Introducing May Starring Bel Powley
Bel was styled by Cher Coulter; Hair by Dominick Pucciarello; makeup by Edward Cruz. Interview and botanical photography by Alison Engstrom
Before we start talking about your wonderful performance in A Small Light, you’ve had a pretty exciting few weeks with the promotion including a stop at the White House correspondence dinner. What have all of these experiences been like?
It’s been a total whirlwind. We are lucky we’ve been able to showcase our show in so many places. We started off in Cannes, then we had a premiere in Amsterdam, which was so special for us because it’s where the show is set. Then we were in London, which is cool because it’s where I am from, then to New York and then we ended in Washington and went to the White House Correspondents Dinner. There were loads of interesting and important people there, but it didn’t feel too serious, which I think is the idea.
Sounds like so much fun! Now to talk about ‘A Small Light’, the new nat geo series, it is really powerful and you deliver and incredible performance. Why was it so important for you to be a part of telling the story of Miep? I wasn’t familiar with her story, but soon learned it’s important to tell.
Similarly to you, I read Anne Frank’s diary when I was in school, but I didn’t know anything about Miep. I think there are a lot of incredible female heroes coming out of the woodwork post-Me Too, which is an exciting time. I have been wanting to play a role like this my entire career. It’s only been the past couple of years that people wanted to make shows about people like Miep. I am Jewish myself, so I felt connected with the history. I grew up with that weight on my family. As soon as I read it, it felt very special. I thought of my grandma—who I was very close with and died during covid in 2020–before it was even offered to me and that she would have been proud of me.
I was blown away after I read the pilot and just how connected I felt to this character and how relatable I found her. I often find period pieces jarring. I have shied away from them because I have a hard time connecting to those characters because of how they talked or the costumes they were wearing. I found it difficult to find a way in. But when I read this pilot, I immediately felt like I was there and I was connecting to these people on a human level. What was so cool to me was that if I was going to be a part of something about history, it had to feel fresh, new, and make people connect, which I think it does so well. Once we got on set and started doing it, all of those things fell into place. I am so proud of the show for pushing the boundaries on a period piece and on this part of history. I think, hopefully, what we were going for is working (laughs).
Oh absolutely! It’s an important story to keep alive, to remind people of the Holocaust in this crazy day and age. It’s also like you said important to tell the stories behind women who dared. She rose up and helped a family in a very selfless way, I think that message can go a long way.
Totally and that was her mantra until the day she died. She was like, I am not a hero don’t put me on a pedestal. The title of the show comes from a quote from when Miep and Otto would go around the world talking about Anne, the diary, and the events that took place. She would end her talk by saying that no one needed to think they had to be special in order to help others. Her message was anyone can turn on a small light in a dark room. That’s what we want people to take away from the show is that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
When we meet her she’s this spunky young woman who is trying to find her place in the world. How did you approach and shape her?
You hit the nail on the head there, I always found her very relatable. She was a very modern woman for her time, so there were definitely parallels between her and my life. I hope young woman watching it will find her relatable just in the way that she felt directionless, or couldn’t find a job, or partying a bit too much (laughs). So having her be like every woman gave me a point to start with. Of course, there is a plethora of research out there on this part of history, Anne, Miep, and The Annex, but I can sometimes find that overwhelming. For me as an actor, it’s about picking and choosing the things you are going to use as your main sources of research. Beyond that, it’s about stepping into another person's shoes, empathizing with them, and becoming that person. It’s about being present and about acting with the person opposite you. It’s being in the scene and telling the narrative even if it’s a true story. The first thing I did was I went to Amsterdam. I wanted to immerse myself in that because it’s such a specific place. It operates in the same way that it did in the 40s. It’s built around water and everyone cycles everywhere. The first thing I did was get a bike and cycle around. It was so fun, it was a nice way to get used to the character. Tony and Joe, our showrunners, gave me a few of her cycle routes so I took them on my way to work. I’d cycle on the route to the checkpoint where she took Margot and the route to The Annex, which was her office. I had a private tour of the Anne Frank house—the people who work there and run it have been generous to us before and after we filmed. They very kindly took me to the part of the house that tourists aren’t allowed to go in. They took me into Otto’s office, which is incredibly eerie because his office is right below the Annex and you can hear the tourist conversations. It really does bring home how quiet they had to be up there. Miep wrote a book in the 80s called Anne Frank Remembered, I read it cover to cover a few times.
One of the things you have touched upon when promoting the series is that there are moments of levity, despite the fact that it’s one of the darkest periods in human history.
Yeah because that’s real life. We have the World War II films, where the men are on the front line and that’s one tiny part of the hell. What we are trying to do here is show what life was actually like, what people were actually like, and the slow burn of this terrible time on these people. We can all relate in a small way when we all went through lockdown during covid. Even though it was so terrible, scary, and the world was at its knees, no one can deny that at home we had moments of levity, found moments of lightness, and looked for the good. That’s why we really do have those moments in the show, they continue through episode eight, but of course, it’s done with a major amount of respect and care. We are just trying to show a slice of real life and true humanity in order to make people connect to this story. I think it’s a great way to do that.
How do you leave a character like her behind?
It’s still with me now because I am talking about it (laughs), which I will always happily do. I’ve been working for 15 years now and I’ve had many experiences but only a couple have been formative experiences. This job has been one of them in so many ways. On a simple level, I had never been part of a TV show, lead a whole cast, and had to be there 14 hours a day for 5 months. It’s emotionally draining but also, I think roles and projects don’t come around like this often in one’s career. I felt connected to the character, the story, and the people I was working with. I collaborated with the writers, directors, showrunners, and people like it. I keep having to remind myself, even now, that every morning I have to soak up this time because it’s so rare to have all of those things fall into place. I also had that with a film called The Diary of a Teenage Girl, which was very special to me, it was such a beautiful experience. I’m just enjoying all of it and taking it all in. I feel magic or something.
Was there an experience that helped you land where you are today?
The Diary of a Teenage Girl was definitely a big springboard for me. It was my first film before I was just a little theater kid who was mainly on stage. That movie was very formative for me.
When you think of the idea of leaving your mark in the industry, what comes to mind?
It’s such a boring answer but I don’t want to lie. The truth is I am not like, I would love to play Lady Macbeth (laughs). To be honest, I have never wanted to do Shakespeare, I am actually pretty scared of it. Maybe I’ll challenge myself one day but I never went to drama school, but let's face it, it scares the hell out of me (laughs). It’s about variety, one thing can’t be the same as the last. I need to feel stimulated and excited. I am now in my early 30s, but people often ask, what would you tell your younger self? Follow your gut. I’ve learned to listen and trust my gut. When I read a script and I am like that’s the one, that’s the story, I just know it. I always heard it in my 20s, but I never listened to it until I hit my 30s.
What gets you excited and inspired for creative work in general?
It’s so great now that the world has opened back up again. I went to Cabaret a couple of weeks ago, it’s so good. I’m watching movies, I am lucky, I am in the Academy now and I get all of the screeners, I really do watch them all (laughs). You also get to vote! Also, another thing I have learned is about having a good work-life balance. I did so many back-to-back jobs in my early 20s because I wanted to be working all the time. But I also need to live my life, be inspired by small things like hanging out with my nephew, visiting a new city with my best friend, just hanging out with my mom, normal life stuff that really is real life experience. I think it inspires work the most. So it’s about taking a step back, having a breather, and living my normal life and then going and doing something that my gut tells me to do.