Jamie Bell understands why his father left his mother – but insisted he would never do the same to his own family.
The ‘Billy Elliot’ actor – who has a four-year-old son with ex-wife Evan Rachel Wood – admits having a child can be "really stressful" and requires a lot of "sacrifice", so he can understand why the pressure can be too much for some people.
Speaking to the Evening Standard’s ES magazine, Jamie – whose dad walked out before he was born – said: "It’s difficult raising a child. It’s really stressful. It requires a lot of you.
"You have to sacrifice your life and some people don’t want to do that. It’s not particularly noble, but I could see why the easier thing is to leave."
However, when asked if he would ever consider walking away, he responded with a very firm: "F**k no."
And the 31-year-old star – who is now married to second wife Kate Mara – insisted he couldn’t use his father’s actions as a way to inspire commitment to his family.
He added: "You can’t be thinking, ‘I’m doing this because no one ever gave me this experience’. The thing is not to love from a place of anger because that is potentially devastating."
Meanwhile, Jamie – who was 13 when he landed his breakthrough role in ‘Billy Elliot’ – admitted his own teenage fame has driven him and Evan to protect their son from the spotlight as much as they can.
He explained: "I think it’s because of my own association with childhood exposure. Not that anyone’s ever been particularly invasive with me – I go around with relative ease – but it’s just a poppa thing to think, ‘No, no, no’; that’s a different side of my life that no one sees."
The full interview with Jamie appears in this week’s issue of ES Magazine, which is out now.
Jamie Bell wouldn’t leave family
