Helena Bonham Carter

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By Chesley Turner

“Let’s not even wait until I’m old to not give a fuck what people think.”

There’s a poem by Jenny Joseph that resonates with Helena Bonham Carter. It’s called, “The Warning,” and it contemplates what all of us self-aware, do-as-you-should, non-intrusive citizens of the world have to look forward to: a dotage where we do whatever the hell we want to do.

But for Helena Bonham Carter... well, why wait? “You just have to be comfortable and wear whatever you want. I never put too much thought into what other people are thinking, and that’s really the way to go. And having fun. And not taking things too seriously. The scrutiny of other people is to be taken lightly, I think. Does that make sense?”

Sure it does.

For a woman in a career that defines people by their looks, Bonham Carter admits there’s only so much control you have over being type-cast. “I’ve never been interested in being cast for what I look like, but inevitably you have to go with what you’re given. But I’ve done a hell of a lot to camouflage it over the years.” Remember Planet of the Apes? “I’ve been a chimpanzee, for god’s sake.”

“.... As much as I love my kids, I couldn’t have [stayed at home] full time and I wouldn’t have been that good at it, either. It’s better that they had a happy mother that was stimulated. And that I had a use beyond not being able to cook ...”

As a mother of two—Billie, 15, and Mel, 11—Bonham Carter admits to the welcome change that motherhood brought to her career. “In a way, it’s a great relief because it’s no longer all about you. It’s a great escape, having children, because the acting profession can be incredibly, unhealthily narcissistic, I guess.” Having children means less flexibility with travel and film schedules, which culls the parts you can accept. “Originally you were out working because that was your passion and now it’s like, I’ve got a different passion. But you still have to work because [otherwise] you’d feel bored. As much as I love my kids, I couldn’t have [stayed at home] full time and I wouldn’t have been that good at it, either. It’s better that they had a happy mother that was stimulated. And that I had a use beyond not being able to cook.”

Photography by Sean Gleason,Interview by Spencer Heyfron, Article by Chesley Turner

“... I’ve never been interested in being cast for what I look like, but inevitably you have to go with what you’re given. But I’ve done a hell of a lot to camouflage it over the years. Remember Planet of the Apes? I’ve been a chimpanzee, for god’s sake ...”

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