billy elliot In an interview with The London Evening Standard, former BILLY ELLIOT child star Jamie Bell, now 25, explains how he was able to avoid the “curse of the child star.”

I had this extreme focus, and people around me who wanted the best for me. There are many examples of young children in the entertainment industry who fail, and usually that’s not their own doing,” says Bell, “It’s damaging for a child to have too much exposure and power.”

As for how he handles the pressures of acting fame now Bell says “I still feel on the periphery, but in terms of going after roles, I feel that everything happens for a reason so I don’t cave in to those pressures. Of course, when I got the call saying, ‘Do you want to work with Spielberg?’ (on Tintin) that wasn’t a hard decision to make.”

When asked if he felt a connection to his TinTin Character: “I feel a kindred connection. He’s just how I wanted to be as a kid – I wanted to explore the world, I wanted to be heroic, I wanted to be courageous and a crime fighter. I actually even wanted to be a journalist like him for a time, because I enjoyed analytical writing.”

Jamie Bell wed former “Thirteen” child star Evan Rachel Wood, 24, in late October of this year.