It's Eleanor's film wonderland
Eleanor pictured with her dad, Malcolm, at an evening of carols in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support at Beverley Minster just before Christmas
It’s 3pm on a Thursday afternoon and like any other 17-year-old on holiday, Eleanor Tomlinson has just got out of bed. Dressed down today in tracksuit bottoms and a light-coloured vest top, she feasts on a salmon sandwich while pet dog Ben waits patiently for a tit-bit.
“He’s about 100 years old,” laughs Eleanor. “He’s blind and deaf and he slips about on the floors a bit as well.” A quick look at the old pooch and it did seem like his claws needed a bit of a clip. I didn’t say.
“I’ve been away in Prague for a month and it’s so nice to be home again with my family. They help keep my feet on the ground and give me some normality. I still don’t quite believe what’s happening to me – it’s so surreal.”
Eleanor, for those who don’t recognise the name, is one of Beverley’s most famous faces. Still just a teenager, she has already acted alongside Edward Norton in the Hollywood film The Illusionist; been in a Dr Who spin-off; played one of the lead roles in the teen comedy flick Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging, and has just finished her first lead role in the film Hepzibah, due to be released in Germany later this year.
And then there’s the small case of her part in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice In Wonderland, which will be in cinemas next month.
“The film stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and there are others in there like Michael Sheen and Matt Lucas,” said Eleanor. “It was filmed on two different sets – one in LA and the other in Plymouth – and I drew the short straw and ended up in Plymouth.
“It was great fun, though. I play Fiona Chataway, who is a total bitch to Alice. It’s only quite a small part but it’s such a great film to be in and a great cast.”
And, of course, the chance to work with a director of the standing of Tim Burton is one that is almost impossible to turn down.
“Tim Burton is just amazing,” says Eleanor, who is currently taking driving lessons. “He is a really nice guy and he also has this amazing imagination that nobody else could possibly have.
“It’s so obscure and the film, like a lot of his others, is very Gothic and dark. When Tim Burton is behind the camera, things are going to get a bit weird.”
On the set of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Destined to be one of 2010’s biggest blockbusters, Alice In Wonderland will give Eleanor yet another chance to shine on the world stage. A normal 17-year-old at heart – her dream car is a Nissan Figaro and she lists teen chick flicks as her favourite movie type – she says she develops two personas . . . one for home and one for the film set.
When on set, she says she is often regarded as “the baby” and, to a degree, looked after by older members of the cast. But, she says, she is also overtly professional, even if some of her more famous co-stars aren’t . . .
“The funniest star I’ve worked with has to be David Tennant,” says Eleanor. “He’s crazy and just like he appears on TV. I did a scene with him once where I was supposed to walk through a door upset and crying and he just kept making me laugh.
“It was wonderful working with him but that was a hard scene to do.
“Up to the age of 16 I had to have a chaperone on set with me, but now I’m old enough I’ve said no to that and the set is my job now.
“I do my best to keep it away from my home life, but it’s not always that easy.
“I try not to talk to my friends about what I’m doing because I know how hard it will be for them to understand. But if I see someone on set I really like, I will text them to let them know. It’s got to be someone good, though.”
Eleanor was born in Beverley and studied at Beverley High School. Both her parents are from performing arts backgrounds, with mum Judith once appearing in the stage version of Dr Who in the West End and dad Malcolm enjoying parts in The Bill and Doctors.
But despite her upbringing, Eleanor says she was never pushed into acting. “Far from forcing me into acting, my parents were actually more concerned about how I would cope,” she said.
“There’s a lot of rejection in this business and they were worried it would have a detrimental effect on me, particularly because often you get cases of auditions being awful or being promised the world and then not getting parts.
“But I’ve developed a thick skin to cope with it all. When I don’t get a part I just accept that maybe it’s not my time.”
Eleanor on yet another photoshoot
Eleanor also admits school really wasn’t for her and this is why her recent sixth-form studies ended so abruptly (she decided to leave school three months into what would have been a two-year course). “I hated school and I was never really that academic,” she says.
“Science and maths were like torture to me and then, when I went to Prague to film Hepzibah, I was away for a month and came back so far behind everybody else it was impossible to continue.
“It was a hard decision though because I’m now effectively unemployed while in between acting and that’s hard to get used to. The good thing is I don’t have to do school work anymore and that is making me a much happier person.”
So what is Eleanor doing in her free time? Filming for Hepzibah lasted four weeks throughout November, but she was home most of the Christmas period.
“I love buying clothes,” she says, laughing. “Topshop is my favourite and I go shopping with my friends there quite a bit, but I also love going to the cinema to see action adventure films as well as the odd teen flick.
“I loved Lord Of The Rings when it came out, but I hate any sci-fi stuff. On TV, I’ve heard The Inbetweeners – a comedy about four boys at a sixth form – is really good. I haven’t seen it yet but I want to soon. I also love horse riding although my mum is always a bit wary of me getting on a horse in case I fall off and get injured. I have just had a fall actually, so I can see why.”
Although she says her parents never pushed her into acting, it was while sitting on actress Bernie Nolan’s knee on the set of The Bill that she first admitted she wanted to be in the profession.
With the help of her dad’s agent, she got her first role in The Illusionist with Edward Norton and, although terrified at her first audition, she was soon handed the role of Jessica Biel’s younger self.
She celebrated her 13th birthday on set and later shared the red carpet at the French première with the Hollywood star.
“Edward was so focused on set and so intense,” she remembers. “I was in awe of him, but he looked after me on the red carpet; it was just wonderful.”
Roles in the Dr Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, followed before she landed the biggest role of her career playing Jas in the smash teen hit Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging in 2008.
“It was all about teenage life, girls liking boys, mums, dads and clothes,” says Eleanor.
“It was a proper teen flick and my character was the one all the boys liked while Georgia (the lead) didn’t have the same experience. It was great fun on set and we filmed all over Ealing, Brighton and Eastbourne. I wore a beautiful Kristian Aadnevik dress to the première and this is why I often can’t believe what is going on.
“It is surreal, being on the red carpet in Leicester Square; it’s why it’s so nice to come home to a bit of reality.”
Eleanor added: “It’s always great to be home because everyone in my family is a bit different and we are constantly making jokes about each other and messing about.
“When people come to my house they are always a bit shocked to see what we are like together, but it’s normal for us; it’s my home.”
Throughout our chat, Eleanor seemed as grounded as it’s probably possible to be in her position. But just to make sure, I asked one last question: What are the last two CDs you bought or downloaded?
Answer: Cheryl Cole and Lady Gaga.
Enough said.
Comment on this story