Eliza
Hope Bennett:
Inkheart Heroine
by Lynn Barker
 She
was one of the kids taken care of by Nanny McPhee. Now, 16-year-old
Brit actress Eliza Hope Bennett gets to run around in gorgeous settings
doing action scenes with hot Brendan Fraser....who plays her dad Mo in
the new fantasy film Inkheart based upon the popular novel about
magical readers who can bring characters in books into our world. Eliza,
who plays Meggie, is also a singer, having appeared in London theater
in the musical "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" when she was younger.
She also sings the song over the end credits in Inkheart.
Eliza is new
to the States and hopes to appear in more American films in future. We
sat down with the teen star at a gorgeous beachside hotel in Santa Monica,
California recently to hear all about her adventures on set, working with
ferrets, her singing, bonding with Brendan, her fave books and more. Picture
blonde Eliza wearing a cute black knit outfit; skirt and sweater with
matching belt and scarf and sweet black patent ballet flats.
AGW: Are you
a fan of the books? Had you read them?
Eliza: No,
I'd heard of them because they'd been in my school library and my cousins
had read them but then I got my first audition and I read "Inkheart"
and "Inkspell", the second book.
AGW: Did you
feel that you had a rapport with the character?
Eliza: Yeah.
I think, sometimes you read things in auditions and think 'oh my gosh.
This is something I would really, really love to do'. I read the books
and I'm not usually a fantasy reader, so I was actually really surprised
I loved them so much. And, I read them so quickly. I think the thing I
loved so much about them was it was a fantasy but it was based in reality.
I liked how the characters Meggie and Mo had very much a grounding in
reality and they had sort of been dragged into this world and I really
related to my character. Meggie was quite young and innocent but also
had an inner strength and she had to mature to deal with everything. I
read that and I went 'wow, I really, really want this part!'
AGW: How did
you bond with Brendan Fraser who was going to play your dad?
Eliza: Brendan
was attached to the role for like five years or something because Cornelia,
the author, actually wrote the character based on him. The second book,
"Inkspell" is dedicated to Brendan at the beginning. So I new
he was attached before I got the role and then I got the part and I remember
thinking 'oh, it's always quite nerve-wracking when you meet the big stars
because they could be lovely or they could not (laughter)'. But, luckily
every single person on the set; the cast was just incredible. We had about
a three week rehearsal period before we started and mainly all my rehearsals
were mainly with Brendan or with Paul (Bettany). I remember I walked into
the offices to meet Brendan and he has just such an instant warmth. He's
just like 'oh, come here. It's so amazing to meet you'. He's so funny
as well and lovely. He's sort of like a father figure anyway. So, I was
very lucky to work with him. He's lovely.
AGW: Did you
shoot at the studio first or...?
Eliza: No.
We did six weeks in Italy first and then the studio work later. In Italy,
you're all staying in hotels and everyone goes out in the evenings together
so you get to know each other really, really well. That's when you sort
of form the family. If you don't go home on the weekends, everyone goes
out with each other on a weekend. It was really nice.
AGW: Paul
Bettany was saying that your director Iain actually cooked for you guys?
Eliza: Yeah,
he did. There was one night where it was just us shooting the next week;
me, Paul and Brendan. All the other actors went home. Iain had a really
nice villa (in Italy) and he came back and cooked like seafood, Monk fish
and everything in a soup. It was lovely. And, he had a really beautiful
piano and Paul had a guitar with him and we did kind of singing by the
campfire almost. Yeah, we did that quite a lot.
AGW: Did you
grow up reading a lot of books?
Eliza: I have,
hugely. The subjects I'm studying in A-levels at the moment are quite
reading-based. I'm doing English Lit and that's what my favorite subject
is. So I could definitely relate to Meggie. When you read a book, it can
almost seem like a real world and it's quite sad to close the book at
the end and say goodbye to the characters. So, for Meggie, it was like
that and then she found out that they were real worlds. I think that's
something great about these films; especially Harry Potter as well. When
they're made from books, they hugely encourage children to read, especially
"Inkheart". I think some kids might see it and go, 'oh, obviously
reading is not just for school and not just boring'.
AGW: How did
you get into acting?
Eliza: When
I was younger, like in primary school, I used to do a lot of school plays.
