Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter (born May 26, 1966) is an English actress, known for playing Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince films. She replaced Helen McCrory, who was originally going to play the role but could not because of her pregnancy and who is now playing Narcissa Malfoy. Bonham Carter will be reprising her role as in both parts of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films.

Bonham Carter has also starred in movies such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in which she acted with Freddie Highmore and Johnny Depp, playing the role of Mrs. Bucket. She also starred in Corpse Bride as the voice of the eponymous character, as well as Mrs. Lovett in the film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Her other well-known roles include Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View and Marla Singer in Fight Club.

Bonham Carter's domestic partner is director Tim Burton, with whom she has two children. She was once involved with Kenneth Branagh, who portrayed Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film), and whom she met while he was still married to Emma Thompson, who plays Sybill Trelawney the Harry Potter films. Bonham Carter and Burton are good friends, and frequent colleagues, of actor Johnny Depp.

Comments on her Character
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bonham Carter said the following about playing Bellatrix Lestrange: "She's obviously as bonkers as they come. There's a bit of a child-like madness there... You know how kids can be like savages before they get civilized? There's that sadist quality. Y'know, like boys who like to pick apart an insect for the sake of it... She's a sadist. She's very sick. She's got problems. I think she's been in prison a bit too long. But I suspect even before prison she had problems. She's a racist, obsessed with blood purity... And she's in love with Voldemort, really."

Bonham Carter also had a role in determining Bellatrix's wardrobe for the film: ''"So I had the idea of the corset. She looks like a warrior. I mean, Bellatrix does mean warrior. And she's also a bit of a fatale. She's the right hand of Voldemort..."