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 😉

Source: thebaremagazine.com

Click on the gallery link below to see all photos in full size from this photoshoot.

I added 10 new photoshoot outtakes to the gallery taken by Valheria Rocha for Netflix – The Undefinables last year. Click on the gallery links below to see the photos full size.

You’ve Definitely Seen Uncle Frank’s Sophia Lillis Before

Photographed by Juergen Teller

You might recognize Sophia Lillis from the Netflix series I Am Not Okay With This, or her turn as a young Amy Adams in Sharp Objects. Last year, the 19-year-old actress broke new ground as Beth Bledsoe in Alan Ball’s road-trip-slash-coming-of-age film, Uncle Frank. In her interview for W’s 2021 Best Performances portfolio, Lillis opens up about her fear of driving (like many native New Yorkers, she’s still figuring it out), her favorite Halloween costume, and how working on It, the first big studio role she landed as a kid, felt like summer camp.

How old were you when you started acting?

Eight or 9. I started by acting in NYU thesis films. My first film was called The Lipstick Stain, and my character was living in a funeral home. I got used to being in a lot of depressing films.

Did you go to your high school prom, or were you working?

Because of Covid, I didn’t get a prom or a graduation. I wasn’t actually that hung up on it, though.

Were you a theatrical child?

I was dramatic. I wasn’t a very open person. I was actually shy—still am, in a way. But I think acting helped me open up more.

Was there some particular film or performance that made you want to act?

My mom and stepfather loved old French and Italian films. And I used to watch this actress called Giulietta Masina in La Strada. I just loved her face and the way she reacted on camera. There was something different about her that I loved. I think that was the first time I ever really wanted to act.

Are you an only child?

No, I have a twin brother. He doesn’t act. He did one audition before, and he hated it. So he’s gone on a different road than I have. I think that’s just what twins do.

What was the first thing you booked that was not an NYU movie?

The first big studio film I booked was Stephen King’s It. It was a good experience, getting to work with kids my age, and I did it over the summer, out of school. So it was like a summer camp, but I was working.

With a scary clown. Were you scared of clowns before that movie?

No, I didn’t really think too much about clowns. It wasn’t really a part of my life. I didn’t spend my past time thinking about clowns, but it certainly changed my experience with them. I can’t really look at clowns the same way.

Are there any things you are afraid of?

I used to be really afraid of spiders. I’m also afraid of driving. Horrible at driving, but I want to learn. My New Year’s resolution was to start practicing.

What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?

I was a pencil. My dad made the costume. I was wearing pink shoes for the eraser. I had a cone hat that looked like a point, and I had cardboard all around me. I couldn’t really move or ring a doorbell. I fell down lots and couldn’t get back up. My twin brother was a piece of paper—a math test, or something like that. He had problems written all over him.

Source: wmagazine.com

I added new photoshoot outtakes to the gallery taken back in 2017 for Cine Premiere. Click on the gallery link below to see all 58 new photos!!

Sophia was also interviewed by NME two weeks ago. Check out the photos taken by Christopher Mellevold and the interview below. Source: nme.com

Sophia Lillis: “‘I Am Not Okay With This’ needs a second season”

Best-known as a tough-talking teen in ‘It’, the rising actor is on the brink of mega-stardom. She tells us about the campaign to get her cancelled Netflix show another series

It’s pouring with rain, she’s locked-down with her parents, and most of her planned projects are either cancelled or on hold – but it’s hard to imagine anything putting Sophia Lillis in a bad mood. Far from the scared, scarred teens she’s played in emotionally heavy hits like It and I Am Not Okay With This, the bright, slightly goofy 18-year-old Lillis seems like nothing could ever get her down – even killer clowns, uncontrollable superpowers and the coronavirus.

Now starring alongside Paul Bettany in LGBTQ comedy drama Uncle Frank, Lillis is pleased to be talking about a film that doesn’t involve any running, screaming or crying. “It was nice to be on the other side of all the drama, for sure,” she laughs, chatting to NME from the same Brooklyn apartment she grew up in. Her mum is sitting on the sofa behind her, flicking through a magazine. “I personally love Uncle Frank, except for, y’know, that one girl called Sophia… Everyone else is great in it!”

