Bell Takes 'Billy Elliot' Success In Stride

<P><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/tims-bio.html"><IMG SRC="/sh/images/editorial/tim_lammers.jpg" ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="120" HEIGHT="90" BORDER="0"></A>Think of the last few whirlwind months for "<A HREF=" http://www.billyelliot.com/globalnav/gnf.pl?url=http%3A//www.billyelliot.com/&#38;referrer=http%3A//us.imdb.com/Plot%3F0249462">Billy Elliot</A>" star Jamie Bell: He starred in the sleeper hit of the past year, won the British Academy Award for best actor, won a Broadcast Film Critics Association award (among many others) and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2001/0412/657251.jpg" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="150" ALT="Jamie Bell in 'Billy Elliot'" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">And while he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for his performance, he was still mentioned as a source of inspiration at the best actor's podium by winner Russell Crowe.<p /><P>"He was talking about people coming from small places who want to achieve," Bell said in a recent interview. "It was a great speech, maybe the best of the night."<p /><P>Any <I>one</I> of those moments would be a head-spinning event for any 15-year-old, much less one who made his film debut playing the title character in "Billy Elliot."<p /><P>But Bell is taking it all in stride. Sure, Americans have been gushing about the movie, but Bell said the reactions of his fellow actors in Britain are much more reserved about success in the film business.<p /><P>"In Britain we don't get too excited about things -- we're pretty low key," Bell said. Plus, he said, since it was a small film, its massive success -- which included Oscar nominations for director Stephen Daldry, screenwriter Lee Hall and supporting actress Julie Walters -- was unexpected, if not a whimsical victory for the cast and crew.<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2001/0412/656577.jpg" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="150" ALT="Jamie Bell and Julie Walters in 'Billy Elliot'" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">"We were having a bit of a laugh," Bell added. "We never expected to be attending the Oscars and to be nominated for three of them. It was strange."<p /><P>In a way, Bell brought his own experiences to the role of 11-year-old Billy, a boxer-turned-ballet dancer who strives to accomplish his dream with the help of a no-nonsense teacher (Walters) -- even though he faces bitter disapproval from his hard-nosed father (Gary Lewis) and his brother (Jamie Draven).<p /><P>He's been ballet dancing since age 6, and, like Billy, was teased and was called names for taking lessons. "Ballerina boy" was the one that Bell remembers well.<p /><P>"It was hard at first, but I think it's better for me now," Bell said of having his dancing viewed in a different light. "People have to come to grips with it now."<p /><P>What's amazing about Bell's performance is that he achieves the sort of vulnerability and the sort of honest, passionate emotions that most actors won't ever accomplish in their lifetimes. But Bell, who hasn't let any of the success spoil him, credits the people around him for his achievements, rather than himself.<p /><P>"I think the tremendous script helped me a lot, and working with great people who gave handy hints to me," Bell said. "I think I had it easy."<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2001/0412/656351.jpg" WIDTH="141" HEIGHT="200" ALT="Jamie Bell" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">"Even with the meteoric success of the film, Bell is taking an unconventional approach to his next step in the filmmaking world. He's getting a lot of offers, but instead, he's choosing just to wait and keep his priorities in line.<p /><P>"The offers are coming in fast and furious, but school is the most important thing to me, and I want to finish that off before I do anything else," Bell said. Instead, he'll participate in projects during his time off and resume his career full-time after he graduates next year. Until then, he's just going to revel in that fact that he was in a film that so many people embraced.<p /><P>"The film is a guideline not just for boy dancers, but for anybody who is getting hassled for chasing a dream and wanting to achieve something," Bell observed. "It's something that everybody can relate to and anybody can enjoy. That's what we made it for."<p /><B>Contest:</B> <A HREF="/sh/entertainment/stories/entertainment-65714820010412-160435.html">Win "Billy Elliot" on DVD!</A><p /><P><I><B>Catch up with Tim Lammers on these recent @ The Movies interviews:</I></B> <UL> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-56579520010329-230344.html">Robert Rodriguez (director, "Spy Kids")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-56122720010327-140304.html">McG (director, "Charlie's Angels")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-54275120010316-140346.html">Jodi Benson ("Lady and the Tramp II")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-53934320010314-150344.html">Anthony Michael Hall ("The Caveman's Valentine")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-52203920010302-140358.html">Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-50250020010226-080231.html">Eric Stoltz ("The Passion Of Ayn Rand")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-20010119-180102.html">Robert Englund ("Python")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-20010112-140126.html">Sam Raimi ("The Gift")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-20001222-112213.html">Kenneth Branagh ("The Road To El Dorado")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-20001215-111643.html">Lochlyn Munro ("Scary Movie")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-20001208-130928.html">John Frankenheimer ("Reindeer Games -- Director's Cut")</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-20001121-181759.html">Carrie-Anne Moss ("Red Planet")</A></LI></LI>