and you just - It's like a coffee, isn't it
it sort of really picks you up.
- So you're a bit of an adrenalin junkie possibly?
- Maybe.
(laughing)
I've never thought that about myself.
- OK the best bit and the worst bits.
So what are the best bits of this job and the worst bits?
- The best bits are
- [Helena] The acting bit?
- well, making friends.
That's always the best bit.
'Cause like minded people,
you always find them on a set, don't you?
Cast and crew. - Yeah.
- Love that.
I love it when it's well written.
I love being in a scene that's really beautifully written.
- Yeah, makes us look better. - And you feel it.
And it's great.
- And it takes off.
- And you can feel that (inhaling and exhaling).
Worst bits?
5am get ups.
Errrrr
- It's just not possible, not feasible.
- I'm much better at 5am,
I mean at being on time than I am,
once the kids are wake them I'm screwed.
- So, actually in a way it's better that you wake up at five
'cause they're not--
- Well then I'm just, I wake up and 10 minutes later
I'm in my car. - You have your solitary time.
You can have your own time.
How to juggle those two. - I don't really like
my own time.
- No, I love my own time,
see that's where we differ.
We are very different in that way.
- What's your best and worst?
- The best bit is when I read a script
and it's great writing.
And I go "I could do this" and "I could that"
and, I've got got all these ideas and possibility
is just endless. - I don't have any ideas.
(laughing)
- That's the difference between you and me.
So I get too many ideas and I get option-itus
but it's just so exciting.
And then I dream and start dreaming I could do this
and I could do that - You get option-itus?
- Option-itus?
- So you pick different ways of doing it?
- All the time.
Yeah, I love choice.
We could do it this way, we could do it that way,
and the better the writing,
the more choices you have,
and that excites me.
- Gosh, I see that quite differently.
- Totally different, isn't it interesting?
- So the better the writing, the more I think
I know exactly where I'm meant to go.
And, if the writings bad then I think
"oh God, I've got lots of ideas."
- No, that's true.
That's true too.
The good thing about,
I find the worst writing you've gotta find
one way or one choice that makes it work.
The better the writing,
you could do it many, many different ways.
- And it will still be good?
- It will still be good and then it's up to you
to go like hang on. - Yeah, maybe you're right.
- But it's sort of, so the best bit is before you do it,
the worst bit is when you watch it.
- Yeah, when you get the job,
the best bit is hearing.
- Is when getting the job.
(exclaiming and cheering)
(laughing)
And then, from then on, the idiocy of this profession is
you really wanna job,
then you get the job
and then you're racing through the schedule
going like "when have I got my days off?".
(laughing)
It's so stupid.
- I think every actor's like that, aren't they?
- We're pathetic.
But the worst bit is actually watching.
I can't bear watching, can you watch yourself?
- No I don't mind watching, I just don't want
anyone else to watch it that's the problem.
I don't mind watching.
- You don't mind watching yourself?
- No.
- That's so interesting.
- Do you mind?
- I hate it.
- Why?
- [Helena] It's never what I thought it was gonna be.
I had all these dreams. - I know,
and there's definitely moments when I think,
oh I wish I'd done that differently.
- But, I'm always trying to get out of myself.
- I think that I'm thinking,
I probably see it as worse - Oh you do.
- as somebody else does.
- No we all can't judge ourselves.
And also I don't think we can,
it's a very, I feel like I'm in a sort of like,
it's a bit of a narcicisstic way of watching
because you're always going like me, me, me.
And in fact, you're not seeing the story,
so you don't see what,
you're not seeing the context.
There's so much that perverts our perception.
- I do love watching,
to watch, for example,
scenes that you've done with Ben Daniels,
that I wasn't present at.
I love watching what everyone else has done.
- Yeah, I like scenes that I'm not in.
- Because we're lucky we get to learn
to do different things like horse riding, or
have you-- - What have you had to learn?
Walk?
(laughing)
- I can't do that! - No.
That's something we have in common, we can't walk.
- Yeah we can't, we both walk like farmers,
no offense to farmers - We can't walk in high heels.
- but it's not royalty is meant to walk like.
- No, no, no we can't do high heels.
- Look.
Look at us both, here you are. - (laughing)
- We've got platform trainers
and sandals, the pair of us.
- Any wide shot,
it's not fortunate.
- Now I have to say, I thought I was bad in heels,
then I met you. - (laughing)
- It's amazing.
Bambi on ice.
- They're implements, they're stupid things,
them as a torture and they're disabling.
