'I try to lure him back into my bed': Helena Bonham Carter opens up on her sizzling 'chemistry' with Dominic West as they play Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
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She's been in a happy relationship with famed director Tim Burton, the father of her two children, for the past 12 years.
But Helena Bonham Carter has joked that her 'chemistry' with new co-star Dominic West was so sizzling that she kept trying to 'lure him back' into her bed as they took on the roles of Hollywood legends, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton for a new television biopic.
The pair play the screen icons in new BBC4 drama, Burton and Taylor, and the 47-year-old actress enjoyed the shoot so much that she 'didn't want it to end'.
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Sizzling: Helena Bonham Carter has joked that she kept trying to 'lure' Dominic West into her bed as they took on the roles of Hollywood legends, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton for a new television biopic
Uncanny likeness: The pair play the screen icons in new 90-minute BBC4 drama, Burton and Taylor
Speaking in an interview with Radio Times magazine, she said of her co-star: 'I think we have great chemistry. I try to lure him back into my bed but he won’t have me.
'Dominic's very funny. I didn't want it to end.'
The 90-minute biopic documents the final tempestuous reunion of the Cleopatra co-stars when they performed together for the final time in the 1983 stage revival of Noël Coward’s Private Lives.
Chemistry: The BBC biopic documents the final tempestuous reunion of the Cleopatra co-stars when they performed together for the final time in the 1983 stage revival of Noël Coward¿s Private Lives
Icons: Bonham Carter admitted she enjoyed the shoot so much that she 'didn't want it to end'
Icons: Burton and Taylor were largely credited with being at the forefront of the modern obsession with the world of 'celebrity' after they met and fell in love on the set of Cleopatra in 1963, when they were both married to other people
Burton and Taylor were largely credited with being at the forefront of the modern obsession with the world of 'celebrity' after they met and fell in love on the set of Cleopatra in 1963, when they were both married to other people.
The turbulent union between the screen legends went on to become one of the 20th century's greatest love stories, with the pair marrying - and divorcing - twice, battling alcoholism and delighting the world with their extravagant lifestyle.
And West, 43, revealed he prepared for the epic role by channelling his alter-ego's penchant for alcohol and cigarettes on a nightly basis to achieve Welsh actor Burton's 'mellifluous voice'.
Hollywood romance: Bonham Carter has revealed she consulted an astrologer to prepare for her role as the Oscar-winning actress
Love story: Despite being one of Hollywood's greatest love stories, Burton and Taylor tragically never reunited again after their stint in Private Lives, with Burton dying the following year at the age of just 58
Dapper: West, 43, revealed he prepared for the epic role by channelling his alter-ego's penchant for alcohol and cigarettes on a nightly basis to achieve Welsh actor Burton's 'mellifluous voice'
He told Radio Times: 'It's the voice. You have to get it right.
'The film opens with Burton quoting from King Lear, a role he always wanted to play but never managed and the stage direction on the script is "Burton has the most beautiful mellifluous voice you’ve ever heard", which put the fear of God into me.
'When I drank and smoked all night, it worked pretty well but I didn’t have the stamina to keep it up.'
Feisty: The actress defended her character as being 'a great screen actress'
Panned: Although they were Hollywood darlings for much of their career, their stint in Private Lives was panned by critics on both sides of the Atlantic
Controversial: Many British commentators criticised former child star Taylor for leading Burton astray throughout their union
Meanwhile, Bonham Carter consulted an astrologer to find out more about Taylor, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 79.
She said: 'She was really insightful. She told me Elizabeth was a water person. Water is sexual and sensual and that’s the place she operated from.
'She had a big appetite for life. She was a good eater. Unlike actresses these days, she liked her food.'
Glamorous: Despite being one of Hollywood's greatest love stories, Burton and Taylor tragically never reunited again after their stint in Private Lives, with Burton dying the following year at the age of just 58.
Read the full interview in this week's Radio Times magazine, on sale now
Although they were Hollywood darlings for much of their respective careers, their stint in Private Lives was panned by critics on both sides of the Atlantic, with many British commentators criticising former child star Taylor for leading Burton astray throughout their union.
But Bonham Carter defended her character: 'She was like a huge Rottweiler when people tried to put him [Burton] down and she was right. There is far too much snobbery about stage versus film.
They’re different mediums and she was a great screen actress.'
Both West and Bonham Carter bear an incredible likeness to the legendary couple, and screenwriter William Ivory explained the whole production hinged on getting the pair together: 'We had to get actors of sufficient stature to play Burton and Taylor and these two have that star quality.'
Despite being one of Hollywood's greatest love stories, Burton and Taylor tragically never reunited again after their stint in Private Lives, with Burton dying the following year at the age of just 58.
Read the full interview in this week's Radio Times magazine, on sale now.
Hollywood legends: The turbulent union between Burton and Taylor went on to become one of the 20th century's greatest love stories, with the pair marrying - and divorcing - twice after first meeting on the set of Cleopatra in 1963
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2365014/Helena-Bonham-Carter-opens-sizzling-chemistry-Dominic-West-play-Elizabeth-Taylor-Richard-Burton.html#ixzz2ZEH4PPau
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