NYLON - February 2009 - (Page 117) radar: lord of the danse actor jamie bell might have started “My body just couldn’t take it anymore. I was shaking so badly,” he says. “But his career in a flurry of glissades and arabesques, but, a decade Daniel was brilliant. He ripped my soaked jacket off me and wrapped me up in later, he’s appearing in a holocaust towels.” James Bond coming to the rescue, then? Bell smiles. “Actually, no. There movie. by nick duerden. was no bravado to it, it was just that kind of set—we watched out for one another.” Bell has come a long way since Billy Elliot, the charming British film about photographed by aliya naumoff ASK JAMIE BELL just how much he feels life has changed for him these past 10 years, and he’ll let loose a licorice-black laugh that sounds as though it should be emanating from a grizzled 60-year-old rather than a fresh-faced young man. “Well, it’s changed out of all recognition,” Bell, 22, begins. “I mean, hello? I’m a boy from the northeast of England who is somehow finding himself walking down the red carpet next to Daniel Craig. Like, how the hell did that happen? But don’t worry,” he adds, “I’m aware of how crazy all this is, and I like to think I’m in control of it. At least I hope I am ” Bell has recently been attending premieres alongside Craig because the pair are starring, alongside Liev Schrieber, in Edward Zwick’s World War II epic, Defiance, which tells the tale of three Jewish brothers’ fraught battle against the Nazis. It’s a fine film, and Bell’s performance, in such venerable company, is quietly impressive. “It was great to be involved in something like this,” he says, “but it was a tough shoot. Winter in Lithuania isn’t the easiest season.” Bell recalls one particular scene in which the actors were required to run through the forest in the bitter cold. The numerous takes were getting to all of them, but especially to Bell. Suddenly, he collapsed. a young working-class boy with aspirations to become a ballet dancer. He was just 13 years old then, and, as he readily points out, could so easily have peaked on his debut outing. Instead, he has applied himself to the craft of acting with admirable focus, first leaving his hometown of Billingham in favor of New York, and racking up some impressive films along the way. He has appeared with Glenn Close in The Chumscrubber, Jack Black in King Kong, and Samuel L. Jackson in the action flick Jumper, and has also been directed by bonafide Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood in another war epic, Flags Of Our Fathers. “All part of the plan,” he says, chuckling. “But seriously, it has been a struggle from time to time.” Bell admits that he tends to be put forward for the same roles as at least five or six other young Hollywood actors right now (and, no, he won’t be so indiscreet as to name them), but is adamant that each of the films he gets adds to his growing résumé and gives him invaluable experience: “I’m confident I’m doing good work,” he says. “I’m happy.” His personal life is still in a state of transition, though: High up on his right arm, Bell has a single, inconspicuous tattoo that reads, simply, E. He had it done two years ago in honor of his then-girlfriend, actress Evan Rachel Wood. This was a love that was to last forever until, of course, it didn’t. Bell is now single. But, presumably, it must be difficult to meet new people when you’re a star. He nods. “It can be, yes, but I’ve learned how to steer clear of those people who only want to get with you because you’re famous.” And how does he spot them? Bell breaks out into another big-bellied, oldman laugh. “It’s not difficult. They act like maniacs.” stylist: moses moreno. grooming: cheri keating at the wall group. sweater by diesel, top by gap, pants by endovanera, stylist’s own vintage shoes. 117
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