Since her star-making performance in Oscar favorite An Education last fall, Yvie Bryant’s meteoric rise has itself become a cinematic affair - a quick cutting whirlwind of award shows, paparazzi, and self-effacing British charm. The 25-year-old Bryant’s portrayal of a precocious but naive schoolgirl whose hunger for experience leads her to become romantically involved with an older man earned her an Oscar nomination. I met with her to discuss her catapult into the spotlight and what the future holds for the young Brit.


Total Film: Actresses usually don’t have very much to say, and they’re very guarded. But you seem to actually have a good time being interviewed.

Yvie Bryant: It’s a difficult thing. You aren’t supposed to show too much enthusiasm for the press. Am I guarded? I think I am. Maybe not obviously, but I don’t reveal everything. But yes, I enjoy talking to the press. I like talking to people full stop. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and I’m grateful for the opportunities. So I do like being interviewed to that end. But it can be tricky because it’s not always nice to talk about yourself over and over - it’s not a conversation, and you’re very aware of that.

TF: Where do you live now?

YB: I live between Los Angeles and London. London is home. That’s where I come from originally. But Los Angeles is where I live to work, so that’s where I spend more time these days.

TF: You grew up where exactly?

YB: Primrose Hill. The nice end. The thing about Primrose Hill is - it’s like most places, there’s a good area and an area you’d probably rather not live in. So I’m not being eager to be like, “Oh, my house was wonderful and I lived in a park,” and so on. It’s just that whenever anyone says, “I grew up in Primrose Hill,” they follow it with “the nice end” or “the not-so-nice end”. It’s just the way it’s referred to.

TF: Does anyone ever admit to living in the not-so-nice end?

YB: You’d be surprised. The thing about London is that people are very proud of the part they come from. So maybe they wouldn’t describe it as “the not-so-nice end”. Maybe they’d say, “the end furthest from the park”, or wherever. Perhaps it is a kind of snobbery to refer to it as being not nice, but I don’t mean it that way. It’s the way I was brought up to think of it. So maybe my parents indulged me in snobbery! I don’t know.

TF: Do you think you were raised in a privileged background? Can you do things for yourself or do you rely on other people even now?

YB: Well, those are two separate questions, to me. I think I was privileged. I don’t think we were snobs really, and I don’t think we rubbed it in anyone’s face, but my parents had good jobs and we had enough money and... It was a case of not wanting for anything. We were very lucky in that regard. As for whether I can do things for myself, I can. Of course I can. I don’t think that I would have survived living alone if I couldn’t. I don’t expect anyone to cook for me or tidy up or do my washing. [Pauses.] I do have a cleaner, but it’s not because I can’t do it. I don’t have time, that’s all.

TF: Do you cook for yourself, then?

YB: Well, I try! I’m not an incredible cook. I wouldn’t claim to be a cordon bleu chef. I can rustle up the basics, I suppose you could say. I don’t have fantastic skills, by any means.

TF: Do you find it a challenge being English in Hollywood?

YB: No, not at all. I think that so many doors are open now, have been opened by such wonderful British actors and actresses that it’s not really a challenge. Which isn’t to say that I don’t have to try as hard as everyone else. But it isn’t a barrier. Thanks to... you know, Helen Mirren and, and Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Daniel Craig - and a hundred other amazing actors, it really isn’t frowned up on to be... to not be American in Hollywood any more.

TF: Were you surprised at all that An Education has done as well as it has?

YB: It’s always - I say always, I don’t really mean always because I haven’t experienced it too terribly often. But it’s a surprise every time a movie does well. It’s so nice to appear in something successful, let alone star in it. So yes, I was surprised, but not because it wasn’t a good film or because I didn’t think it had the potential to be wonderful, but because it’s so hard to know what’s going to be well-received. Audiences have very differing tastes and I think their appetite for what they like to see is evolving constantly. So of course films need to evolve too. But I think that’s a good thing. I’ve completely strayed away from your question, I’m sorry. But - yes. I was surprised, but it’s so lovely when a film does well and you’re a part of it.

TF: Especially if you’re the star.

YB: It’s very flattering.

TF: Is there anyone whose career you admire?

YB: Oh gosh. Yes, very much so. Helen Mirren. I mentioned her already. Just her body of work and the fact that she’s an older actress and that she still gets these meaty, fantastic roles. Meryl Streep for similar reasons. It’s funny but I mostly think of men when you ask me that question. The first person who sprang to mind is Jack Nicholson because he’s had such a long career. I read somewhere that he’s won an Oscar in every decade that he’s been acting. That’s phenomenal, that’s just a great achievement. I wouldn’t think that I could ever achieve that kind of success, but it is something to aspire to.

TF: What’s next for you?

YB: I’m filming a feature called ‘Drive’ right now. It’s about... I don’t know how much I can give away, but in a nutshell, it’s about a stuntman who has a contract put out on him, in the most simplified terms! I don’t know how much more I’m supposed to say! And then after that, there’s a film coming up that’s an adaptation of the Nevil Shute novel, ‘On Chesil Beach’. So I’ll be in that too, if all goes according to plan.

TF: Quite a packed schedule for you, then.

YB: It is. It’s busy but that’s honestly the best way to be. I don’t want a break. I want to keep working - I think every actor wants to be in work. It’s a changeable industry and I’m just making the most of being in any kind of demand while I can.

Yvie Bryant can currently be seen in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, in theatres now.