Jessica Blake stars in feature film The Butterfly Tattoo.  Loosely based on Romeo & Juliet, the film is the latest novel by acclaimed author Philip Pullman to be adapted for the big screen.

What training have you received?

I didn’t really have a formal drama school training.  I’d been persuaded to study something sensible at university and so started on an Italian degree.  I promptly switched to drama as this was what really interested me.  During my course I began acting for student films and then shorts.  I probably learnt more through doing that than on my course.  But the best education I’ve had by far has been The Butterfly Tattoo.  I’m a big believer in learning through practice.

What kind of roles attract you?

I like to play characters that are quite different to myself.  I like the element of escapism and of showing a side of yourself that you normally keep quite hidden.  I’m drawn to characters that are a bit quirky and have plenty of contrast within them.  My character in The Butterfly Tattoo, for example, is very bubbly and outgoing at first glance, with an offbeat sense of humour.  But when you delve deeper you discover that she’s battling some pretty big demons.  And I like characters that have an intelligence to them.

What’s the best advice that you’ve been given as an actor?

Persevere.  And be a bit of a chancer – don’t be afraid to take risks.  I also think that actors should look out for each other.  It’s a highly competitive industry, but you shouldn’t compare yourself to other people.

Most significant moment in your career so far

Watching The Butterfly Tattoo on the big screen with a public audience for the first time at the Film by the Sea Film Festival.  It proved to me that this is something that I could do, and make a future of.  It also helps to get good, honest feedback from people that have nothing to do with the film itself.  I think, as cringe-worthy as it may be- and I don’t particularly like watching myself act- that you learn a lot from doing so and it’s how you develop.  But for me the best part of my job is being on set – I love it.  I love waking up and REALLY, really looking forward to going to work.  And the fantastic cast and crew that I’ve been lucky enough to work with.

You’ll die happy when…

I’ve made my mark in the film industry.  And got married, had some babies, seen the world…

www.jessicablake.net

Jamie Harding’s National Theatre credits include Henry V and His Girl Friday. Most notably he played Pan in the sell-out production of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. Jamie’s film credits include Paul Greengrass’ UNITED 93, O JERUSALEM, and ESPION(S). Television includes Dalziel & Pascoe, Silent Witness, 24Seven and Band of Brothers.

What training have you received?

I went to Drama school at Drama Studio London. I also have taken the course in the Meisner technique led by Tom Radcliffe at The Actors Temple.

What kind of roles attract you?

It varies. I like to be as versatile an actor as possible, even though it is sometimes hard to be permitted that freedom by the industry. I like roles that will stretch me, that challenge me. If the character’s story is meaningful in some way to me and/or says something significant about the times we live in, then that would also attract me to play it. But I’d also like to do a nice action movie or something with stunts and stuff, like the BOURNE films. They’d be great fun!

What’s the best advice that you’ve been given as an actor?

I’ve been given three great pieces of advice: never settle for less than your best, ever. If you go to an audition and give the best of yourself, even if you are totally wrong for the part, they will never forget you. Also, to realise—especially in film—that the actor is only a small component of the whole process of the filmmaking experience—and to that end actors must have the same respect and mindfulness for the other crew members that they are given in return. Thirdly, never show up for work unprepared. Ever. In an industry that is over saturated anyway, you can never afford not to be at the top of your game.

Most significant moment in your career so far?

On film I feel immensely privileged to have played a leading role in Universal’s UNITED 93, directed by Paul Greengrass. It was the working experience of my career so far, and a story that affects every person in the world today. It will also be a defining moment in my career. In the theatre my most significant experience was playing Pantalaimon, Lyra’s Daemon, in the National Theatre’s production of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

You’ll die happy when…

Tough question. I don’t really want to consider my death—I’ve still got too much living to do! I guess I’ll die happy when I’ve lived fully.

www.jamieharding.com ■

Phil Campbell most recently featured in THE HIDE, directed by Marek Losey. He has also appeared on British television in Casualty and Merseybeat.

What training have you received?

Life! I never went the conventional route of drama school. Most of my training was learnt working. From the age of fourteen I was a member of the Everyman Youth Theatre in Liverpool. We would take part in plays and musicals that would show on the Everyman main stage or would do small North West tours. Also, I was in the West End for nearly ten years in different shows and I suspect I learnt most of what you need to know to be a good performer there, whether it be acting or singing.

What kind of roles attract you?

Definitely dark and complex roles. Parts where the character has lots of unseen, inner turmoil. I think what is unsaid can say far more than what is scripted sometimes. I like to get into a character’s psyche; what makes him tick, why he moves in a certain way. I think once you can inhabit a character’s inner thoughts, everything else should come naturally. I would also love to play the conventional action hero.

What’s the best advice that you’ve been given as an actor?

Hit your marks! When you’re on set with a crew for eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, people are getting tired and there is nothing worse for the crew, as well as the other actors, if someone can’t find their marks. This other piece of advice I picked up third hand in a magazine but it is good advice for film work: “Talk low and slow.” This was something that John Wayne said many years ago and I have always liked that.

Most significant moment in your career so far?

Being cast in my first lead role in THE HIDE was a pretty incredible experience for me. I had not worked for four years prior to getting that role so to be suddenly on the lot of Pinewood in a two-hander was scarily exciting. I will always be very grateful to Marek Losey, the director of THE HIDE, for giving me the opportunity in this movie. Also to go to the Dinard British Film Festival with said film and have Philip French, the Observer film critic who is a hero of mine, come over with his wife and gush over a film I am in? Surreal!

You’ll die happy when…

I will never die happy. I want to live forever… ■

Actress Abigail Tarttelin is featured in the British crime thriller JACK SAYS, and plays the lead in the independent sci-fi film SCHRÖDINGER’S GIRL. Look out for her performance in the much-hyped THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO, an adaptation of a Philip Pullman story.

What training have you received?
I did a lot of theatre training when I was younger with the National Youth Theatre, the National Academy of Gifted and Talented Youth and various companies. At 18, I studied Acting for Film at the New York Film Academy centre in Paris. While there I spent every free minute I had working on student films. The best training for me was working, watching myself, and learning from the mistakes and the successes. That, and watching ridiculous amounts of DVDs.

What kind of roles attract you?
The roles that attract me are unusual, challenging and the type other people might not want to play because they are too strange. I would have liked to play everyone that Christian Bale, Helena Bonham Carter and Kate Winslet have played, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s role in MYSTERIOUS SKIN, pretty much all of Kirsten Dunst and Penélope Cruz’s roles and then maybe someone in Green Wing. I’d love to play an actual person—Blondie or Janis Joplin or Marilyn Monroe. I’d love to tell stories about women. So much film is male-dominated; most of the good characters are male. SCHRÖDINGER’S GIRL was great because the lead female wasn’t just someone’s love interest. I get interested in films for where they’re shot too—I want to travel, and I’d like to work in French.

What’s the best advice that you’ve been given as an actor?
Be ready, take risks, and keep learning all your life.

Most significant moment in your career so far?
The moment we wrapped on SCHRÖDINGER’S GIRL. It was such a shock. Nothing had sunk in until I heard “Picture wrap!” and I thought, “Oh my god, we’ve made a film!”

You’ll die happy when…
I’ve worked with Gregg Araki, Pedro Almodóvar, Michel Gondry and Jean-Pierre Jeunet; have had a long, varied career; learnt my whole life about humanity, human beings and why we do the things we do, and portrayed it sensitively and to the best of my abilities onscreen; become fluent in French; learnt at least a bit of Spanish, Italian, Arabic and guitar; read lots; travelled extensively; loved passionately; lived honestly and reached at least 110. ■