Bullied Teen to Star in Indie Movie with Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche

An 18-year-old British Columbia teen, bullied ruthlessly as an adolescent, is hoping to use her newfound passion for acting to let other kids know that bullying won’t last forever.

Bernadette Beck, whose family immigrated to Canada from England when she was a baby, suffered intense bullying as a child and young adult that could easily have stunted her prospects in life.

Instead, the teen is now set to star alongside Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in the indie drama Words and Pictures.

The victim of a tumultuous childhood, Beck’s family arrived in Canada extremely poor, and life got even harder after she was hit by a car at the age of 7 and hospitalized with a head injury.

At 9, her father abandoned the family, and Beck started suffering intense bullying at school as a result of her chaotic home life.

She told the Calgary Herald:

People I thought were friends became abusive, they made threats, stabbed me with pencils, made hurtful remarks. I was the only African-American in the school and they would feel my hair and ask questions about it.

HOMELAND actor Navid Negahban joins Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen for WORDS AND PICTURES: bit.ly/13gWeWB #film #movies

— Charles Trotter (@charlestrotter) February 27, 2013

She continued to stuggle and as a result changed schools regularly, looking for a place to fit in.

Things began to finally click for the young Beck when she was enrolled in a boarding school at Lillooet, British Columbia which offered the structure she was sorely lacking at home.

After returning to live with her mother in grade 11, Beck decided to take up acting, and her persistence and dedication to the craft allowed her to blossom.

When that started happening my grades went up in school, my friendships were healthier.

She began to get acting jobs, and hopes with her new film will show bullied youth that a troubled childhood can be overcome.

The movie, set to start filming in Vancouver this month, tells the story of an unlikely bond between a New England prep school English teacher, played by Owen, and a reserved art instructor, played by Binoche.

Beck will play a high school student in the film scheduled to be released in 2014.

An anti-bullying flash mob broke out at last Sunday’s #Vancouver Giants hockey game VIDEO ow.ly/ha8rr

— Super Vancouver (@supervancouver) January 28, 2013