I just really, really loved doing them. That moment when you get on stage
you get a real buzz from it. So, my teacher, when I was seven years old,
said 'oh, she seems to enjoy it so much, why don't you just take her to
an acting club or something?' So, I started drama club on the weekends
and then I enjoyed doing drama exams and a teacher who was helping me
do that, knew an agency in London and I got an interview there and I happened
to get in. It was all very much by luck. And then auditions come. You
don't get most of them. My first audition, I was just so gutted I cried
my eyes out when I didn't get a recall. I just thought that was my only
chance and I'd blown it. Then you realize you get another audition next
week which you probably won't get as well (she laughs).
 AGW:
Was "Chitty Chitty Bang, Bang" on stage your first big job?
Eliza: Yeah,
I got that when I was nine in the West End. I did that for a year and
a half. I think it ran for four years.
AGW: What
scene was the most fun to shoot in Inkheart?
Eliza: The
scenes in Italy were really, really fun. The scenes at the very beginning
of the film in the alpine village were really fun. We had fake snow and
it was around Christmas time so it seemed really festive and really Christmasy.
It was just Brendan, me, Paul and the ferret.
AGW: Paul
says the males stink.
Eliza: Yeah,
I hear that he complains a lot in his interviews but they're really cute
and I really like them but they smell sooo bad. There's a lot of scenes
where we're just driving from place to place and we're sitting in the
van and Paul had to go in with the ferret on his shoulder and it's a very
small area and it was awful. Apparently, they smell worse in Summer so
we were lucky we weren't filming with them then.
AGW: What
was your favorite book growing up?
Eliza: When
I was younger, I loved the Winnie the Pooh books by A.A. Milne. Now, I
really am enjoying the books I'm reading at school and I'm studying Ian
McEwan books. I'm doing "Enduring Love" but "Atonement"
is one of my favorite books. "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" I
really loved and I loved watching the film as well. And, "The Great
Gatsby" by Fitzgerald I'm studying as well which is really, really
good. As you can see, I'm not usually a fantasy reader. So, I was quite
surprised that I enjoyed ("Inkheart") so much.
AGW: Did you
like the gorgeous, beaded white dress in this film with the long train?
Eliza: The
day I tried it on, I liked it. Then, every day after that I hated it.
AGW: Why?
Was it heavy?
Eliza: Oh
my gosh, yeah because it's so long. It was really long. We'd put it (the
train) in this thing called 'the sausage'. We just jammed in the tail
literally. We used to do it delicately but, by three weeks of shooting
we were like pushing it in. I had to carry it around with me everywhere.
The choker neck thing, they'd say 'cut' and (she makes a choking noise).
You can't breathe in it. But, then it looks really, really good on camera.
It was a beautiful dress with so many beads. It was beautifully made and
the first day, I tried it on it was actually completely white and spotless.
It looked like a wedding gown and then they ripped it all up to make it
look gothic. But, no, I did not like that dress by the end of three weeks.
AGW: Did you
have a chance to talk to pros like Helen Mirren and Brendan about career
advice?
Eliza: Yeah.
After Inkheart, I'm meeting American agents at the moment so
it's going into a different world for me. It's great to have people like
Brendan and Paul and Helen and, at the end of this film I feel like I
have a support network. Brendan is always like 'if you're doing this,
ring me and give me a call and I'll tell you whether this agent is any
good or whether you should go with this person or stay away from this
person'. And Iain is like that and Paul and it's like they are second
fathers. They're quite protective and everything. I can easily feel comfortable
enough to talk to them. We were on the film during Helen's "Queen"
period so she was picking up awards left and right and got her Oscar in
the middle of while we were shooting.
AGW: That
must have been cool on set. What was that like when she won?
Eliza: It
was amazing to experience that with her and for her to stay so grounded
through everything and just have genuine excitement to win an Oscar is
just incredible. To share that with her as amazing. We got to have pictures
with her. She brought it in and there was a big Oscar cake and everything.
AGW: Is this
your first time in America?
Eliza: No.
My cousins and uncle and auntie are American and lived in New Orleans
and then moved to Nashville so I've been there a few times and I've been
to L.A. once before to promote Nanny McPhee. But, I'm going to
New York next week which is one of the places I've always wanted to go
so I'm really excited but I'm not there for very long so I'll have to
do the whole New York shopping thing in one day (laughter). I think I'm
going to shop until I literally pass out.
AGW: Shop
till you drop.
Eliza: Exactly!
AGW: Have
you thought about all the pitfalls for young actresses in Hollywood?
