For Ellie Bamber, successfully capturing Kate Moss’s effortless charm wasn’t just about perfecting her voice, her style, or any of the fashion icon’s mannerisms. What opened Moss – first portrayed on screen by rising star V Mauss and Freud – He knew her laugh. “Her laugh is very specific,” the actress begins. Hollywood Reporter. “It was, in a weird way, very important to me.”
A former child actor, Bamber has slowly risen through the ranks of the British film and television industry to join a select group of young talents now making a name for themselves on the world stage, such as Masters of the universe Star Nicholas Galitzine, an old friend of Bamber, O.J Little mermaidJonah Hauer King. She captured the parts in 2016 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Nocturnal animalsAnd also small screens The trial of Christine Keeler. Then came one of the most popular livestreaming edits of 2023: red, white, royal blue, Bamber played fan favorite Princess Pea.
Now she faces what is almost certainly the most challenging role of her career so far: the supermodel of all supermodels and one of the most photographed women in the world, Kate Moss. in Mauss and Freudfrom director James Lucas, which opens in UK cinemas on Friday, introduces audiences to Moss’s much-talked-about friendship with the late artist Lucian Freud (played by Derek Jacobi), whose nude portrait of the artist sold for nearly £3.5 million ($5.3 million) in 2005.
“Honestly, I was mostly terrified,” Bamber laughs as he approaches the film, on which Moss serves as an executive producer. “But I would say she has this confidence, so it was easy to get into it and suddenly feel completely empowered… She entered the industry at such a young age, and she had a smart way of moving through it.” [with] “Grace and poise, but she also had a deep vulnerability underneath,” she continues.
Below, Bamber gets candid about Moss doing it herself. She discusses how she bumped into the model at a house party shortly after landing the role, what viewers might be surprised to know about Moss (and her relationship with Sigmund Freud’s grandson), and a slew of upcoming projects, including Red, white and royal weddingstarring Ryan Reynolds Animal friendsAnd T West Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol: “I really liked switching between different genres.”
I read that Kate actually helped you get this role. Is this accurate?
I hear that too. (He laughs.) I don’t know. I assume she was part of the process, since she is the producer of the film. It was something my agents sent me. I think I was in my kitchen in my nightgown, and I remember I got an email and they were calling me and saying, “Hey, do you want to play Kate Moss?” “Oh, wow,” I said. And yes, that was it. It was one of the most exciting emails I’ve ever received.
Talk to me about your relationship with Kate before this happened. Were you a big fan of Kate Moss? Did you grow up following it?
Like all teenagers, I think I probably had a picture of her on my bedroom wall at some point in my life. Obviously, style-wise, she had a very ambitious style and a great sense of fashion. When I was a little girl, I always said, “Wow, she’s so cool. I want to be like her.” So I had some knowledge, of course, and then I got into her world and Lucian Freud’s world a lot more once I discovered that they had this relationship and that they worked together in this way.
Do you know about their relationship or much about the Freud family?
No, I mean I always appreciated and loved Freud’s work, and I knew the Freud family a little bit. [I’d] I’d seen some of Lucien’s works and stuff, and I liked them, but I didn’t know he had ever painted them before. There’s not much online about it. And the photo, you can find [it] On the internet, but it wasn’t something I really knew about. So when I delved into it, I was fascinated by it and how it happened as well.
Do you remember your first meeting with Kate?
Actually we met for the first time by chance. my friend [British designer] Jasper Conran was having a party, and I think I said to him in a low voice like, “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m going to play Kate.” He turned to me and said, “Oh, you’ll never guess who’s going to walk through the door in a few minutes.” And I was like, “Wait, what?” And we met. It was one of those moments where we were like, “Wow, this is crazy.” Then there’s a picture of us on the internet in bed. We did this photo. That evening was really just a coincidence. Because I think instead of saying, “Okay, we’re going to go to a meeting to talk about the movie,” it happened by chance and it was a really nice meeting, because I think it was very organic, and we were able to talk about things with Jasper. Some of my other friends were there. This means that there was a real conversation. And then I met her afterward, just to ask her some more questions and hang out with her and maybe watch her inside her world and find out. I don’t know how involved she was in the script. I wasn’t really part of those conversations. But I know it was always there when I got pregnant with James [he was] Writing and stuff.
Playing a real person is always difficult – are you doing an imitation? Is it woven into your own behaviors? How did you approach this, and what research went into Kate Moss’ early tanning?
I’ve been lucky enough to play real-life characters before, and I’ve always seen it as discovering the essence of a person and translating it into performance. I realized that with Kate being as creative as she is, this would be a completely different challenge in itself. It was so incredible because I worked with a movement coach called Polly Bennett for the first time, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. we [pored over] Every video we could find on YouTube and we put it together and understood where the movement came from, where it came from within her life, what could make her have a certain gesture, or something like that. So working with Polly was great. And we did a lot of work on the runway, which was just kind of a flight, I guess. (He laughs.) Then I also worked with a vocal coach, Louise Jones, who I’ve worked with for a really long time. So, it was a matter of knowing the exact year, because I think sounds change a lot over our lifetime. So her voice is very different now than it was when she was 27 years old. It was important for us to narrow down the videos and say, “Okay, these are the ones we’re going to focus on. This is the sound we’re going for.”