- They can be very pretty, very pretty.
- They can be pretty, but they hurt.
And I can't stand up.
And I can't get from A to B.
(laughing)
And honestly, Amy, who I love
- She's our incredible
wardrobe designer - she's not given me one shoe
that fits my foot.
- Oh my god I've seen - I love her.
- at least 20 shoes in your--
- What about your shoes?
Do they fit your foot?
- Well, they're alright.
- She likes you better then.
(laughing)
She's got it in for my feet!
- No, but she's trying, she's had about
20 shoes out for you, maybe your--
- Argh, they don't work. - Unless they're trainers,
- you're not happy. - I mean they're normal feet
they're reasonably normal.
- They're very little feet.
- But they're honestly,
they seem to be a puzzle, an impossibility for her.
(laughing)
The bits I don't like are sitting still
having hair and make up done.
They're brilliant,
but you know that you've gotta be there for them
and still
and I can't sit still very well for two and a half hours.
Plus my music choice is not helpful (laughing)
- (sighs) So we all, all of us are in a makeup van together.
- All in a row.
- And sure enough
- Lots of chats.
This is at five o'clock in the morning.
- I particularly enjoy annoying Tobias,
'cause he's quite quiet and quite sensible
and he's working - And he wears his earphones.
- Wears his earphones and I keep going
(whining voice) "TM!"
And asking him questions and he,
I know that he's just being sweet
'cause he actually wants to go "fuck off!".
- Beam me up, Scotty. - Bless him, he has
to sit between us, that's awful.
- It's not good for him.
- But, Helena has the most extraordinary
- Bad
(laughing)
- Extraordinarily bad playlist for in the makeup van.
- It's perfect, she thinks its spa music.
Shall we play a little?
We could actually-- - Oh no!
(laughing)
No, don't put anyone through it.
We sometimes text each other, behind you, going
"what the fuck is this that she's playing?'.
- Ah, is that what happens?
And then there was a song that was really nice
- it was sort of lulling, - It wasn't,
it was a ridiculous - the yurt song?
(singing with a thick accent)
♪Welcome in my yurt song ♪
(laughing)
- But we don't wanna have,
if you had your way, - We had it every day
for eight months. - You would be in a festival
from five o'clock.
- I bought Sue, Sue David my makeup artist, disco lights.
(humming dance music)
- We had a disco. - But that's not
what everybody wants early in the morning.
- I do understand that.
- Your energy is prodigious, mine isn't.
I spend most of my time horizontal and having snoozes.
- At lunch time today I said,
"Hellie shall we have lunch together?"
And she said "you can have 10 minutes of eating and talking
"and then I will be lying down and you can lie down
"next to me but silence after that."
Well, no thanks.
(laughing)
I'll go and chat to everyone else.
- Well you can chat to other, you know,
you've got amazing stamina.
We have different energy levels.
I come up and then I die.
And then I need to have a snooze.
And my hot water bottle.
- And I like a snooze, but not when we're all together!
I want to chat.
- But then, you last, you've got all these reserves.
And we've also got another six months, Colly.
(laughing)
- Eight I think it's eight actually.
- I think we should have a snooze at lunch, pace yourself.
- No!
I don't want to.
- We've got the new young blood.
- [Olivia] Yeah, I've got the young blood.
That'll be a test to our stamina, won't it?
It might turn out-- - I think you'll be fine.
(laughing)
But they're all great and hilarious.
Erin is hilarious. - Oh god, she's brilliant.
- It is fun to watch everybody, and see what they
and Josh is brilliant.
- I love that Erin,
she's (in cockney accent)
"Aright?
"How's it goin?
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, nice."
and then she suddenly becomes
- (in posh British accent) "Hello".
(laughing)
- She is amazing.
- I do find sometimes, you know
when you're working with someone who's really good,
and I'm like "oh that was good"
oh shit it's my turn!
(laughing)
- Do you remember the first scene, that was funny.
- No, what was the first scene?
- The first scene we actually did together.
- No.
- You actually put ear plugs in
so you didn't have to listen. - (gasps) Sorry!
- No it was very funny, I thought it was hilarious.
- That sounds rude, that was not as rude as it sounds.
'Cause she was saying very upsetting things
and my character was meant to be much stronger than I am,
and I kept going (groaning)
and you were like, that's not how the Queen would react.
(laughing)
So I had to listen, they cleverly,
the brilliant sound department,
came up with they tuned into the shipping forecast
and I had it in my ears.
