Interview with Jamie Campbell

Edinburgh's talking about Jamie!

We were thrilled to screen a Special Preview of Everybody's Talking About Jamie during this year's Festival. To kick off the celebrations, we hosted a very special event at Film Fest in the City in St Andrew Square. Edinburgh's Talking About Jamie brought together drag performances from the evening's host Lady Rampant, as well as guest performers Julianne Hoore and Latex, a talent show for our enthusiastic audiences, and an interview with Jamie Campbell and his mother Margaret. Jamie, whose story inspired the musical, and now film Everybody's Talking About Jamie, joined Lady Rampant on stage in front of the crowds for a little chat about the big night. 

This must be an incredible moment, celebrating the movie musical based on your life. How are you feeling?

It’s completely mind-blowing. From just one thing that we did ten years ago, we couldn’t imagine that it would keep on snowballing and snowballing into this. In Sheffield, where the show started, that was big enough. As soon as we saw that, we knew it was so special, and then when it went to the West End, went International…it’s been in South Korea. It’s playing in Japan at the moment. There’s other international shows coming, and then this film. Honestly, it’s incredible. I can’t wait for you to all see it!

Since your documentary which inspired the musical, Drag has grown into a mainstream phenomenon and this movie just goes to prove that even more. What’s it been like to watch that evolution happen?

It’s so beautiful to see and it’s like they’re getting younger and younger. People said I was young, and I was 16, and now there’s little 8 year olds doing Drag and I think it’s so special. It has been amazing seeing it just grow and grow and grow, because it used to be this sort of underground thing, and now it’s just got so many different dimensions. It’s a whole industry of its own now.

What is your favourite thing about Scotland?

I love Edinburgh, I love Glasgow. I love those square sausages…a morning roll!

Max Harwood plays you in the film. How does it feel to see an actor portraying your life on a big screen?

It’s surreal, because it’s like watching things that you did, but it’s someone else doing it. I mean it’s not a direct interpretation of my story. There are lots of other people added in it, but it’s a special role because I’ve seen a few people play Jamie now and each one has got their own flare, their own thing they add to it, so I love that. I just love that there’s a big show out there that’s got someone who’s camp, feminine and flamboyant fronting it, not being the side-line character or the joke character, but they’re the star of the show and that’s what I love about it.

Do you feel that your role inspires other young, camp, feminine men who feel like they’re stuck in high school and they are pandering to their bullies and pandering to their teachers? Do you feel like this movie’s going to inspire them?

It feels strange saying it ,but yeah, I have had lots of people come up to me and tell me how it’s changed their life and that’s just so rewarding. We didn’t set out to do that. I just wanted to go to prom in a dress and no one was going to stop me and I did it, and I’m just so glad that so many people can take power from it.

If you had to lip sync for your life, which song would you lip sync to?

I’ve always loved Kylie Minogue, and I used to lip sync to this song when I was a little boy, so it would probably be Can’t Get You Out Of My Head!

Watch our Festival film 'The Story So Far' for some brilliant clips of Edinburgh's Talking About Jamie!

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie will be released exclusively on Prime Video on 17th September 2021. If you missed out on the Special Preview screening at Festival Theatre, Everybody's Talking About Jamie will also be screening exclusively at our very own Filmhouse.

Book Filmhouse tickets for Everybody's Talking About Jamie!