Berlin Flashback: Jamie Bell’s First Fest Foray Was ‘Hallam Foe’

Berlin Flashback: Jamie Bell’s First Fest Foray Was ‘Hallam Foe’

From teen breakout to seasoned leading man, the British actor returns to the Berlinale with a competition film that echoes the emotional themes of his early work.

Billy Elliot Star Returns to Berlin

Jamie Bell was just 14 when he made his film debut as a would-be ballet dancer in 2000’s Billy Elliot, so by the time he visited the Berlinale in 2007, he’d already begun to develop an impressive resume — having worked on Peter Jackson’s King Kong and Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers — and begun to transition into young adult roles. In director David Mackenzie’s Scottish-set drama Hallam Foe — which had echoes of both Rear Window and Vert…