COVID might have put most of her plans on hold, but Lillis is already part of Hollywood’s latest ‘Brat Pack’ – a group of talented up-and-comers that cross cast lists on Stranger Things, It, I Am Not Okay With This and, weirdly, the music video to Sia’s ‘Santa’s Coming For Us’. Bigger things are on the horizon, which means a lot more awkward time spent watching herself on screen.

Luckily for Lillis, she has a great eye for scripts. So far avoiding all the traps that usually swallow up other child stars, Lillis puts her smart choices down to her family. “I give all my scripts to my mum,” she says, turning to the sofa behind her. “My stepfather has written a few plays before too and he loves reading my scripts. I trust them both completely. If something’s well written and if the story’s good and the character goes through something interesting, then I like it. I try and look for different things too. I like being someone different every time I go to work.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lillis and her twin brother Jake were given a good grounding in film culture by their arthouse-loving parents – growing up watching Fellini movies and idolising Italian film star Giulietta Masina. When she wasn’t watching films she was drawing. “When I’m on set I always bring a stack of notebooks with me so I can sketch,” she says. “Even right now I’m doodling stuff [she holds up a sheet of paper with what might be a rough life drawing of our Zoom call]. It’s my second option, if the acting doesn’t work out, I’ll probably go to art school. If I had a third option I’d be a sailor…”

She’s joking, but only sort of. Genuinely considering the possibility that her career might not continue, Lillis seems to have her feet firmly planted on the ground. “Right now, I’m still figuring it all out,” she laughs. “I just finished high school so I’m thinking about what else I want to do, other than acting. What if in 10 years or 5 years or next year I change my mind about movies and TV? I want as many options as possible.”

Taking the traditional route into acting via drama school and bit parts in student films, Lillis came out of nowhere in 2017 to play the female lead in It – a performance that drew instant comparisons with Millie Bobby Brown’s lead in the similarly themed (and similarly cast) Stranger Things.

“It made me realise I could act as a profession,” remembers Lillis. “I knew people were actors, but it felt like some outlandish thing to me at the time – it didn’t seem like I could actually be one of them. But after It I realised, ‘Oh, I can do this’. I got immersed in this totally different world… and I liked it.”

Cast as Stephen King’s famously tough heroine, Beverly Marsh, 15-year-old Lillis took on a debut role that stretched across two blockbusters and saw her dealing with sexual abuse, long-term trauma and extreme violence – something she shrugs off with the same grin she gives to everything. “Aww I was used to all that though because I started out doing NYU films to get some camera experience. College students only ever write dark edgy stuff!”

She had a lot less experience in doing stunts with giant monsters, fighting evil clowns and getting pulled into a blood-filled bathroom sink by a CGI hair clot, but she took all that in her stride too. “That’s what I love, getting to experience different things,” she says, “I know this is going to sound weird but I’m kinda shy as a person. I don’t really know what to say in a conversation. But then I realised that when I act I get to experience things that no one else has experienced – like getting a bucket of blood sprayed in your face over a sink.”

It’s rare that any Hollywood actor sounds quite so grounded – rarer still to hear it from an 18-year-old at the peak of their fame – but Lillis has never been one to court the celebrity lifestyle. Her brother runs her Instagram account and she stays well away from potential hangers-on. “The one thing It didn’t change was my social life. People didn’t treat me any differently – and they shouldn’t! In New York, people don’t care! I went to a school in Times Square so everyone else was in the same boat as me – everyone’s doing plays and TV and movies.”

Teen mystery Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase followed the two-part It movies (“just for a change of pace”), and so did all the offers for photoshoots, endorsements and music videos. Of all the people calling, it was husky psych-rockers The War On Drugs who got through, getting Lillis to star in the beautifully surreal music video for ‘Nothing To Find’ in 2017 – driving through an empty desert with a slowly dying tree creature made entirely out of leaves.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect” she laughs. “When you watch most music videos everyone’s always dolled up on a stage or on a cool background or something. But when I did ‘Nothing To Find’ it was just so, so different. I got driven around by grass man! In a grass car! And then grass guy dies! It was such a surreal experience. I would do [more] music videos if they were all like that.”

