Helena Bonham Carter: ‘We all have an Alice inside’

‘My kids got scared of my big head’

Alice in Wonderland was revived in the hands of famous director Tim Burton. Tim Burton gathered many famous names in the cast, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska and Crispin Glover, clasic casting of Tim Burton.

Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Deep and Tim Burton answers my questions:

You give an interesting soul to the characters you play. How did you prepare for this one?

HBC: I’m actually a very calm and gentle person. On the other hand, the Red Queen is very selfish. Everything around her is about her. Her physical problems reflect onto her soul. She is jealous of her beautiful sister. It might look weird but I analyzed Bette Davis and Joan Crawford for my part. The character I had in my mind combined with them and this was the result. But my big head really scared my children.

I hope your husband did not chose this role on purpose? I’m kidding of course!!

Helena Bonham Carter : ‘Tim still likes me. I’m good’

HBC: You could be serious, doesn’t matter. It gives me pride that Tim still chooses me as an actress in his movies. He still finds me beautiful and it feels good. I hope this goes on for many years. But I must admit that he put me in a very weird costume and I gave him a piece of my mind at home!!!

What do you think is the reason for the success of Alice in Wonderland?

HBC: First of all, we all have an Alice inside. Most of us don’t share our mysterious worlds with the outside. This piece touches that part of the subconscious. This is the origin of its success. And its incredible richness.

Johnny Depp: ‘Why do girls still like me, beats me’

When Johnny Depp talks about the movie he says: ‘I’ve always admired Tim Burton. He is a director that wants to do the impossible and he does it. He is one of the true artists of today’s cinema. It is very difficult to find real artists like Tim nowadays. I’ve known him for 20 years now. We got to understand each other better especially after building a family. But I must admit that we started to fight after Helena entered Tim’s life.’ He says that the formula of his success is his luck and shocks me with his modest attitude.

Tim Burton: ‘I like doing crazy things’

Director Tim Burton was quite affected by the iconic symbols in the orijinal novel. His thoughts on his own movie are: ‘I think people are always surprised everytime they read Alice’s stories. Because they are absurd and surreal. Yet those characters are in our dreams and tales. What takes place in your mind is fantastic types. I made Alice 19 years old in the movie. Because that age seems like a turning point for me. At that age you start to join the society, you get married or you go towards something else. Alice is a very interesting characters. She has mixed soul of both an old and young mind. You can go on your own inner journey while watching her world.’

Aysegul EKINCI/LONDON