Durham University student with a 'period drama face'

HEBE Beardsall has been told she has a “period drama face”. Unique and full of character, the up-and-coming actress certainly has the look many casting directors are after.

She was only 15 when she won the part of Ariana Dumbledore in the final Harry Potter film. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Her latest role on the big screen is as the young, single mother Lucy in Full Monty producer Uberto Pasolini’s new film Still Life, starring Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt and Sherlock Holmes actor Eddie Marsden.

Having bagged a number of TV and stage roles in between, this Durham University English student, who is now in her final year, plans to move to London when she finishes her degree to concentrate on auditioning. It is a cut-throat business, particularly for young actresses starting out, but Hebe takes it all in her stride: “Rejection is something I am quite good at taking at the moment,” she says. “It is an extremely difficult industry to break into, especially if you are a young, blonde female. But I am very determined.”

Sporting a recently-cut blonde bob, Hebe is wearing highwaisted Levi jeans, a navy cashmere jumper and Topshop brogues when I meet her. Effortlessly stylish, she loves vintage clothes. “I know what I like, I don’t follow trends,” she says. “It’s important not to be pressurised into looking a certain way or being too skinny. You have to embrace the look you have got and make that work for you. You need to find your niche.”

Academically gifted, her parents never tried to persuade her to follow a more conventional and secure career path.

But as the daughter of writer Jonny and sculptor Janie Beardsall, who also run a successful business making magnificent, outlandish hats out of reclaimed fur, Hebe was never going to work in an office. Jonny and Janie have always encouraged Hebe to follow her dreams. “I come from a very arty, creative family and they are so supportive. I probably wasn’t ever going to do a normal job,” says Hebe.

Under the spell: Hebe as Ariana Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

She knew she wanted to be an actress from the age of ten when she took part in school performances, including playing the poet Homer in one particularly adventurous production, at Kell Bank Primary School, near Masham. “I know it sounds a bit cliched, but I was really shy. Acting was the one thing that brought me out ofmy shell,” she says. “My shyness just disappeared when I was on stage. It helped me develop in confidence.”

The big-budget films she has taken part in since are a world away from where she first started on her primary school stage and Hebe admits that, at times, it feels almost unreal. “On these big sets, with famous actors and directors, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the whole thing.”

At the Harry Potter premiere in London in July 2011, she rubbed shoulders with actors like Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent and David Thewlis. She was particularly thrilled to meet X-Men: First Class actor Nicholas Hoult.

She was only 15 when she bagged a part most teenagers could only dream of. After contacting casting agents to see if anyone was auditioning for a fair-haired teenager, the budding young actress got a call, out of the blue. “They just happened to be casting Harry Potter and invited me to London to audition,” she explains.

It may have been a fleeting role, but competition was fierce to win a part, no matter how small, in what was to turn out to be one of the top five worldwide grossing films of all time.

“The sets were mind-blowing – it was so cool to see them first hand.” But it wasn’t all star-studded glamour. “The waiting around is so boring, “ she confesses.

Hebe with David Thewlis, who plays Professor Lupin in the Harry Potter films

A number of TV roles followed, including the part of Pacifist Pam in the CBBC TV science fiction series The Sparticle Mystery. In the meantime, the former Ripon Grammar School pupil, has been enjoying taking part in Durham student drama productions, including playing Miss Wade in State of Fugue and Ismene in Sophocles’s Antigone, which have attracted critical praise. “Durham Student Theatre is thriving and I really enjoy being a part of it,” says Hebe.

What she loves most about acting is the varied personalities she explores. “I’m intrigued by psychology so it’s amazing to delve into different characters,” she says.

Hebe’s ambition is to appear in a period drama. “I would lovetobeaBennetsisterinPrideandPrejudice,”shesays.One of her role models is the British Olivier-award winning actress Ruth Wilson, best known as Alice Morgan in the BBC TV psychological crime drama Luther and star of the film Jane Eyre.

“She has such an incredible face and is so versatile.”

Although Hebe emphasises her role in Still Life was small, she says it was an incredible experience. Hebe says she has learned much from many of the well-known actors she has worked alongside. Downton’s Joanne Froggatt was particularly encouraging and “gave me a lot of advice”.

It is advice that will no doubt come in useful as Hebe faces the challenges of the year ahead. “Things will start heating up after I graduate. It’s very competitive. But I think the secret of success has to be tenacity.”