I received an all expense paid trip from Disney to attend the #ChristopherRobinEvent. The opinions expressed here are my own. Some interview questions and responses have been edited to improve readability.
While at the Christopher Robin press junket, we sat down with 11-year-old Bronte Carmichael to chat about her role in the film as Madeline Robin, Christopher Robin’s daughter. Carmichael is a British actress who plays Chloe Morrell in On Chesil Beach. She is in Darkest Hour and the upcoming series of Game of Thrones (2019). She plays Skye D’Branin in George R.R Martins sci-fi horror series Nightflyers and Laura Marlin in The Laura Marlin Mysteries TV movie. She is just a doll in person and seems to be handling the pressures of Hollywood with grace. I adored her in this film and can’t wait to follow her career, there’s no doubt she will do amazing things! Keep reading to find out what other Disney film she’d love to be in!
You can read all about my experience on the Christopher Robin red carpet HERE.
Q: So, I’ll start us off by asking how’d you become involved with the project?
A: Well, I did about three tapes before, and then I went up on like, a Monday to meet Marc. And then on a Wednesday I met the producers and Marc again, and we did a scene which they didn’t use in the film. It was when Madeline, she meets all the animals on the bridge instead of in the tennis court. And then when my mum told- she didn’t tell me that I got the part. She put a stuffed version of Eeyore on the bench in the garden. And it had a note tied to its back saying looking forward to our adventures in the Hundred Acre Woods.
Q: Is Eeyore your favorite character?
A: I like them all ‘cause like, you can’t really like one, ‘cause they all have different personalities, like, they act just like, almost like emotions, like, they’re Eeyore can be like, gloomy, sometimes you can feel like Eeyore, sometimes you can feel like Tiger, like really bouncy. But you know, I quite like Piglet. And at the end of shooting it, they gave me the Piglet to take home.
Q: Do you have a lovey that is like a Pooh to you? Maybe a bear, or a cat?
A: I have lots and lots of stuffed animals at home. So, you know, I don’t really have like a favorite teddy at home, but you know, I have lots and lots. And I like to talk to them and play with them with my sister as well.
Q: How was it acting with stuffed animals versus with humans, and which was more fun?
A: Well, like I said, I have lots, I have lots of toys at home, so it’s easy to act with stuffed animals. It’s fun. And then it’s sort of a different experience acting with actors, ‘cause, you know, they can be really nice people, really friendly.
Q: What was your favorite scene to film?
A: I quite liked all the action scenes. Like the bit where I did my own stunt where I tripped. I also liked cycling as well, it was really fun.
Q: Do you have advice for other children that are interested in acting that you could pass along?
A: I’d just say like, be as natural as you can and don’t let like, things get in the way of you. You just let it flow and, just be there in the moment, like, when you’re filming. Yeah.
Q: To go along with that, what made you want to be an actress?
A: I’m not sure really. Everything kind of, sort of it randomly fell into place. Like, I just, my parents friend who’s a director, like, asked me to be in something, and then after that I was with my mum’s agent and then it kind of all started off like that. And then once I’d done my first film I found I really enjoyed it.
Q: Both of your parents are actors, what kind of advice did they give you before you shot this movie?
A: They like Winnie Pooh, I like Winnie the Pooh. I mean, everyone likes Winnie the Pooh. So, they’re just like, try your hardest, and you know, natural. They’re just stuffed animals, so you don’t need to like, overact things.
Q: I noticed your mom has a role in this movie. How fun was that working with her?
A: It was quite funny actually, ‘cause I, I knew the boy who played young Christopher Robin, so, and sometimes we drove back to the hotel together, and so it was like, we’d always have these weird conversations about, like, my mum’s playing my grandma, and then my dad’s playing my grandpa, and it’s all a bit confusing.
Q: How do you memorize the lines for the movie? Do you read them over and over? Do you have someone to practice with?
A: Well, I kind of just, yeah I read them once or twice and then I do it with my mum, and then I try to memorize them. And then I look back over them, and then I look at stuff like, I could work on like, you know, facial expressions during the scenes and stuff.
Q: There was such a focus of it’s important to play in this movie. What is your favorite thing to do to just play?
