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On 15 March Sophia and Michelle Rodriguez taped an interview for The Kelly Clarkson Show. Hopefully the video interview will be posted online soon! I also added 1 HQ photo of Sophia at the Dungeons & Dragons Honour Among Thieves photocall in London two days ago.
I added photos to the gallery of Sophia on set of “Dungeons and Dragons” on 26 & 29 June. Click on the gallery link below to see all new photos.
Sophia Lillis
Every now and then the stars align. Such was the case the other day in Brooklyn when we caught up with actress Sophia Lillis right before she was scheduled to take off for Ireland to film “Dungeons and Dragons” (alongside Chris Pine and Hugh Grant). On hand were master photographer Christopher Mellevold, to document the occasion, and Bare founder and makeup artist, Tina Turnbow, to tend to Sofia’s creamy complexion and bouncy waves. The backdrop? The cool Brooklyn boutique of Hannoh Wessel, one of Sophia’s favorite designers. For this special reunion, the normally makeup-free actress was happy to turn up the intensity of her look—and let us in on her artistic process.
The Bare Magazine: What have been some of your favorite on-screen looks? Do you ever miss your super-short hair?
Sophia Lillis: I really liked my costume in “Gretel and Hansel.” Leonie Prendergast, the costume designer, and her team designed, crafted and sewed all of the costumes from scratch. There was this hat they made that was perfect but only got to be in one scene, but I loved it so much they gave it to me to take it home. My hair on that production was the best it’s ever been as well, cropped short and darker than my natural color. My hair is pretty long now; I figured I’d take this opportunity of not working to grow it out and let it go back to normal, but I’ve been itching to cut it recently … so we’ll see.
Bare: How would you sum up your style? Do you see it evolving and how?
SL: I like to be comfortable basically. I dress up from time to time, if I’m going out or meeting up with people. I like to shop at vintage stores a lot. But its a bit of a mishmash — certain things make me happy, like suspenders, cool hats and definitely pockets.
Bare: If you were given the chance to play a legendary actor who would it be and why?
SL: One of my favorite actresses when I was young was Giulietta Masina. I always thought her face stood out from the rest, har reactions were so interesting. Especially in “La Strada.” Those scenes where she performed her clown routine. She smiled and marched and blew her horn and you couldn’t help but smile. When she cried, you cried. I realized her acting in general reminds me of a mime. Her face was strange to me, she was always expressing herself with her face or her hands. No matter what she was doing, you couldn’t help but stare. I would have to learn Italian though, or at least the accent.
Bare: You’re about to travel abroad to film “Dungeons and Dragons.” What bare essentials will be in your travel bag?
SL: I’m actually packing as I’m writing this — I’m bringing mostly comfy clothes and workout clothes — I’m going to be in costume a lot so I don’t have to bring much. Maybe a few jackets. I’ve got some face soap and maybe some makeup in case I’m feeling up for going “out on the town.” I also have to quarantine when I get there, so I’m bringing my lil guitar (thanks ianowt guys), some books, and maybe a puzzle.
Bare: As an actor, do you find the process of hair, wardrobe and makeup helps get you into character? Are you anticipating an interesting costume or makeup look for D & D? We are at the edge of our seats…
SL: Yes absolutely! I can do whatever I can in order to prepare for my character before I travel. But nothing’s for sure until I get in the clothes and makeup. Can’t tell you too much about the D&D character and costume just yet, but I’m really excited about working on this project. I think it’s going to be a very fun character to play with 😉
Click on the gallery link below to see all photos in full size from this photoshoot.
Photography by Christopher Mellevold for The Bare Magazine. Click on the gallery link below to see the photos full size.
I added 2 new photoshoot albums to the gallery. Click on the gallery links below to go see all new photos.
Sophia is on the cover of the current issue of Bello Mag! Read the interview below. Photography by Mike Ruiz. Source: bellomag.com
Sophia Lillis: Stepping Into Her Power as a Woman, Actress, and Adult
“It was during a time that I was wondering what I would do after High School: should I keep doing this? Should I go to college? Maybe even see if I would do something else,” shared the talented actress, Sophia Lillis, whilst discussing her time on set of the upcoming film, Uncle Frank. During a transitional period of her life that bridged the gap between childhood and adulthood, the young actress found herself part of a project in which she was working with adults for the first time. Having started off her career with the notorious killer clown film, It, her starring role on “I Am Not Okay With This,” and more, Lillis had grown accustomed to working with actors her own age. Now, faced with experienced actors and a much more advanced script, her new challenge in the industry had arrived.
