Bonham Carter on Alan Rickman, “Through The Looking Glass”

Helena Bonham Carter talks “Alice Through The Looking Glass,” which is her new movie, and Alan Rickman’s last.

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It’s Helena Bonham Carter’s birthday today, and she’s spending it promoting her latest Disney film, the live action Alice Through The Looking Glass. The Alice series has been a virtual who’s who of Harry Potter alumni, starring everyone from Toby Jones to the late, great Alan Rickman. Bonham Carter leads the colorful cast as the Red Queen.

Speaking to Den of Geek about the film, which officially opens everywhere tomorrow, she says she originally took the part in the first movie, Alice In Wonderland, because of how incredibly cool the character looked.

"I always like camouflaging myself, basically. She’s just such a strong character. It’s always liberating to play someone who has basically stopped growing up. She was just brilliantly written. It was a gift. And then when the sequel came around, I was just praying it was well-written. And it was. And in a sort of typically Red Queen egocentric way, I thought, “Oh, there’s a lot about me!”"

Though some actors have issues with movies that are “green screen central”, Bonham Carter is used to it, having dealt with CGI all through the Harry Potter films. “You just have to work harder. And then you’ll feel less of a twat. If you sort of suspend your own disbelief and sort of complete the world, then you feel less vulnerable.”

With Rickman’s passing this past January, the cast and crew of the production have officially dedicated this film to his memory. Bonham Carter says that’s extra fitting because it means his last role is that of a blue butterfly.

"And anything that I can tell Rima, his wife, to comfort her, is there’s that quote: “Just when the caterpillar thought it was all over, it became a butterfly.” And often, butterflies…you know, death can be seen as the end. It can also…I don’t know if it’s any comfort, but you can also see that it’s a point of transition.So, I think maybe there’s something poetic in him being a blue butterfly in his last screen presence. But he was such a gentleman and a man of huge kindness, and twinkle, and contradiction, because sometimes he’d be aloof, and then the next minute he’d be immediate and crinkle out in a massive, mischievous smile. And he had an absolutely and totally unforgettable…there will never be another voice like his."

She says Harry Potter and Bellatrix is still the role she gets asked about the most, even though she considered the Black sister to have been a tiny role. If it had been any larger, she might not have been able to fit it into her schedule because at the time, she was trying to raise two young kids.

"But I did love doing it. I was privileged just to be part of it. And it was good to have that when my kids were so young, because it didn’t feel I could take on much, but I could take on a tiny part that I made really big (laughs) in performance."

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Alice Through the Looking Glass opens in select theaters this evening, and everywhere tomorrow, May 27th, 2016.