- It was extraordinary.
So she wasn't listening to me.
I had this long spiel
and I could see Olivia's sort of far away look
- Going (robotic voice) south utsire, north utsire--
- And then she'd look at me 'cause she had one line to say
and then go "hmm?".
(laughing)
And then Marion was being the Queen Mother in front of me
and then there was this one on the shipping forecast
I thought "this is very, very funny".
But then you did take the ear plugs out, after.
- See, I didn't do it in every scene we had together.
- No but you have and you haven't been telling me.
(laughing)
- I'm listening to
(sings electronic music)
- All your festival music.
I know you don't really like talking about it
but you are amazing.
- You're talking about work again, aren't you?
- Yeah, yeah.
'Cause it's funny, it is very private,
I don't want to pry where it's too private.
But is there anything that you do to get into
do you do any thinking?
(laughing)
About this part?
- Yes.
- But on an unconscious level?
- But it's written so beautifully
and you've got great voice coaches
and then there's not an awful lot else to do.
Tell me the funniest thing you've done
to get into character.
I know the answer already,
but I just want you to tell everyone.
- Which one, the farting?
Or the?
(laughing)
'Cause that's not intentional.
What for Margaret?
- Yes.
- Not sure.
Head back,
I do a bit of a head back.
- Who did you approach to help you get--
- Oh the medium?
- Yeah, I still think that's really funny.
I love you very much.
(laughing)
Do you know someone in the last press junket said,
"so we heard that Helena approached a medium,
"did you approach a medium?".
No, 'cause the Queens's still alive.
- [Helena] Somebody yesterday did say,
really, really clever, lovely man photographer,
said "so did you get to meet her?
"Did you have to meet?".
Mm kind of.
She did.
- Kind of.
- But, I'm very anal so no stone unturned,
so I thought well why not, give it a whirl.
Meet a medium and see what they come up with.
And actually, - And was it helpful though?
- I think it was.
'Cause the first thing that she said was
- The medium or Margaret?
- It was via the medium, obviously Margret wasn't there,
but the medium, who is a friend of mine,
who is a psychic and generally helps people
- And gets paid?
- She did get paid but not an inordinate amount.
I know where your heads going.
Take total advantage of me, but,
so the first thing that she'd said, apparently,
she said, "Oh, Margaret's here."
and I said, "oh really"
'cause I was actually doing it for other reasons
and she said "oh well, we might as well talk to her
"since she's come'
and said, "she's in full regalia"
she said, "she does like the fact that I'm playing,
"I'm a better choice than the other actor
"they were thinking of."
(gasps)
So that's good.
- Unless the other actor's watching this.
- I don't know, no I know.
But that's a very typical thing
that she gives you a compliment
and also sort of puts you down at the same time.
She said it was about time that I scrubbed up,
that's very Margaret, she said--
- Oh what is it, that your friend just wanting to say?
- Maybe.
Because funnily enough,
when she contacted my great granny,
my great granny had the same thing
so it's "enough of this eccentric dressing,
"can you just be elegant now.".
- You are elegant.
- Today I'm elegant.
- You're so beautiful.
- Oh thank you, but not every day.
- You are, you're always very elegant.
- No, I'm not.
- Well I think you are.
- Thank you.
The one thing that I thought, this is a good note from her,
she said, "remember that the cigarette holder
"is as much a weapon for expression
"as just satisfying my an addiction.".
- Oh, that's good.
- That's pretty articulate.
That was about it.
Scrub up.
- So rude.
(laughing)
- Scrub up.
And then once I did meet her, that was another thing,
and I did think that's pretty ironic.
'Cause she said to me
- You did meet?
- I met her years ago, before she died, obviously.
In my early thirties and she said,
"Oh you are getting better, aren't you.".
And that was a very typical, now I got,
there was something rather ambivalent about her,
she complimented but she'd take it away.
And she's always slightly difficult to place
and it's that prickly sort of atmosphere.
- Which is what makes her such a wonderful character.
- She's complicated and she's not easy.
Not easy to be I don't think but fun to play.
And you can do it many, many ways
and it would be appropriate.
- But you see, we don't have many ways with
the people that we're playing because,
I mean I couldn't play the Queen Welsh.
- You definitely couldn't play her (in Welsh accent) Welsh.
But you could try (in foreign accent)
and that is not Welsh is it, I don't know what we are going.
- You're going all over Europe.
- No, the Queen,
the whole point about the Queen is so consistent.
- Yeah.