While The Twilight Saga: New Moon belongs to Jacob and the Wolf Pack, the sequel also introduces a new, sinister threat: the Volturi, an ancient and powerful coven of vampires who rule the vampire world from beneath the Italian city of Volterra. We spoke with Jamie Campbell-Bower – a.k.a. the Volturi leader Caius – about his brief but important appearance in New Moon, his ambiguously homosexual portrayal of Gellert Grindelwald in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and how he's managed to avoid falling victim to the fan and media frenzy that surrounds co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart – despite having tens of thousands of followers on Twitter.
You play Caius, one of the three powerful vampires who rule the Volturi. But we only get to see you briefly, at the end of New Moon. Is it challenging to infuse your character with all of the back story and motivations that he has when you have limited screen time?
Jamie Campbell-Bower: Well, it wasn't difficult because there's so much back story, particularly to the Volturi. We all knew what we were there for, we knew what we were doing. You know, the thing about the Volturi is that they're introduced in the second film and then come the fourth book, that's where the meatiness lies. So it's an introduction, effectively. But I wasn't disappointed; I knew exactly what I was going to be doing when I got the script. I'm just psyched to be involved in it.
You're appearing in quite a few upcoming genre projects: New Moon, which is a vampire story, AMC's The Prisoner, which is sci-fi, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Was this all by coincidence?
Well, if all else fails, I can just become one of those guys who goes to Comic-Con every year to have my own booth and get paid to do autographs. [Laughs.] That's what I'm investing in – I'm investing in the end of my career.
What's the dirt on your Harry Potter character?
It's a character called Grindelwald, he's an old friend of Dumbledore's – possibly, his lover – and they have this idea that they can create this perfect wizardry world. But it all goes to the pot and they have a big fight, and something awful happens and someone dies. It's very sad.
You say Grindelwald and Dumbledore are "possibly" lovers…
Well obviously, because it's a 12A film, there are going to be no hardcore love scenes. Put it that way.
But it's something that you had in mind when you approached the character?
I think so. Yes. There's obviously a very strong connection between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, so it's something that you have to bear in mind.
American audiences aren't as familiar with the original British series The Prisoner. What can you tell us about the remake?
In a way, that's kind of a good thing. Well, it's neither a good nor a bad thing. Our version of The Prisoner is an updated version and we haven't gone in and remade the original show. People will be able to connect with it even if they haven't seen the original.
You've become one of the Twilight stars with enormous Twitter followings. How do you decide what to share with your fans?
Twitter's a great thing, but I never put anything that's incredibly personal on there. Just tidbits of information. If I'm working on a job, I will always ask production what I can say and what I can't say; you don't want to get into trouble about it. But also, it's good press if you're working on a job. So I try to be personal, but not to a point where I feel people know everything about me.
Were there any Twitter impositions while you were working on New Moon?
For New Moon, obviously they didn't want to give the look of the Volturi away, or their locations. I would never post a location of where I was, just personally and safety wise, but obviously with the hysteria that surrounds Rob [Pattinson] and Kristen [Stewart] and Taylor [Lautner], you have to be respectful of that. I think that's just human nature. So all I would say is, "I had a gret day filming today, off to bed" and crack on tomorrow.
Joining the franchise with the second film, have you taken any cues on handling the media spotlight from watching Rob and Kristen deal with it?
I don't think so. It's not something that I really focus on in my life. It's not something that I wake up thinking about. I do feel for people that have photographers follow them around everywhere, because it's very invasive. You want to be able to live your life. Who cares if someone walks down the road having a cigarette, and people are taking pictures of you… I just don't think that's very fair.
Have paparazzi photographers gotten to a point where they disrupt your personal life?
It depends on where I am, and it depends on what I'm doing. Cameron [Bright], Charlie [Bewley], and I went to the Rome Film Festival last week and obviously when you're there to promote a film likeNew Moon, that has such hysteria surrounding it, you have to be aware and accept the fact that there are going to be people there who do follow you around and want to take your picture. So when I'm doing something promotionally I am aware. That doesn't mean that I change what I do, it just means that I deal with it. But when I'm back home in London, I'm able to do whatever the hell I like, just because A) nobody knows where I live, and B) nobody gives a shit. So I still have relative anonymity, which is great.
