Helena Bonham Carter’s exes Tim Burton and Kenneth Branagh continue to enjoy hit after hit in Hollywood and she’s feeling more than a tad envious, according to a source in the actress’s world, who exclusively tells In Touch she’s tapping up contacts for work while worrying her star could be fading away. 

“With all the success Tim Burton and Kenneth Branagh have enjoyed over the past couple of years, where you’re literally seeing their careers hit major peaks in late middle age, there’s some real sympathy for Helena on the studio level, primarily because decision-makers in Hollywood know she is every bit as talented as the filmmakers she used to be partnered with,” says the L.A.-based source of the quirky film and TV veteran. “And that’s not an opinion, either. Helena has been front and center in classics like Fight Club and billion-dollar hits like Tim’s Alice in Wonderland film, and she’s absolutely great in those.” 

The Harry Potter star’s last entertainment achievement was her short-lived role on The Crown, but, even with some projects in the pipeline, nothing screams breakout material on the same level as her exes. Kenneth, 64, dated the oddball actress from 1994 to 1999, before she got together with auteur director Tim, 66, with whom she shares two children. She became his muse, starring in plenty of his productions during their 14-year relationship, including Planet of the Apes, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Big Fish and Alice in Wonderland.

The couple’s split in 2014 absolutely devastated Helena, 58, who told Harper’s Bazaar in 2016, “With divorce, you go through massive grief – it is a death of a relationship, so it’s utterly bewildering. Your identity, everything, changes.”

“Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but it’s OK to be fragile,” the actress added. “You’ve got to take very small steps, and sometimes you won’t know where to go next because you’ve lost yourself. There’s a great quote I’ve stuck next to the kettle. It’s from Alice: ‘I can’t explain myself… because I’m not myself.’”

But now, with both Tim and Kenneth’s careers in a late-stage upswing, the source notes the fact the same isn’t happening with Helena is “a problem with her representation.”

“If Helen Mirren‘s agents can time-after-time find her excellent, high profile leading film roles, why hasn’t the same thing happened for Helena Bonham Carter?” the source asks. “She’s quirky, she’s interesting, she’s totally fun to work with, and it’s just a little sad that her last really juicy part was her two seasons on The Crown.” 

There is still hope for Helena to relive her glory days and perhaps restart her Tim Burton-era string of successes, especially as the Harry Potter franchise goes to HBO. Still, the actress is waiting to seize the next big opportunity, whatever form it may take.

“I don’t think she is desperate for money or having trouble making ends meet, but there’s a third act to her career that hasn’t happened yet and needs to, because she has a ton of fans here in L.A. and of course in England also! Get this woman a great script and she’ll act the hell out of it!”