As she explained, “it was showing me the adult acting world and there are these people talking about their life and experiences and the jobs they have done, just saying “this is a moment I had on this set…” and I am still a kid you know? “ Getting to work with a variety of talented actors, Lillis was accepted immediately and treated like another colleague from the get go. Taking in the beauty and lessons that were right before her eyes, Lillis knew she had to step up her game. On the first day of rehearsal, it was no longer the “ice breaker” period but rather jumping right into the reading of a scene. During the first few days of rehearsal, Lillis noticed that renowned actor, Paul Bettany, took out this huge binder and set it on the table, filled with notes and more. She shared laughingly, “and the very next day I brought a bigger binder with all these things. I realized I should probably step up my game.” And that is exactly what she did. After a few moments of nervousness, Lillis realized she did not need to keep writing down as many notes; she finally got her bearings.
When having received the script, she immediately fell in love with it and was very excited to be working with the infamous director, Alan Ball. Having loved his work for a long time, Lillis expressed with excitement, “so immediately I said, yeah, let’s do it, I love. I can’t wait.” What stood out to the young actress was how sweet the story was and how for the first time, it was about a LGBT relationship that wasn’t broken. As she shared candidly, “It was something different that I wish we had more of.” Set in the 1970’s, this film illustrates what it means to be a gay man at that time and as mentioned, it takes on a more optimistic approach. Given our current times, we have come a long way yet there is still some work to do. At the end of the day, it really boils down to “just being accepting,” shared Lillis. A simple solution that yet, seems to be so difficult for many in our world. And of course, as the actress mentioned before, if more movies like this could be made, it could benefit our progress moving forward, dramatically.
During her time on set of Uncle Frank, Lillis was not only exposed to a different age group, she also had the chance to work at a much different pace. Alan Ball, who as mentioned before, she admires deeply, works very quickly and for this perfectionist, it was definitely a challenge. “I want to do one take until I get it absolutely perfect. I mean that’s my ideal. If I had the choice of doing a scene until I think it’s perfect, we may never get it,” she said with a chuckle. Everything about this experience brought to the actress feelings of pure content as she navigated through and over the obstacles, to find herself nailing her role! Now, as different as the experience was, this was not the young actress’ first rodeo. Before booking her role on Uncle Frank, this career had started way before she was booking roles.
Unlike many in this industry, becoming an actress was not necessarily a childhood dream for Lillis. You see, she has a twin brother who “was kind of the more capable person,” she shared. Now, it’s not that she was really compared to him, it was more that she wanted to find her own niche which is when she started acting at the age of eight. This became something she truly loved and as she explained, “I decided to work on it because I wanted to get good at something and it seemed like a nice community. It was solely after I took a few acting classes it totally became something more.”
When she was part of the Strasberg program, she was working on a variety of NYU student short films and plays from which she found herself auditioning for her role on It. Surprised at having gotten it, this was her first feature film which solidified her decision to turn this into a job. Lillis exclaimed, “I am glad I went in this direction because if I didn’t, I would not have known I could do this. My whole life I did not know I could be this, I could be an actress as a job, and have this as a profession.” With her starring role on “I Am Not Okay With This,” and her incredible experience filming “Gretel & Hansel,” in Ireland, it is safe to say Lillis found her true calling. Here at BELLO, we wanted to dive in a little deeper and discuss her thoughts on female representation in the entertainment industry today.
For the young and talented actress, she believes that we have made “great lengths already and noticed especially recently, there are a lot of strong, female main characters,” something that highlights the strides made. Her lead role in “I Am Not Okay With This,” is a perfect example of the kind of progress our society has made in representing women in film and TV. She continues on the topic by explaining that people are much stronger now and “ it’s become a thing of having TV shows with kids saving the world and mostly actresses in those roles.” For her, “just seeing us becoming more accepting, becoming more, just trying to make more films like that,” is what inspired her to continue being part of this world.
As mentioned earlier, before booking her role on Uncle Frank, Lillis was at a time of her life where she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next. Having decided to stick to acting, the young creative soul expressed with a glowing heart, “I love this job and I want to keep doing this job.” Still keeping her mind open to the possibilities the world has to offer, Lillis embraces the beauty around her and the opportunities set on her path of light as she continues to grow into the smart, beautiful, and very capable woman that she is!
