Ella attended the special celebrity screening of 22 Jump Street taking place at the new Firmdale Hotel, Ham Yard Hotel based near Piccadilly Circus on Wednesday 4th June 2014 in London. We have added some photos to the gallery …

AS THE YOUNGER ANGELINA JOLIE IN MALEFICENT, ELLA PURNELL CAST AS A DREAMLIKE SPELL. STAND BACK, YOU FOOLS! AND WATCH HER UNLEASH ALL THE POWERS OF HELL

“There’s a joke in my family that I’m going to make a career out of playing other people’s younger selves,” jokes 17-year-old actress Ella Purnell. “I played the younger Keira [Knightley], now I’m playing the younger Angelina. I mean, it’s a good track record, right?” The London native is making light of being cast by executive producer and lead actress Angelina Jolie in this season’s brooding Disney blockbuster Maleficent. Though the two have never met, Jolie handpicked the fashion-adoring actress during the film’s reshoot stage. Purnell, who had originally auditioned for the role of Princess Aurora (which eventually went to Elle Fanning), was not expecting the call, finding out about her appointment while recovering from a hospital stay for appendicitis. “I was sitting at home with greasy hair, with like operation stuff, half conscious, coming off the anesthetics,” she says. Soon she was flying harnessed, with layers of bandages covering her fresh scars. It was just another droll moment in a young, adventure-filled career that includes a narrowly missed bear attack in 2013’s WildLike and throwing up on cue for Kick-Ass 2. “I don’t know if you’ve ever projectile vomited on someone’s face, but it’s really satisfying,” she says.

In between directing a school play, working two jobs, and acting, the eldest daughter of four, like her Hollywood counterpart, spends time considering cinema through the lens of social progress. “I want to be a part of a movie that changes people’s conceptual framework and suddenly you see things in a different way,” she says. Perhaps that could be a good talking point when she finally meets her maker, at the Maleficent premiere. “I’ll meet Angelina and be like, ‘Hi. I’m you.’ That’s a good conversation starter.”

How did Maleficent come about?
Basically, they filmed the whole thing and then they went back and filmed some extra scenes. I had originally auditioned for Elle Fanning’s part – the role of Sleeping Beauty and didn’t get it, obviously. Then when they went to shoot these extra parts, they needed someone to play a young Maleficent and went through all the old audition tapes and found me, which was unexpected. I’d literally just come out of hospital with appendicitis, so I was in bed all stitched up when I got told I had the part and they’d be making my fly around.

You get to fly?
Yeah! With wings and horns. The horns were really heavy and magnetic. So they put a helmet on me, then a wig, then they attached the horns through the wig. It was all so heavy but so much fun – definitely worth it.

What was filming like?
So I had just come out of hospital and I was terrified that my stitches were gonna pop open, but they wrapped me up loads put me in this harness and attached me to a massive fork lift thing at Pinewood Studios. There was this guy at the back lifting it up, and I did like four days of practice flying because you have to get the balance right and learn how to not flip over. By the end of filming I had a full on six-pack because it was really intense… but then Christmas happened.

What do your friends think about your acting?
They’re kind of used to it. In the beginning, every time I had auditions they’d get so excited and want to read lines with me but now it’s just like ‘oh, cool’. They don’t really care anymore, which is better in a way because we can all just get on with our lives.

Have you made any famous friends?
I have! I’m friends with Chloe Moretz. I think it’s because we’re so close in age and we have a really similar sense of humour. We’re still in touch but it’s so hard to meet up when you’re across the world from each other.

Which young actresses do you look up to?
Jennifer Lawrence because she’s managed to stay so grounded, and Chloe because she has an amazing work ethic – she just works and works and works. I would be so exhausted!

What do you do in your spare time?
I read a lot. I write things. I play piano.

What do you write?
Short films and plays. I don’t really do anything with them though… I just write them and keep them and then delete them when I’ve had enough of them. It’s just for fun really. Mostly about personal journeys.

Do you have a boyfriend?
Yes. We’ve been together four months.

What’s he like?
He’s French and is fluent in English. It’s annoying when we go out with his friends though because they just speak French and I don’t understand what’s going on. We actually first met at a party three years ago but I ended up deleting him off facebook because he was really annoying me. He started messaging me again last year and we just met up and I decided he wasn’t so bad afterall!

Later this year you’ll be turning 18. Do you have any plans?
Oh, I have big plans! I just want to have a party and get really drunk. I haven’t looked into it too much yet but I’d quite like a masquerade ball – I’ve never done that before.

Finally, what’s your favourite emoji?
I like the praying hands and the one with the girl with the hand gesture and nails like ‘Uh, don’t talk to me bitch’. So cool. Every time I make a sassy comment I use her. Or the whale! Me and my friends call it the sassy whale because it’s tail is like ‘SASSSS!’

Ella Purnell keeps it casual for the celebrity screening of Maleficent held at Odeon Leicester Square on Sunday afternoon (May 25) in London.

The 17-year-old old actress plays a teenage version of the title character in the film, out on Friday!

Ella attended PRADASPHERE at Harrods on April 30 2014, we have added 2 photos of her at the event to the gallery, a new black & white photo by Jessie Craig taken for Wonderland UK (March 2014).

Don’t forget the UK premiere for Maleficent will be held at KENSINGTON PALACE on Thursday (May 8th). It is not confirmed that Ella will be attending though we expect it is more than likely.

We have added the scan of Ella in GQ Magazine’s April 2014 issue (out now!)

At only 17-years-old, Ella Purnell has already had some pretty memorable experiences during her film career: after being cast opposite Kiera Knightley in Never Let Me Go, she went on to act with Clive Owen in The Intruders and this summer you’ll see her as the young Angelina Jolie in Disney’s Maleficent. However nothing has been quite as memorable so far as practicing the ‘sick rig’ for her turn in Kick Ass 2 (if you’ve seen the film, you know the bit we’re talking about).

“You can only really shoot a throw up scene of that scale once as it’s a nightmare to reset!” Purnell laughs. “So I’d say projectile vomiting in a playground in front of 20 people covered head to toe in a plastic bin bag is probably one of my weirder experiences.”

Ella Purnell is featured in the latest issue of GQ magazine. They assembled 16 of Britain’s brightest new talents on the verge of breaking America and dressed them up in this season’s best denim-anchored looks. From balladeer Tom Odell to screen stars such as Craig Roberts and Tom Felton, take a look at the preview video – then pick up the issue this Thursday for the full photoshoot.

Sadly, no sign of Ella in the trailer, but we are pleased to share with you the latest to hit the web…

We have added x HD Screencaps of Ella in Kick Ass 2. If you have any Ella news! Get in touch with us!

Exciting News! Ella has replaced India Eisley as the younger version of Angelina Jolie’s title character in Maleficent. The live-action fantasy film stars Jolie as Disney’s ultimate villainess. Story explores Maleficent’s origins and what led her to curse Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) in Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty.

The casting switch, first noticed on IMDb by UpAndComers.net, a result of the recent reshoots that took place over eight days and addressed the opening of the film, which establishes young Maleficent’s role in the hierarchy of a peaceful forest kingdom.

Veteran production designer Robert Stromberg made his directorial debut with the film, though Disney turned to its “Saving Mr. Banks” filmmaker John Lee Hancock to be on set for the reshoots, as he helped write new pages of the big-budget tentpole’s script. The movie, which was originally shot last summer, co-stars Sharlto Copley, Brenton Thwaites, Sam Riley and Juno Temple.

Disney is scheduled to release Maleficent on May 30, 2014.