Gemma Arterton channels her bi-polar grandmother who committed suicide for her new role
Eight years after her grandmother took her own life, actress Gemma Arterton is finally speaking up about the loss and the emotional upheaval it caused in her life.
Gemma landed a major role as Bond girl Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace, just two years before she tragically lost her grandmother Helen Sarfas to suicide.
Arterton's 69-year-old grandmother passed away after she drove a kitchen knife through her own heart.
The 32-year-old actress revealed how her grandmother had a rough life and was battling a bipolar disorder ever since she was a child.
Gemma has only been able to open about the death almost eight years after it.
As reported by the Mirror, Gemma shared, "She was a remarkable woman. She was bipolar and committed suicide... after living a very tough, difficult life. Who she has had a deep effect on me and stayed with me and will continue to inspire me. She had these dreams and hopes that were put on hold to raise five children whom she loved dearly but it wasn’t enough. Family life, domesticity suffocated her and she gave up a lot for them."
"I always felt very moved by that sacrifice, a sacrifice all too common for so many people, particularly so many women," she said.
Gemma is all set to take inspiration from her grandmother for her new role as the lead character Tara in a new movie, The Escape, which is about a woman who feels trapped by family life.
The movie has been shot in Gravesend which is very close to where her grandmother used to live when she was alive.
Gemma's role echoes the struggle of Helen Sarfas (Gemma's grandmother) and Gemma was able to draw upon her personal loss to play the character.
Gemma frequently invites her mother on the sets of the film and it was her mother who encouraged her to channel her beloved grandmother.
"My mother would be on set with me and say, 'You know this is your grandmother’s story'. But it’s a universal story about a woman who’s fighting to breathe while being choked and escaping from her happy life," she recalled.
Before her suicide, Helen had spoken of her granddaughter's success and had shared, "I’m so very pleased and proud. Success hasn’t come easy for Gemma. She never had a silver spoon in her mouth. The nearest she came to Hollywood was on holiday."