'Billy Elliot' has been left behind by Jamie Bell, who has completely changed his look for his new role in 'Skin', which is anything but similar to that small boy with a big dream of becoming a dancer. Head shaved, body completely covered in tattoos, and significant weight gain are the big changes we can see in the actor, who has totally transformed in order to throw himself into the role of Bryon Widner. Below you can see just one of the images of Bell in the film.
Based on real life events, the film, directed by Guay Nattiv, tells the story of Bryon Widner, an American teen who was born into a family of white supremacists, and the way in which he tried to escape after meeting a woman, played by Danielle McDonald, who falls in love with him and makes him believe that he can changed. Something which will never be easy.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, the actor, who was working with the real Byron Widner for the role, confessed that at first he had doubts about taking on the role, saying that he "couldn't really see myself as that kind of a character". However, he said that the way in which reality was embedded in every page of the script lead him to accept the role: "There is an urgency and an immediacy to this movie that I don't think I can sit around and think about it. It's happening now, and we should make it immediately".
On working with Widner, Bell confessed that he has no interest in being polite to the ex-Neo Nazi, claiming that he was very open about the ways in which he was judging everything that the other man said. He added, however, that Widner was "incredibly generous and transparent" with him the whole time, relaying his side of the story honestly.
The actor has admitted that, in addition to these initial reservations, the physical change was also very hard. "I've never weighed more than 145 pounds my entire life. I'm an incredibly lean, spritely kind of person... But even just trying to do that was very difficult. I didn't do very well. I wanted to do more, but it was just proving so hard. But I couldn't quite do it", he said.
Using makeup he was given artificial teeth, his head was shaved, and he was given colored contact lenses in order to achieve the brown eyes of the real man, Winder. The tattoos are also makeup, although Bell said that sometimes he had to leave them on, leading to a few challenges days. "If we didn't have enough of a turnaround, I would have to wear the tattoos overnight. So sometimes, over the weekend, I'd be wandering around Kingston, New York, with full makeup on, full tattoos, everything. It's weird, because people actually don't look at you. (...) They go, 'Oh, shit. I'm not looking at that'. Or, 'That's like a monster'".
The film still has no distributor
The film has, however, since been received extremely well by critics. After its initial showing at the Toronto Film Festival, on the 8th September, critics have praised Bell's performance. According the The Hollywood Reporter, Bell could be in with a chance for several awards, although nothing is concrete.
Despite the success of the film it is still awaiting a distributor for its premier. Until that point it is unclear when the film will be released in cinemas.
