You don't get this sense in Hallam Foe, partly because the character is so strong and partly because Bell is so compelling in it, able to move between light and dark without showing the joins. And he is a likable actor, which is why, although Hallam has lots of unappetizing habits such as voyeurism and stalking, he is still, essentially, sympathetic.
When it comes to his career, Bell doesn't like to be interfered with. He is wary whom he takes advice from and suspicious of the advice others are taking. Of Radcliffe in Equus, he says, "There is always that element of 'Who's getting him to do this?'"
Working on Peter Jackson's King Kong was like being on the "biggest independent movie I'd ever done - because you're in New Zealand and miles away from the studios." The drawback to working with someone like Eastwood, meanwhile, is that he doesn't have much time for small fry such as Bell. "It's kind of hard working with people like Peter Jackson and Clint Eastwood, because you don't really get to know them. They're very warm, but there's not that collaborative energy you get from smaller films."
Given the choice, he says, "I'll always opt for drowning in a loch in Hallam Foe. It's much more interesting." He has to think about these things, to plot his course, because he is no longer a novelty act. As Bell becomes an adult performer, he can't just be good for his age; he has to be good, full-stop, because, "It's getting a little more serious now."
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