I simply adore featuring young people in my interviews, and when I had the opportunity to interview the dynamically gifted Hector Bateman-Harden, I jumped at the chance. While I have yet to see him in any of his works, I am entirely impressed with his work ethic and indisputable artistic capabilities. It is with great joy that I share our recent conversation with my readers today!
RH: How did you become interested in becoming an actor? What kind of training/classes did you take to help with this interest of yours?
HBH: I was watching one of my favourite movies, Star Wars, and it had some extras on it, George Lucas was being interviewed and it had some behind-the-scenes with the actors. I thought it looked so interesting and fun, showing the character and how everything worked. I really wanted to do that too! I asked if I could take acting classes and we found some that I love. I train at The Guildford School of Acting, GSA, which is part of Surrey University. I take group and one-to-one acting classes and some tap and dance classes. Plus, I work with specialist coaches when I need so I have a lot of support around me.
How old were you when you were in your first production? What are your memories from that production?
I did a theatre production when I was five; I am surprised I was that brave! I remember the huge stage and not being able to see out into the audience in the dark, but when we went forward for our bows at the end, I could see everyone clapping which was really nice. I was the youngest in the cast, but my mom stayed with me the whole time, which helped. I don’t do theatre anymore–just film and television.
What was your first professional on-screen role, and what are your memories from that role?
I did a few commercials, which I enjoyed, including one in South Africa. That was the best, but then I got a part in Endeavour, which was so much fun. I played a boy who gets shot by accident, and I remember being taught how to fall down safely, and that they weren’t allowed to show any blood on me because of my age. I was supposed to have CPR, but they weren’t allowed to show that either in case someone copied the doctor! I got to work with Shaun Evans, Roger Allam and James Bradshaw who were the first famous actors I had worked with. They were all very kind and gave lots of advice–like how to keep my eyes closed without them moving, and about a career. And I got to talk about Shakespeare with Roger Allam.
Please tell us about your works that have already been released, including any memories from filming them.
After Endeavour, I shot Holmes and Watson, the Columbia Pictures movie. It stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, and I played young Sherlock Holmes–Will Ferrell when he was little. It was a cool role, with comedy and sad scenes, and I like doing both. I was pretty starstruck meeting Will Ferrell, as I am a big fan of his, but I was so lucky that I got to do improv with him since he was an executive producer. My main memory is probably the animals. I had a tortoise who kept escaping from his wheelchair, and I had to kiss the bottom of a donkey, but they swapped between a real one and a fake one for me to kiss.
After Holmes and Watson, I shot Homeless Ashes, and then Four Weddings and a Funeral for six months.
I know that Homeless Ashes is a very special project for you. Please tell us about how you got involved with this film, what your role is with this film, and how it has inspired you.
I play Frankie when he is a boy. His father is horrible to him and his mom; he’s very scared of him. Then one day, he protects his mother and ends up running away. He gets into some trouble and bad things happen to him; it’s very sad.
Homeless Ashes
Photo by Richard Oakes – © Marc Zammit
I got involved after we saw a casting call for the role. I was actually too young, but I really wanted to try for it when I found out about Frankie. My mom contacted Marc Zammit, and he agreed for me to tape for it. I did the scene from E.T. when Elliot cries, and Marc met with us after seeing that and changed things around a bit so Frankie could be younger and I got the job! I had a rehearsal session with Angela (Dixon) and Dean (Maskell) who play my parents, when we got to know each other and build the trust up. I think that helped a lot for the emotional scenes.
What happens to people like Frankie is awful. We found some local charities that help and visited them; we’ve donated things that are needed and tell others what sort of things help. When we see anyone on the street now, we will go and talk to them. I gave bottles of water when it was really hot the other week, and offered to buy food, stuff that I can do. Shooting the film has made me notice the homeless a lot more. I hope the movie raises a lot of money for the charities and gets everyone talking about the problem.
Four Weddings and A Funeral is one of those iconic films that has been adapted for a series and has recently been released. What can you tell us about your character and how he fits into the overall story?
The series is a reimagining of the original movie, so it’s a bit different. It’s about a group of friends who were in college together. Maya lives in America, but the others live in the UK now. Maya, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, gets a wedding invitation from her friend and flies over to the UK, and then it’s all about what happens to them getting together again and their relationships. One of the group is Gemma, played by Zoe Boyle, and I play her son, Giles.
Giles was great to play; he’s smart, likes to learn, loves his dog and is quite grown up for his age, I think. The story shows how his relationship with his mum changes through all the things that happen.
Any other upcoming works you can mention?
I can’t say anything at the moment, but I’m looking forward to playing some great characters.
How has school worked for you in the midst of having such a busy film/TV career?
I’m homeschooled, so I can do school work around the filming schedule. I bring books to set and take lessons in my trailer, and normal studying at home on my days not on set. It works really well and I love it. I go to lots of groups, tutors and meets with other homeschooled children.
I understand you’re an animal lover. How did this passion of yours begin? Please tell us about your animals and how this passion has turned into charitable work.
I am! I have lots of pets: two dogs–one is a rescue–a cat, rats, giant millipedes, woodlice, and a chameleon and I’m going to get tree frogs. I’m not sure when it started with animals. I saw a programme about ivory poachers in Africa, how endangered some species were and then about animals being killed for sport. It was awful to see. It made me very upset…such beautiful, intelligent animals being killed for no reason. I had to do something. I asked my parents to help me send some funds to charities that help, so I picked a couple and adopted an elephant and a tiger. I worked with Peter Egan on Four Weddings, and he told me about a campaign to ban trophy hunting. I looked into supporting that, bought their t-shirt–which I wear and tell people about. When I’m older, I hope to do more and get better involved.
When not acting, what do you like to do for fun?
I love spending time with all my animals and taking care of them, playing with the dogs outside and making dens. I enjoy learning about history, so we go to see a lot of places like Shakespeare’s home, Tudor palaces or castles. I love going to the theatre so much – I just saw Mamma Mia, which was brilliant, very funny and lots of Abba songs! I also like doing archery, playing computer games, horseback riding and building Lego, especially Star Wars and Minecraft sets. Oh, and movies! We go to see movies a lot; that’s a really nice family outing with all of us together.
Thankfully, much of Hector’s work is now available for us to watch (check out Hulu for Four Weddings and a Funeral and Holmes and Watson), and when I find a free moment, I plan to check out both of these works. Regardless, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind just how amazing Hector is, even at his tender age. Many youngsters have dreams and ambitions regarding being in the movies, but very few are dedicated and committed to investing the time and resources in order to accomplish those aspirations. Additionally, we know it requires family support to become a child actor, and Hector is immensely grateful to have a supportive mother who is the positive, grounded voice that makes it possible for him to pursue this acting career. I am confident that as the years advance, Hector will receive even more astounding opportunities, and as long as Hector remains passionate about the arts for the right reasons, I have no reservations in maintaining that he will continue to experience unmitigated success. I hope that everyone takes a moment to check out Hector’s links below and follow him on Instagram or Twitter if you would like. I can hardly wait to see Homeless Ashes once it is released, and here’s to more wonderful work in all areas by those like Hector who are faithful to the arts as well as humanitarian causes.
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