The other thing with the sound was [that] Her laugh is very specific. The laugh was the first thing that I felt would unlock the rest of everything, which was weird. Laughter was, oddly enough, really important to me. Physically, I wanted to make a bit of a transformation. So I worked with A [personal trainer] Luke called Wellington, which is just important [because of] The fact that I’ll be naked for the movie too. It took me a lot of looking at videos, reading things about her, and looking at pictures as well – because she’s one of the most photographed women in the world – and maybe seeing what I could take away from that. Then also, I had the opportunity to work with James Brown, who was a really close friend of hers since they grew up together in Croydon. With him it was great because he was able to figure things out and say, “Oh, she does this when she dances.” [or]“When she first puts on a dress, her shoulders shrug a little.” All things that, as someone’s friend, I think we pick up over the years.
This isn’t just any model. This is supermodel Kate Moss. Was that daunting? Or did you see it like any other work?
I was mostly terrified, honestly. (He laughs.) But I think that’s the exciting thing too. Horror is a good thing and it pushes you and challenges you to get out of something comfortable. Yes, I was mostly terrified, but I would say she had this confidence, so it was easy to step in and suddenly feel powerful. Because she entered the industry at such a young age, she had a smart way of moving through it [with] Grace and poise. But she also had this deep weakness. So I think That by playing her part, she was able to leave those fears at the door.
What do you find you and Kate have in common?
I think we started when we were 15 or 16 years old. That was a big thing – understanding that we had been involved in a creative industry at a very young age, and we had to grow up during that time in a weird way. This was something I was able to relate to immediately, having been in the public eye since that age…I don’t mean to compare […] But it’s true. Having worked since your teenage years has an impact, and I think it prepares you for life in a different way compared to people who don’t work at that age.
Have you learned anything about her that people might be surprised to know about Kate Moss?
I always say she’s a really great storyteller. As a storyteller, seeing her tell a story in a room is one of the most mysterious and mesmerizing things I have ever seen. She knows exactly how to tell a story that starts and ends with moments of fun, and then also moments of… She’s just an amazing orator. And I remember she came on set one day, and I think people were so drawn to her, and we were all in my dressing room, crowded around her, listening to her tell these stories about things that had happened during her life. It was very unusual.
Did you feel like this was an important story for her to tell as well? Her relationship with Lucien was probably never depicted on screen. There were rumors at the time that she was romantic. It was nice to see how healthy he was.
I think the painting means a lot. I imagine it was really something she had fond memories of, and it’s heartening to see [a] A woman is going through a transition in her life, as she discovers where her life is going.
I want to ask about your chemistry with Derek, which was amazing. What conversations did you have about the dynamic, or was it all in the script?
We had a lot of conversations. We went to lunch, and I think it was an instant friendship. Likewise, I was very fascinated by his life and what he experienced as a person and as an actor. At some point during lunch, he mentioned something about Lawrence. So I said, “Are you talking about Laurence Olivier?” And he was like, “Yes.” And I was like, “Wow.” It was a great experience. I wanted to learn everything I could from him and what he did in his life. And then, when we moved on set, we had a more cheeky relationship with each other, which I think then translated into the film.
There’s a lot going on in this movie – empowerment in motherhood, in age gap friendships and what that gives you, and then also, at the same time, having fun making art rather than the finished product. What is the dominant feeling for you?
I think all of those things, honestly. I feel very strongly that making art is very important. For example, in every job I felt lucky enough to have, experience was the important thing to me. Of course, the end result is important in many ways. But I think I’ve always stuck to that [the process] More than anything else. [With] Age gap friendships, this is what we can learn from others who are at a different stage in their lives. I have friends who are older than me, and I always felt like I learned a lot from having those friends and learned a lot about life and experiencing life. Kate has learned a lot about discipline and what it means to be an artist [the art] world. One of the things that James and I talked about is that it’s a coming-of-age story in many ways. The difference in Freud’s journey is that he’s coming to the end of his life, whereas Kate is about to start a new chapter…and that’s where I felt really empowered, and I felt like I could be the leader of my own journey and make those decisions.
You have a lot to come, and as we discussed, you’ve been working for a long time. What roles excite you these days?
There are a lot, and I feel like there are a lot of very exciting new stories, and a lot of directors that I would love to work with. I’ve been really loving switching between different genres too. Like, obviously Red, white and royal wedding, Ebenezer, The face of horror, [they] Very different in tone. I’ve loved discovering that and being able to do more comedy as well, here and there, and getting into drama as well.
What can you tell us about those projects?
I’m really excited about them all. I absolutely loved working with Ti West Ebenezer. I think it’s the most amazing [filmmaker]. He is a true visionary. I think he’s crazy, and I loved that experience so much. And then working with Anna Biller, who has a distinct, unique voice that I think is really exciting and new.[[The face of horror]It’s just been a ride, a really wild ride, and I’m so excited to see what that creates. I got to work with my friend Jonah [Hauer-King] Back on that, so that was really nice. I don’t know how much more I can say about that, [but] I want to say a lot about this movie. And then, Red, white and royal wedding… Obviously it was a lot of fun to come back and do the sequel to that. I like Bea as a character. I think being able to explore it more is very exciting because it’s a lot of fun and it’s also very powerful. To be in that group again, I got to be with her [Nicholas Galitzine]who is one of my oldest friends in the industry. I think we met when we were first starting out. I was 17 or something. then Animal friends It will be released fairly soon. That was great. I loved working with director Peter Atencio on this. Dipping my toe into the comedy space was really fun.
Mauss and Freud are It was released in UK cinemas and is available in the US on VOD now.
