Helena Bonham Carter on King's Speech, Fight Club and Why She Doesn't Belong to Tim Burton

Did you ever get jealous on the set because Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush weren't including you in their fun?

They were getting on so well.

They're the ones who got to scream all the profanities.

I wanted to play George VI when I read the script: "Well, that's the part." And obviously Geoffrey. Definitely, I thought of this as a potentially thankless role, playing the Queen Mum. It wasn't like my sole source of creative satisfaction. She's deceptive: My role here is not to just play it in a bland, supportive way in the background. [I] also try and shed light on her relationship and humanize that in a way. I read it and it as a really, really good story, so I just thought that this is worth telling.

That's interesting that you mentioned that this may be a thankless role. You have an eclectic mix at this point. What, then, goes into your thought process on how you choose your roles?

I do think that it one of the criteria. I don't particularly want to repeat myself. And I like getting into parts that aren't very like me. Usually illness, any mental illness or complexity is something I find fascinating. Like, "How on Earth did that person get to be that person?"

Which is why you just played one of the healthiest women to ever live.

Well, yeah, the Queen Mum, who ended up living... She had two levels, she was really complex. It's just a mixture. A mixture of director, definitely. The film has to work and the context is everything.

You mention directors. Do you look at new David Fincher movies like The Social Network and think Good luck, enjoy your 1,500 takes?

[Laughs] Right. And in every interview I see David doing, he's like, "It's not true!" And then the actors are like, "Um, we did 107 takes." So, I'm like, "Yeah."

And you are also, obviously, in a lot of Tim Burton's movies. Is it nice to get a break from him at times?

I think it's important for both of us. Yeah, definitely. It's of no function that I'm going to work on everything. And I think, if anything, it's nice, but I don't just work with him. I'm very thankful to Tom [Hooper] and [Harry Potter director] David Yates for employing me because I think a lot of people go, "Oh, she belongs to Tim Burton." I so don't. You know, not professionally.

At the time, as an actress known for English period pieces, how important was it for you to land the role of Sonny Crockett's girlfriend on Miami Vice?

It was bizarre. I remember, because I just didn't see myself on... And it was a real thrill being taken out and waking up in Miami. And then they saw me and they thought that I would look older. They started putting latex all over me trying to make me look older. I think they meant for me to be five years older, not 20 years older. But no, it was a real thrill. I've had so many unexpected things happen to me. I've been really, really lucky.

I almost hate bringing this up because I'm now going to be labeled a "Fight Club person," but I'm fascinated with the story of your line being cut.

Yeah, "I want to have your abortion."

And if I understand correctly, it was replaced with something the studio hated worse?

Yeah, "I haven't been f*cked like that since grade school." [Laughing] To be honest, the thing is, culturally, too, I really didn't even know what I was saying. I kind of knew, I had to have it explained that grade school [means younger in the U.S.]. But it didn't surprise me, David [Fincher] just wanted the worse, the better. That's mischievous. He was completely mischievous.

[Top photo: Getty Images]

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