Helena Bonham Carter played many of the 20th-century British royals in the Oscar-nominated Queen Elizabeth ( The King's Speech ). She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role as Princess Margaret ( "The Crown "). Her latest film continues her penchant for history, but stays closer to her hometown.
In "One Life ," she plays Bobby, the mother of British stockbroker Nicholas Winton, who rescued hundreds of children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia during World War II. As she tells Bustle, Barb's background "is kind of woven into my DNA."
"I read the script about six years ago and [screenwriter Lucinda Coxon] said, 'Given that you both come from the same European Jewish background, you're perfect to play Barb,'" she says from her home office in London said via Zoom. "It's very similar because both my grandparents helped Jews leave."
Bonham Carter's maternal grandfather, Eduardo Proper de Callejon, was a Spanish diplomat who saved thousands of lives by issuing visas to Jewish refugees crossing the border into Portugal; her grandmother, Violet Mrs. Bonham Carter was an outspoken wartime politician against Nazism and fascism.
Bonham Carter continued their legacy as Barb, helping her son's missionary work in London. (Johnny Flynn plays the younger Winton and Anthony Hopkins plays the older Winton.) "I've always been drawn to the past, but also felt a responsibility to continue whatever they were doing, because frankly , we wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for our grandparents,” the British actor said.
That wasn't the only connection: "Oddly enough, the Wintons lived near where I lived, just down the road," she adds.
She said One Life "had an impact like few of the films I've made," especially on the people she loved. "I got a lot of text messages and phone calls saying, 'I just saw One Life in the theater.' Everyone was in tears," she said. "This is a great story about a great man who was an unlikely, humble, unsung hero. We need more heroes."
Below, Bonham Carter talks about her grandparents, the heroes and villains she's played, and whether she'll ever return to the Harry Potter universe .
How did you learn about your grandparents’ work?
Someone came to me a few years ago. It's a very clever series called "My Grandparents' War." They went out to people and followed in their grandparents' footsteps and saw what they did in World War II, and they chose Mark Rylance, Kristen Scott Thomas, Carey Mulligan and me. My guys were the only non-combatants, but boy, did they step out of their comfort zones and actively help and be responsible for saving many lives.
What did you learn about yourself through this incident?
I should be the same age as them because they were in their 50s during World War II. I have to say, "Oh, would I do that?" I think for your own [knowledge], you have to find out where you come from. We are all the result of other people's accidents and choices, and we carry their DNA. I understand and appreciate myself more and honestly how lucky I am to have the life I do.
It's hard to watch this film without being reminded of Israel's war with Hamas. How does this affect you?
I think it's very dangerous to talk without being misunderstood, so I'd rather stay out of the way. But I think it's scary and scary. I wish Nicholas Winton was alive now because he would be a great example of how to navigate this and be a true voice of reason amid the absolute chaos and disintegration of reason.
In real life, Nicholas reunited with some of the people he saved years later. Do you know if your grandparents had this opportunity?
Well, I met this woman. She said she was 82 years old and her name was Naomi Violet Beaufard. I said, "My grandmother's name is Violet." She said, "Your grandmother saved my parents' lives." I also met the grandson of someone my grandfather saved. He showed me the passport signed by my grandfather, the man who founded UNICEF, which allowed him to leave the country. I like the idea that one humanitarian action then leads to another world filled with humanitarian actions.
Wow, kindness makes the world go round.
Another thing that attracted me [in this movie] was the amazing mother-son relationship, and I'm the mother of this amazing man. They are both very organized and have the same compassion. She's a very dynamic woman who I don't think has a career yet. In some ways, helping all of these people was what she felt most fulfilled because she was extremely smart and capable but had been underutilized until that point.
I think Dad is as much of a hero as her son. Over the course of your career you've played heroes and villains, such as Bellatrix Lestrange. Is there anything more fun?
You can have fun playing the bad guy. It depends on what type of bad guy it is. With Bellatrix, I knew I had to have fun because I wanted her to appeal to kids in some sense, so I made it a kind of stalled development. Someone who hasn't really grown up yet and is very naughty.
On that note, another Harry Potter alum, Miriam Margolyes, recently said that Harry Potter is for kids. Do you agree?
No, I love that woman, she is a person with a child at heart. I think no matter how old we get, we have to keep that kid alive.
A Harry Potter TV series is in the works. Would you like to participate?
I don't think they'll get close to me since I'm in the original, but never say never.
If they were to recast the character, are there any other actors who you think could embody the spirit of Bellatrix?
They should go in a completely different direction. I didn't actually get Bellatrix from the novels in particular. She's not really present on the page - certainly in her actions and the things she does, but not in a descriptive and childlike way. I put a lot of ingredients into her, mostly because I was really bored. I had just had a baby and it was the only part of me that I gave everything to and I think JK (Rowling) was happy with that. But maybe the next actor can follow more closely what she actually wrote.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