A: Well I play a lot with my sister and I like fun action games. I like making up games and like using things that I already have, turning them into stuff, and like exaggerating and turning that into something else.
Q: In the movie, you were learning how to draw. Do you like to draw as well?
A: Yeah, I’ve been drawing since I was about three. I, I started from um- ‘cause my name’s Bronte, I did like these bee people. I drew a bee and then I drew faces on them and stuff. And then that kind of evolved, and yeah, I like to draw a lot. I mean, I was just drawing before I came down today.
Q: So, what was it like being on set, like a typical day on set? What did it involve?
A: Well, I’d arrive at about seven in the morning and then I’d normally do like hair, makeup, then costume. And then one of the AD’s, Alex, she was always really nice, she always brought me this little plate of berries before I went on as like a little energy snack. And the first day, I went into my trailer, they’d set up, like- ‘cause my mum had told them that I like stuffed animals, so they set up all these little Winnie the Pooh characters all over the trailer. And so, average day, I’d say depending on what we do, they’d bring me into rehearsal, and then they had readers for the animals. Not the ones that they used, obviously in the final film, but they had it so we didn’t have to just react to nothing. And so I’d practice lines with them, and you know, and then go back and then shoot it.
Q: Did anybody play any jokes on set?
A: I remember this one time where we were waiting for a really long time. It’s the scene before where, me, Hayley and Ewan were all about to run on and save Christopher Robin’s work. So we were waiting round the side of the building, and Ewan noticed some screws in the wall. And he asked one of the AD’s to chuck him a sharpie and he drew like a really detailed face on the screws and we call him Fred. And he’s pulling a face like this… [LAUGHS]. Yeah, and we were a little bit late running on after that.
Q: Did you make a lot of friends during the filming of the movie?
A: Yeah, I made a lot of friends, ‘cause it’s like, when you film, for it to be a good film, you have to, the whole crew has to bond, and it’s almost like a family. You have to be- work really well together, and there weren’t very many kids on it, but there were two. My doubles. There was a stunt double and a picture double. And they were called Martha and Annabelle, and we always liked to trick people, like they’d always, the producers and stuff would always get us confused. [LAUGHS]. And also, we’d make like, little silent movies, like whilst they were filming in the studio next door, we’d be making our own movies. Like, we, I remember once making like our own little mini James Bond movie with all of us.
Q: You said you love Winnie the Pooh. How did you get introduced to the character, book or movies?
A: Well, my mum and dad, they used to read it to me when I was little. I have like, lots of the pop-up book and, you know I listened to the audio books. I guess, I mean, everyone knows Winnie the Pooh, really, so, you know, it’s a really special character?
Q: Do you have a food that you love as much as Pooh loves honey?
A: Oh, I can’t think. I don’t like one specific food, I like lots of different foods. But the foods I ate quite a lot during filming Christopher Robin, besides like craft services and the really nice food they did, I had a lot of noodles. I like noodles a lot.
Q: You said you have a stunt double. Did you have a handwriting double, because that note was beautiful.
A: No I didn’t I, I remember at the end of the day, one of the producers saying, in a good way, but like, how I have a strange way of writing with my hand because I kind of write like that… And, uh, yeah,I don’t have a handwriting double…
Q: Do you have a favorite line in the movie? Maybe something that sticks in you head that you like?
A: Well, the one scene that they’ve changed like, throughout, lots and lots and lots, is the train carriage scene, like all of the different lines and everything, but they kept the line the same where, Madeline’s explaining to Pooh that you can’t just, nothing comes from nothing, and then Pooh tells her that nothing is the very best something, and that’s, the line that I remember the most of it.
Q: Out of all of the Disney character that are out there, which one would you like to do a movie with, now that you’ve had this experience?
A: That’s quite a hard one, actually. I remember when I was little, I know they’re making a Lion King, and the new Lion King. I’d quite, I’d… Quite interested in that ‘cause um, I used to love- that was one of- besides Winnie the Pooh, that was one of my, favorite Disney movies when I was little.
Christopher Robin is now open in theaters. Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
You might also like these Disney related posts:
10 Must Eat Disneyland Pixar Fest Treats and Snacks
