Jaime
Winstone
Whitey Action
The daughter
of Chief of Police Ben Benson, Whitey Action is the living personification
of a generation of clubbing teenage mentalists - deathly pale, bored
to tears, with a badass booty to boot.
"She's
a rebel without a cause," says Jaime Winstone, who plays the feisty
character. "Either that or she's an extremely bored young lady
who is constantly finding herself in conflict with modern society."
Surrounded
by a world of meaningless celebrity, bored and cynical Whitey spends
most of her time partying with best mate Lady Elenor Rigsby (played
by Talulah Riley) and rebelling against the rules and regulations of
her authoritative, adoptive father Benson (played by Carl Weathers).
But deep
down, Whitey dreams of something more – of action, adventure and
spiritual awakening. And the arrival of Terry Phoo (played by Eddie
Shin) is her catalyst for change.
"Whitey
doesn't seem to take the same interest in the media celebrity culture
that rules the general public in 2012, which kind of fuels her anger,"
says Jaime. "Not to mention her over-strict and over-sized dad
[Benson] who happens to be police chief of London and also lacks a huge
amount of confidence in his daughter's ability to stay out of trouble.
"Whitey
is constantly protesting or fighting for some right, but when faced
with Terry Phoo, even Whitey can't begin to comprehend the responsibility
that comes with such power."
In a futuristic
world riddled with criminal mutants, Whitey Action and Terry Phoo turn
out to be the unlikely saviours of society, much to Jaime's amusement.
"They
are a superhero match made in heaven. While Terry is complete with spiritual
powers and highly trained martial arts, Whitey's the kickass chosen
one with powers that even Terry can't understand - not to mention the
hot pants!
"What
more could you want? You have a Jackie Chan-obsessed spiritual fighter
mixed with a confused and angry teenage anarchist running around in
powerful hot pants – that to me is the perfect crime fighting
duo!"
The actress
adds: "If, in 2012, there are little men running around with basketball
heads and huge purple gorillas pulling serious dance moves, then I feel
completely confident that this twisted twosome would save the day and
make a difference."
And, according
to 22-year-old Jaime, in the celebrity obsessed world of 2012, Whitey
is the voice of a disconnected youth.
"She's
frustrated with the attention that celebrities and people in the limelight
get and they seem to get away with murder just because they are a celebrity.
"Some
would say that's happening in the world today to some extent. I think
the way Phoo Action portrays celebrities is very honest - they
are good voices but their status has changed too much – they've
become too powerful."
And Whitey's
rebellious outlook on life wasn't the only thing that Jaime admired
– her unique sense of sexy-yet-badass style proved popular too.
"Whitey's
wicked. Every morning I'd get up, put a red wig on, pull some cool hot
pants on and became a superhero. I love her style, it's really quirky,
it's really fun. Knee-high socks, mixed with colourful hot pants –
it's all colours, colours, colours."
Being part
of the unique Phoo Action experience was a dream come true
for Jaime: "When I was younger I dreamed of being an action hero
so landing the role of Whitey Action is all I could ask for from a role.
It's not every day that you wake up and become a superhero…I was
happy to be sucked into a comic strip madness!"
The drama
also offered the young actress the opportunity to work alongside Jamie
Hewlett, the creative mind behind Gorillaz, Tank Girl and Monkey:
Journey to the East.
"I'm
a huge fan," says Jaime. "He [Hewlett] creates a world with
his art and I was just so happy to work with him. He's an amazing man
- like an excitable child.
"Working
on Phoo was really trippy actually. You're going to work and
there's a man running around with a basketball for a head and another
that's a seven-foot purple gorilla swinging punches at you.
"Strangely
enough, you kind of get used to it! It's crazy but you kind of have
to allow yourself to be silly and you can't think about it too much.
You've just got to accept Phoo and take it with a pinch of
salt."
The weird
and wonderful world of Phoo Action wasn't the only thing Jaime
- who is the daughter of acclaimed hardman actor Ray Winstone - had
to get to grips with.
Like her
co-star Eddie Shin, her role involved some masterful kung-fu moves.
And, as Jaime reveals, her Phoo fighting packed a powerful
punch during one memorable scene.
"I
misjudged my swing on a stunt with a Jeet Kune Do (JKD) specialist on
Phoo and I knocked him out, breaking my thumb in the process!
"It
was one of the big scenes at the end where there's loads of fighting
as we try to save the world and I stepped in too close and floored him.
For a seven-and-a-half stone girl that's pretty impressive. Forget about
my dad, I must have my mum's punch!"
Having
made her name in the likes of Kidulthood, Goldplated
and Daddy's Girl, 2008 looks set to be another busy year for
this blossoming talent. As well as Phoo Action, Jaime's future
releases include the movie Donkey Punch, which premiered at
Sundance last month, and Boogie Woogie, starring alongside
Heather Graham and Gemma Atkinson as a promiscuous lesbian.
But, for
now, Jaime's attentions are firmly on Phoo and, for her, the
uniqueness makes it utterly unmissable: "There's nothing on TV
like it. It's a comic strip crazy drama and I think it's really brave
for the BBC to have made it.
"They've
really pushed the boat out with it which I think should be praised.
If you want to watch a bit of mad TV where you shut off from the world
and get sucked into this crazy comic strip adaptation then this is the
show for you!"
Jaime's
comic idols include Flash Gordon and Wonder Woman.
She says:
"Comics take you to a different world, a different part of your
imagination. I think you have to have a streak in you to like comics
in a way - it's another crazy world.
"If I had superpowers,
I'd like to fly. I'd like to have cute, glittery wings. Or maybe have
rocket feet or something. And something with a cape. I mean if you're
going to be a superhero you need to have a cape don't you? Or hot pants.
Either way you're winning!"
Phoo
Action
What is Phoo Action?
Creator Jamie Hewlett
and writer Mat Wakeham
Eddie Shin interview
- Terry Phoo
Carl Weathers interview
- Chief Benjamin Benson
Being Human
Being Human features