What’s she listening to right now? “When I go on Apple Music I press the new music button. I’ve been listening to this French pop singer a lot…” she says, flicking through her phone to find the name. “Lous and the Yakuza. Her and Glen Campbell’s ‘Southern Nights’ is a really good song! I also have some Bloodwitch on here…”

For anyone that doesn’t know, Bloodwitch is not a real band – created by Jonathan Entwhistle for I Am Not Okay With This, his American follow-up to The End Of The F***ing World. Lillis starred as Sydney Novak – an introverted, confused high school student whose raging teen emotions occasionally make things… break. Beautifully made, (and packing a killer soundtrack worthy of putting on anyone’s phone), the show was abruptly axed by Netflix after the first season when lockdown messed up the shooting schedule.

“It was horrible,” says Lillis, who starred alongside her It and Sia video buddy Wyatt Oleff. “It ends on such a cliffhanger too! I was super excited about the next season. What can you do? Hopefully it gets picked up soon but I honestly I don’t know how these things work. With films like It and short stuff I’ve done like Sharp Objects, you know they’re finished because the story ends, but with this it was just feels like it needs to carry on. It needs a second season.”

Remembering the time she walked into Entwhistle’s office and saw a whiteboard covered in story ideas for season two (before being told not to look at it), Lillis has no idea if the show still has a future or not. For now, at least, at looks like I Am Not Okay With This is going to be stuck with a half-told story, which is particularly gutting for a show that had so many fans – Lillis included.

“It was so relatable,” she says. “Usually in high school movies you get these kids who are about 40 years old. I loved the way the show dealt with emotions too. I felt like a bit of an outsider in school myself. I was off working a lot, doing auditions and filming stuff, so I was often off school for months at a time. It never really felt like my home, or my school. I was never used to it. Things change. You come back home and it’s like, ‘That store wasn’t there before, this neighbourhood is different, school’s different, people are different – friends are already talking to other people’. Time doesn’t stop for you… It gets ya.”

But all of that was before 2020. Now stuck at home doodling instead of off somewhere acting, Lillis is happy to be in one place for a change. Better still, she’s finally getting to talk about the film she made before lockdown hit – Uncle Frank. Written and directed by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, True Blood), the ’70s set film follows 18-year-old Beth (Lillis) as she accompanies her gay uncle (Paul Bettany) on a road trip back to his homophobic family in South Carolina. Poignant without trying to be hard-hitting, and genuinely touching in its warmth and humour, it’s a nice change of pace for Lillis – even if she didn’t have any idea who Bettany was before she signed on.

“I didn’t know he did Vision [in The Avengers]!” she laughs, burying her head in her hands. “He’s all purple and floaty in that! I knew him from this kids movie called Inkheart, which I was obsessed with. He played this man who has a ferret as a pet, so I grew up calling him the ferret man. When I first heard that I was gonna work with him I was like, ‘Oh my God it’s the ferret man!’ When I met him he told me I was literally the only other person that even remembered that film!”

Learning a Southern accent for the role, Lillis is adding it to her growing list of extra curricular skills – most of which she seems to have picked up in lockdown. “I’m actually learning to do an English accent right now – just because I’m not doing much,” she laughs, begging us not to make her try it. “I started a drawing class too – well I pre-ordered it anyway. The guy who plays Brad, the bully in I Am Not Okay With This, is actually a real sweet guy who’s teaching me guitar. Then I’m taking a literature class so I can get into Chekhov. I’m swimming a lot as well. I got a gym membership. And I was thinking of taking up boxing…”

Whatever she ends up doing in the future, it’s clear that Lillis is going places. Already lending her career far more perspective than most stars who find fame at her age, she’s on track to becoming one of the most interesting talents around – and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if she sidestepped into writing or directing (or sailing…) along the way.

But first she has to get through the rest of lockdown. “I still don’t really know what’s next,” she says. “This whole year has proved how unpredictable everything is. I could have a great streak that doesn’t come to anything. And I also don’t know what things are even going to start up again after COVID. All I know is that acting is something I love doing, so that’s my main plan. I’m trying not to think about the next few years, but hopefully I’ll be finding a new apartment nearby, I’ll be acting, and I’ll be taking each day at a step.” She bursts out laughing for the 100th time. “Wait, that’s not the expression is it?! Y’know what I mean!”