Having grown up with loved ones in the industry, Bel Powley admits she never found acting “glamorous”. However, it was her earliest theatre role, playing Maggie in a 2009 Royal Court Theatre production of Tusk Tusk, which really solidified that this was the career path she wanted to pursue.
The 32-year-old’s back catalogue boasts a varied assortment of work, which includes royalty (she played a playful Princess Margaret in A Royal Night Out), respected historical figures (Powley was praised for her turn as Miep Gies in A Small Light), and adventurous teenage artists (Powley considers playing Minnie in The Diary of a Teenage Girl as one of her most treasured parts).
More recently, Powley has returned to theatre, playing Annie in Tom Stoppard’s beloved The Real Thing at the Old Vic. As her critically acclaimed performance nears the end of its run, Powley caught up with Harper’s Bazaar UK to reflect on her career thus far.
“I got into acting…
…because growing up, that world didn’t seem very far at all. My dad was an actor and my mum was a casting director, so it was all very unglamorized. I got a part in a kids' TV show when I was 13, and I honestly just wanted to do it because I liked the idea of earning my own money. It wasn't even about being on telly! From there, I got an agent, and at 17 I did my first play, Tusk Tusk. That was eye-opening for me. It was the first time I’d been in a theatre rehearsal space, and it was so exciting – you just don’t get that with TV or film. Being able to sit with the director and flesh out these characters from the ground up was really fun. I found it so thrilling and at the end of the run, I was like, ‘God, I want to do that again.’ That’s how I ended up choosing my path.”
“My role models growing up were…
…actors who could transcend different tones. Frances McDormand is one of my favourite actresses because she can toe that line between dark and light, drama and comedy. I also love Elisabeth Moss. I admire actors who have individuality, but can also really morph into different people and tones really well. That's the kind of acting I aspire to do.”
“The project that changed my life was…
...Tusk Tusk. It can be really hard to break into British theatre – there can be a certain snobbery around it. It's difficult to do British theatre if you haven't been to drama school, which I hadn't, so Tusk Tusk was a real springboard for me. I’m very grateful to director Jeremy Herrin, and the director and writer Polly Stenham, for casting me in that, because that made people believe that I could do theatre. I also am grateful for my first film, Diary of a Teenage Girl, for putting me on the map in the States.”
“The biggest curveball of my career has been…
…not a role as such, but just being able to deal with the with the fact that you have no control over anything. Most of our job is constant rejection or being pulled in 10 different directions. The whole career is one big curveball. You just have to be able to roll with the punches!”
“The project I could talk about forever is...
…The Diary of a Teenage Girl. I’m still such good friends with Marielle Heller, the director. It was a very formative experience for both of us. It was her directorial debut and my first film. It was a story that we felt so passionately about. The movie really was a first of its kind. It was the first time that someone had made a film that was really giving the voice to a teenage girl, and how she actually feels about becoming a woman, losing her virginity and exploring sex – but not through the male gaze. We really felt like we were doing something important and how it was received... it will always be so special to me. It was a really liberating, freeing experience.”
“I deal with the fame that comes with my job by…
…trying to stay off social media. But I wouldn’t say I’m really famous. When I do look at my socials, the people that follow me are pretty much exclusively women between the ages of, like, 20 and 30, and I love that – everyone’s lovely and supportive. Apart from that, I’d say I live a really normal life. I also really enjoy the fashion side of my job. I find it fun. I have a great relationship with my stylist, and I really enjoy getting dressed up and thinking about what statement I want my clothes to make.”
“My sense of style has…
…pretty much stayed the same, though it’s nice to have a stylist who can push me in directions I wouldn’t normally go in, or try me in things that I initially don't think will suit me, but she always seems to be right! It's nice to have someone to have an objective view on things in terms of the way you look and what you're dressing in.”
“Fashion is important to me because…
…it’s how you present yourself to the world. There's fashion week and Chanel’s latest collection and what everyone says about it, but even if you’re not ‘into’ fashion, the clothes you put on your back and leave the house in are a statement. So even making a statement about not being into fashion is still a fashion statement in itself. I’m genuinely interested in the artistry of fashion and how wider culture can influence it, and how fashion can influence wider culture. I find the whole thing fascinating, and I find clothes beautiful. I really enjoy getting dressed in the morning.”
“The best piece of advice I’ve received is…
…don’t be a dick. This is an industry where people talk, and it's not worth it. There are hundreds and hundreds of people working on a film set, and it doesn't take a lot to just be a nice person.”
“Having friends in the industry…
…is important. But I’m grateful that, as a family, we don’t talk about the industry that much. I also have a close-knit group of friends from school who all do different things. But I will say that my husband [Douglas Booth] is an actor, and I don't think I could be married to a non-actor. I think that is just because of practical things. It's such a weird job, where I could get a call tomorrow, and I could be moving to Australia for six months for a job. Or I suddenly could have to learn loads of lines tonight and go and meet a director tomorrow morning. There's no set routine. I think if I was married to someone who did a nine to five, it wouldn’t work as well, whereas Douglas and I can move as a unit, and we get it if we can't see each other for a couple of weeks.”
“Next on my bucket list is…
…I’d love to do a horror and play someone evil! And it’d be a dream of mine to work with Paul Thomas Anderson. I was a big Mumblecore fan when I was younger and I loved his movies.”
“Being in The Real Thing…
…without sounding cringe, but because it’s been a while since I’ve done a play, I feel like I’ve gone from being a girl to a woman in that time. I feel honoured to be in a play by Tom Stoppard, our greatest living playwright. It was a bit daunting too – when I announced I got the part on Instagram, I got so many DMs from people saying it was their favourite Stoppard play. I was like, oh my God, this play is so close to people's hearts! But I’ve loved it and I love playing Annie.”
The Real Thing is on at the Old Vic until 26 October. Tickets start at £13 and are available here.
Bel Powley wears Chanel throughout.
