It’s good to be seen as vaguely normal: Helena

Helena Bonham Carter on playing a non-eccentric role in The King’s Speech and charges of nepotism in Tim Burton’s films.

Helena Bonham Carter’s IMDB page has a peculiar element on it; her trademark says: she often works with director Tim Burton, plays eccentric roles and pre-20th century characters.

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Commenting on that, she says, “Well, it is good for me to be seen as vaguely normal in The King’s Speech instead of being dressed as a witch or some strange character.” As for working with partner Burton, she defends, “He casts me with great reluctance because he doesn’t want to be so obvious. He’s worried about nepotism.”

Treated like a queen
The British actor has been nominated for an Academy Award for The King’s Speech, in the Actress in Supporting Role category. She plays the part of the Queen’s mother, Elizabeth. Though Carter found playing someone who actually lived a ‘tricky task’, she gave Tom Hooper, the film’s director credit for being clear in his thought.

“I got treated like the Queen. He (Tom) was very polite to me and is someone who sees the picture in his head, works incredibly hard and expects us to do so too. There’s something unstoppable about him. A bit like Tim, you never know what’s in the head until you see it.”

Carter will soon also be seen in the last Harry Potter film — Harry Potter And The Dealthly Hallows — as her ongoing role of Bellatrix Lestrang. The film’s second part will release in July this year. Though she doesn’t reveal a lot about the franchise, she does say that working on the film was a healing process. “It was a real license to go to work and scream a lot. It was very therapeutic.”