And I also added another new photoshoot. Photography by Christopher Mellevold for Amazon Prime Video.
Sophia is on the cover of L’Officiel Australia Fall Winter Fashion Book. Photography by Mike Ruiz.
SOPHIA LILLIS BY MIKE RUIZ – FALL/WINTER FASHION BOOK (COVER ONE) AND INTERVIEW
How have you been socializing during the quarantine?
Zoom calls mostly. A lot of my friends have gone to college or are doing classes at home. I have one friend I go skateboarding with sometimes. My brother’s at school in Scotland so we mostly just FaceTime or text.
Your breakout role as Beverly Marsh in Stephen King’s thriller IT, were you anxious stepping into such a major role?
Yeah, I was nervous for a lot of reasons. I had no idea what to expect. I’d never worked on a big studio film, just smaller independent/student films. Maybe it was better that I didn’t know what to expect!
Another notable performance was in Sharp Objects directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, can you tell us about Jean-Marc’s direction for your character Young Camille?
Jean-Marc has a very distinctive style and the show, on the whole, was so complex and I was sort of like a piece in the puzzle so his direction was very specific — very visual. I was really just in flashbacks — so it was very loose and dreamlike and spontaneous. A lot of it was just playing in the field or skating down a hill.
This year you can be seen in Uncle Frank opposite Paul Bettany in a film written and directed by Alan Ball. What was your experience like working with those two and tell us about your preparation to play Beth?
I was very lucky to work with both Alan and Paul. I was a huge fan of Six Feet Under so I was honored to be offered the role of Beth. Alan is great to work with — he’s incredibly empathetic and really gives the actors time and room to find their characters. Paul is such a great actor — he’s very thorough and diligent and I learned a lot watching him work. To prepare for the role, I had to work on a southern accent so I had a dialect coach and then Paul, Peter (Macdissi), and I met with Alan for two or three days for rehearsals to go through the script. Most of the focus was on the story of Frank and Wally because I’m really the storyteller, I mean my character has an arc but the core of the story is really Uncle Frank’s story and his relationship with Wally and his family.
You seem to have quite dramatic roles, do you prefer these characters or would you like to play lighter, more comedic roles in the future?
I like dramatic roles, but comedy roles are also fun. I had a good time playing Nancy Drew, for example. You can kind of go more outside the lines with a more comedic role. A lot of my roles have been sort of a mix—there was actually quite a bit of comedy even in IT.
Do you prefer feature films or limited-series to star in?
They both have their plusses and minuses. On a film, it’s fun to go in, do a character, and move onto something else. With a series, you have more time though to develop the character so that can be interesting as well. I was really fond of my character Sydney in “I Am Not Okay with This” and really felt like I was starting to develop her — unfortunately the show was canceled due to difficulties because of the pandemic. I was really looking forward to having the chance to play her again.
It’s not easy during a pandemic, are you looking forward to getting back to the set?
Yes. I can’t wait. I’m trying to make the best of the time, though, working on scene study and dialect coaching — I also take classes in guitar, drawing, and Norwegian (because why not).
Do you have any upcoming projects that you can share with us?
Not at this time. Other than “I Am Not OK With This,” I was also supposed to start filming a western called “The Thicket” which is also still on hold due to Covid. I’m hoping it will go forward. Other than that, I’m discussing a few other projects but so much depends on what can get done while we’re dealing with the pandemic.
If it wasn’t for acting, what would be your profession otherwise?
Definitely, something in the arts. Maybe I’d go to art school but I love being on set so maybe set design or special effects. If I didn’t work in the film/TV industry, maybe I’d be an illustrator.
Sophia is part of Netflix – The Undefinables. Photographed by Valheria Rocha.
Below you can also see a behind the scenes video with Sophia. I made screencaps of the video and added those to the gallery.
VIDEO:
Flaunt magazine posted 2 different pages including Sophia to their website yesterday!
#1: I Am Not Okay With This | Sophia Lillis
I also made screencaps from Sophia in the videos. Click on the gallery link below to see all caps.
@aprilladynyc posted these 2 photos on her instagram account yesterday of Sophia behind the scenes of a photoshoot with photographer Nick Hudson. Hopefully we’ll see more photos from this shoot appear soon!
