JAMIE BELL, star of Defiance and Hallam Foe, talks about eating Haribo rats, learning to ride horses, and getting physical on the set of his new movie THE EAGLE, a Roman-set action adventure.
**THE EAGLE is in cinemas from 25 March
Jamie Bell as slave Esca
MMM: Jamie, as an actor you might say you do whatever you’re asked to do, but did it seem a bit above and beyond at some stages?
Bell: I think Kevin [Macdonald, director] and Duncan [Kenworthy, producer] got very lucky having me and Channing [Tatum], because we’re very good physically. We both have physical backgrounds, predominantly in dance of course.
I’d never ridden a horse before, which was a big gamble for Kevin and Duncan. But I was very honest about that, a lot of actors lie about that sort of thing! I had to learn that from scratch.
The physical nature of it, the arduous nature of getting it done was part of the struggle of the characters and the story. It’s their endurance and stamina that gets them through it. I don’t think we had the same endurance and stamina. There were moments when we had to keep each other going, and press on.
MMM: This is a film that prides itself on its authenticity, but what were the rats you had to eat in the film?
Bell: I don’t know what it was that they gave us to eat. Actually, what they said it was, like the gelatine that holds together Haribo treats! That scene came at a time in the schedule, it was just like sheet rain, literally just didn’t stop. You were just in water.
MMM: You’re naturally very slim, but did you have to lose any more weight to play a slave?
Bell: No, I’m a pretty small guy. If I’d dropped any more weight, it’d have been a bit ridiculous. I tried to bulk up a little bit. We wanted these characters to feel like they could definitely take care of themselves. Channing ‘s character is a very trained, formal fighter, he’s in the military, so we wanted to differentiate Esca, make him a feral, wiry, instinctual fighter.
MMM: How does the physicality of making a film like The Eagle compare to doing motion capture for Tintin?
Bell: They’re two completely opposite things, one is technology and one is nature. You’d think one would be more freeing than the other… being in nature and having that physical environment to interact with does improve the performance. But I find that motion capture allows you to fill in the blanks, and it becomes a space that is inventive and it becomes a space that is actually much more creative than you’d imagine.
It’s was very strange to go from one grey room to the Highlands of Scotland and actually interact with real animals and real people and real situations, and landscapes. It’s funny, it works against the way to think.
MMM: What was it like doing most of your own stunts?
Bell: When you’ve got your fellow actors incredibly game for doing the stuff, and very competent in doing it, it requires you to really step up to the plate, which is great because we’re both are very competitive with each other.
We’re competitive individuals, and we really pushed each other through some of the harder scenes. You know, who’s got the faster horse, who’s got the better fight scene, who can stay in the river for longer, stuff like that… really it was childhood stuff. We were running around with swords and spears… it was really good fun.
MMM: What knowledge did you have of Rosemary Sutcliff’s novels before you signed on for the movie?
Bell: It came to me as a screenplay. I was completely unaware of this collection of novels and Rosemary Sutcliff’s work. It was Jeremy Brock first screenplay that I read a really long time ago, the sensibility of the story, the themes, the journey of the character… And after I met Kevin I actually went and read the novel, which is obviously a fantastic journey for the same characters… But after reading it I really realised what a genius Jeremy was at taking a great story and adapting it into a really cinematical piece. I really had a great appreciation for Jeremy’s work.
By Jan Gilbert