Eliza: It's
just unfortunate that you're in this world where, if you do make a mistake,
everybody knows about it. Everyone that's been through that, I do feel
sorry for them. But, I think the life I have at home and the grounding
and my friends and family, my brother and sister, makes me very lucky.
I enjoy being home with them and just spending time with my friends. I
don't see myself going down the route of loads of L.A. parties around
people you don't know. I'm sure I'll make mistakes but if I ever got my
head in the clouds a bit, my parents and my friends would be like 'what
are you doing?' and drag me right down to earth. The moment I come back
home I have to tidy my room and empty the dishwasher and take out the
laundry.
AGW: Are your
friends jealous a bit that you are in the movies?
Eliza: Not
at all. It's not something that they want to do so they've got nothing
to be jealous of. My friend wants to be a photographer and when she takes
a step into photography or gets closer, why would we be jealous? We're
just hugely happy for her. They knew me before all this acting stuff.
I've had the same close group of friends since I was ten and so, for them,
it's sort of old news. I'll come back from a film and they'll be 'how
was it?' 'It was really good' and they'll be like 'all right...anyway...'
and I wouldn't have it any other way. I like to keep the two worlds separate.
AGW: Do you
want to go to college?
Eliza: Well,
where I am is the equivalent of college. I could have left school last
year but I'm staying on to do my A-levels and hopefully, I would really
like to go to university and get a degree in English Literature or something
like that. I'd like to take a gap year from education, however much I
love it, just to have no pressure. When I'm away, like yesterday, I still
did three hours work to catch up and today, I'll try and fit in school
work as well. A-levels are very important. It's creating a balance. I
didn't have any film work during my GCSE's last year which are our exams
so I just did them all. I've been lucky that everything has fitted in
perfectly so far.
AGW: What
actor do you have a crush on or who do you want to be in a movie with?
 Eliza:
There are loads and loads of actors I really admire and would love to
work with; actors like James McAvoy and Brad Pitt as well who I think
is the most incredible actor. Also actresses like Natalie Portman. When
I saw her in the film Leon when she was like 13-years-old, she
gave one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen. I think it's
the most difficult transition of all; the child actor to adult transition.
This is the point where everyone sort of falls off the rails a little
bit and she's done it with such ease. I really admire her career.
AGW: What
music do you like to listen to?
Eliza: I like
everything. I listen to a lot of my dad's music as well so I love Beatles
and Stevie Wonder is one of my all-time favorite artists. Modern-wise
do you have Paolo Nutini here? I think he's an English artist and I do
like Chris Brown and I do a lot of dancing as well. I do ballet as well
as street dancing. I sort of combine the two.
AGW: And you
sing on the Inkheart soundtrack.
Eliza: Yeah,
which was a thing we didn't plan to do. That night at Iain's house was
the first night that he heard me sing. After we finished the film and
they were doing the end song, they went 'we should have a go and see if
Eliza can sing it'. I didn't know if they'd use it but they recorded it
and Iain went 'yeah, we really like it and we're gonna do it'. So, for
me it was great because it's something I've always done and at school,
I had lessons from a young age to it was great to be able to combine two
things I love in one go.
AGW: Do you
think you'll ever record a full album?
Eliza: No.
I predominately want to do acting but I'd love to do a film where I got
to sing in it or a film where I got to dance in it. I'd rather not be
known as a singer so I kind of veer away from that. But, I enjoyed it
so much and to record at Abbey Road (the recording studio created by The
Beatles) was just amazing, and something I'd never done before and it's
such a different industry. Just to have a glimpse inside that industry
was really amazing. I've love to another song at the end of the credits
if we do Inkheart two and three but I don't know.
AGW: You've
got another fantasy film coming out?
Eliza: Yeah,
I finished that in December, called From Time to Time.
AGW: Is that
based on a book too?
Eliza: Yeah,
it's based on a children's' book called "The Children of Green Knowe".
It had a bit of time travel in it but there are not loads of special effects
or anything and it's split between 1809, where my character is based,
and 1944 mid the war. It was very different for me because I was playing
a blind girl which was quite challenging, particularly as well, because
I thought we'd have contacts or something but we didn't. The director,
Julian Fellows said he wanted it all very naturally done and almost that
you didn't quite know if she was blind or not. So, to play that was a
real jump from Meggie and fun as well. It was 1809, so the costumes were
really long and beautiful cool dresses and stuff.
Photos courtesy
of and copyright New Line Cinema, 2009
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