‘New Moon’ Star Jamie Campbell Bower Talks Accents, ‘Harry Potter’ Vs ‘Twilight’ And More

Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 by h0ausagi in Actors

JAMES CAMPBELL BOWER TALKS ABOUT ‘HARRY POTTER’, ‘NEW MOON’ AND MORE

James Campbell Bower (born 22 November 1988) is an English actor who is best known for his role as Anthony Hope in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He also appeared in the BBC drama The Dinner Party.

He played Rocker in the film ‘RocknRolla’ and Jack in ‘Winter in Wartime’ (Oorlogswinter).

Campbell Bower is set to star in the 2009 remake of the series ‘The Prisoner’ as Number 11-12. In 2009, he will be playing Volturi member Caius in the film ‘ New Moon’ alongside Michael Sheen, who will be playing the Volturi leader Aro. He is also set to appear as the younger version of Gellert Grindelwald, the dark wizard defeated by Albus Dumbledore in the 2010 and 2011 adaptions of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’.

In this interview with MTV, James Campbell Bower was eager to deliver some surprising news about his accent, walking in the “Potter”/”Twilight” footsteps of Robert Pattinson, and why he enjoys tearing people apart.

MTV: So, Jamie, you told us that you experimented with different accents while working on “New Moon.” Is it safe to say that Caius and the other Volturi will have Italian accents, since they live in Volterra?

Jamie Campbell Bower: Actually, I have an English accent. Because they’re so old — they’re 2,000 years old, these guys — they would’ve tried [everything]. They’re speaking English now, but they wouldn’t have spoken English throughout all of their life. And so there’s sort of a round vowel sound. The R’s are very pronounced. It’s kind of strange. It’s almost medieval, the way we speak.

MTV: We’re going to see you in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” as Gellert Grindlewald, joining Rob as the only actor to have a foot in both of these phenomenally huge franchises. Have you guys bonded over Athis?

Campbell Bower: Well, Rob is quite a significant character in the “Potter” movies, I believe, from what I can remember. My character is a bit smaller.

Campbell Bower: No. There isn’t much difference between them, apart from the story. They’re both massive franchises, and they both work like a machine, you know? Everyone’s on time, and everyone’s doing the best job that they can.

MTV: Some people might say that “Twilight” is more for girls, while boys enjoy “Potter” more. Would you agree?

Campbell Bower: I’d say that they’ve both got fairly specific fanbases. “Twilight” is more for your 13- to18-year-olds, although there are people who obviously enjoy it — older people — which is great. But I think the main audience is the 13- to 18-year-olds, maybe because of Rob and the fact that they love Edward. [As for] “Harry Potter,” it’s a bit younger. Although the recent films are a bit dark. I saw [a "Potter" film] the other day, and I thought it was quite scary. You’ve also got your older audience [there].

MTV: What’s the difference between how you approach each franchise?

Campbell Bower: Like, am I playing them the same? No, I mean, they’re two different characters, they’re two different people. [To play them the same] would be like, “I’ve just eaten some cheese, and now I’m eating an apple, and it tastes like cheese.” When you’re filming anything, you’ve just got to believe in the character and believe yourself that you are the character.

MTV: What’s the one scene in “New Moon” you most enjoyed filming?

Campbell Bower: Well, there’s a particular scene where we rip this guy apart, and I just sit there smiling and really enjoying it. When I got the script, I was like, “That’s the one I want to do the most!,” because there’s nothing to say. It’s really sordid, gross and really grim — that was pretty fun.