ALLURE – It’s Wednesday at 3 p.m., and Lily James is handing me a shot of Patrón XO Cafe, a sticky coffee-infused tequila that goes down way easier than it should. “It’s good, isn’t it?” the actress asks after we toss them back. “I much prefer it to, like, tequila-tequila.” She licks her lips. “I find that really drinkable.”

We’re at a pub in Finsbury Park, a neighborhood of North London that isn’t known for being particularly posh, and since James has the luxury of an afternoon off, it feels appropriate to day-drink. It started with a few frames of bowling next door at Rowans Tenpin Bowl, then some pints, then talk of something called a “strawpedo,” where you reportedly suck Smirnoff Ice out of a bottle as quickly as possible. Thankfully, this pub, a typical British working-class spot called the Twelve Pins, doesn’t serve Smirnoff Ice. So instead, we’re slamming back shots of tequila.

Here’s what you’re probably thinking: Isn’t Lily James known as a good-girl actress? She’s doing shots on a Wednesday afternoon in a dingy pub? Didn’t she play Cinderella?
And yes, James is exceedingly nice and noticeably polite. The 29-year-old actress has cultivated a career playing kind protagonists in period pieces like Downton Abbey and the upcoming Netflix drama The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and she embodied one of the most iconic fairy-tale princesses in Disney’s live-action adaptation of Cinderella. Her characters always overcome the odds, get the guy, and live happily and sweetly ever after. There’s a reason no one writes anything negative about James — because how could you? But public perception, filtered through Instagram and TV and the press, isn’t always a representation of the truth. The reality is that James is like any person, complicated and layered. One minute she’s recounting her work as a patron of the North London branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and the next she’s telling a story about being recognized in a bathroom line at the Glastonbury Festival at 5 a.m. You can be a good person and still do shots in the afternoon.

When James first started working as an actress, after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London in 2010, she didn’t feel quite as pigeonholed as she does now. Her work in theater was far edgier than the women she embodies these days onscreen, and ultimately it was being cast as Cinderella that tipped the scales toward always being seen as the good girl. She’s ventured off course, particularly in last year’s Baby Driver, but James always seems to come back (or be pulled back) to the amiable blonde heroine.

PEOPLE – When the Downton Abbey cast returns for the upcoming big screen movie adaption, it will be without one of the series’ beloved stars: Lily James.

The actress, who starred as Lady Rose MacClare on the PBS drama, confirmed to PEOPLE that she will not appear in the Downton Abbey movie, which has officially been greenlit.

“I’m sadly not, but I’m so excited for it — I’m going to be front row,” James, 29, tells PEOPLE of not being part of the film.

“I spoke to Laura [Carmichael] not long ago and was texting Michelle [Dockery] about Love Island and it’s going to be really exciting. And the whole gang is coming back,” shares James, who stars in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in theaters Friday.

As for why James’ character will not be featured in the film, the British star confirms that “it wasn’t schedules.”

She explains: “My character Rose moved off to New York, so it would be farfetched to bring her back.”

“I would have loved to have come back for a scene, but for a movie it can’t be like a Christmas special and it needs to be a focused storyline,” James adds, noting, “There was no space for Rose.”

James might surprise Downton Abbey fans in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which finds the actress portraying a young Donna (Meryl Streep’s character) and singing along with her group The Dynamos.

Continue Reading

On July 1, Lily and Matt Smith attended the Audi Polo Challenge in Ascot, England. The gallery has been updated with high quality pictures so make sure to check them out!

PLAYBILL – Golden Globe-winning actor Gillian Anderson (The Fall, The X-Files) has signed on to star as Margo Channing in the Ivo van Hove-helmed stage adaptation of All About Eve in London, according to journalist Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail.

Last seen on the London stage as Blanche DuBois in the Young Vic revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, she replaces the previously tapped Cate Blanchett, who withdrew from the production earlier this year due to a scheduling conflict.

Joining Anderson as Eve Harrington will be Cinderella star Lily James, soon to be seen as a young Meryl Streep in the upcoming film sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Performances will reportedly begin in February 2019 at the Noel Coward Theatre in London. Sonia Friedman Productions and Fox Stage Productions are attached.

The Oscar-winning 1950 film All About Eve was written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the short story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr. The movie starred Bette Davis as Channing, the prominent yet aging Broadway star, and Anne Baxter as Eve Harrington, a willingly helpful young fan who insinuates herself into Channing’s life.

The film was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six, including Best Picture.

ENEWS – Lily James and Matt Smith are still going strong and may take a major step in their relationship.

The 29-year-old Cinderella and Downton Abbey actress and 35-year-old The Crown and Doctor Who actor started dating in 2014 and made their public debut as a couple the following year. In an interview with Marie Claire U.K., published in its July 2018 issue (on sale on Thursday), James talked about the possibility of her and Smith buying a home together.

“We want to get somewhere,'” she said. “That’s going like, ‘Can we go furniture shopping?’ We bought a rug…and I love getting flowers and making things look nice.”

James also told the magazine she hopes to spend time traveling for a few months and “just switch off.”

Both she and Smith have kept busy with their acting careers in recent years. Last year, James spent time in Croatia filming Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again with returning stars Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. More than a month ago, she began filming a new film directed by Danny Boyle in her and Smith’s native England. A few months ago, Smith finished filming his role as the late Charles Manson in the biographical crime drama film Charlie Says in Los Angeles.

“When you’re an actor, it’s like, ‘You’ve got to keep the momentum up.’ And I’m like, ‘No!'” James told Marie Claire U.K. “You have to trust that things won’t go away if you stop for a bit. I haven’t really stopped, and I don’t think that’s a feasible way to work. For me, eventually, that’s not the lifestyle I want. You never really know where you are. That’s not only with regards to my relationship with Matt, but with my friends and family. There’s so much you miss. That’s why I know I can’t keep working at this intensity. I finish a job; Matt starts one.” (source)

A brand new spot and promotional photos for Lily’s My Burberry campaign are out. The promo is now for all the My Burberry Fragrances (Black and Blush) and Lily looks gorgeous in it.

In our gallery you can find the photos and below you can watch the AD video. Enjoy!

Lily is featured in the newest issue of L’Officiel NL (May-June 2018) with a brand new and beautiful photoshoot! Outtakes from it have been now added to the gallery, and we’ll also try to find the issue to scan!

In the meantime be sure to check the photos in our gallery and a behind the scenes video below. Enjoy!

Lily is featured in Sky Mobile’s new campaign “Hello Possible”. You can watch the tv spot below!