Interview [IGN]

Interview: Evangeline Lilly
The luminous Lost leading lady talks about the Season Two DVD set, Season Three secrets and who Kate should be canoodling with.
by Todd Gilchrist
August 30, 2006 - Before 2004, Evangeline Lilly was a virtual unknown, having done almost no professional work to speak of as an actress. Two years later, she's a magazine cover girl, a highly-touted leading lady, and the star of one of the hottest television shows on the air: Lost. Suffice it to say she makes success look great, leaving the rest of us mere mortals floundering for her attention - especially when you're one of 20 journalists hoping to quiz her about the new Lost Season Two DVD set.



Thankfully, IGN did catch up to Lilly at the Season Two party, albeit not in traditional interview circumstances; a helpful publicist pulled her over to talk for just a few minutes, where she generously offered some insights about the past, present and future of Kate, her character on the show.




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IGN: Compared to Season One, how would you characterize or differentiate your experience working on Season Two of Lost?

Lilly: Season Two was less stressful because I had a little experience and I had something to draw from. It was also less stressful because we had other people to share the load with us; bringing in the tailies, in my opinion, was such a great relief for us because it meant that other people were there to carry the load a little bit for us. I think that Season One was kind of special in that it was the inception and it was my first baby steps into the industry, and it was a trial by fire. But definitely I think Season Two was easier and I'm hoping Season Three gets even easier.

IGN: What in particular do you think will grab people on the DVDs?

Lilly: Well, the features are incredible. The bonus features are great for satisfying the real Lost geeks who follow the show, who follow the program, and people who are obsessed with theories and the ideas behind it. I mean, it's a whole thing, the logo on the show. For me, the best part of the DVD bonus features was the fact that it had the true stars of the show on there which are the crew and the writers and the directors and the producers. These are people who make or break the show completely and utterly and you get to see their faces and here them talk and see what it's like to make this show. They get into great detail about what it's like to make a show and I even learned things that I didn't know. I didn't know about how they color adjust the scenes in order to make sure that everything matches. I just assume that it goes and that they make it. But there is all these different things and there are people out there who are hungry for that information.



IGN: Do you have an opinion who Kate should end up with - Jack or Sawyer?

Lilly: I actually used to have an opinion for most of Season One and Two. I used to feel that Sawyer was better for Kate because they were on the level with each other. They were really compatible in the way that they mutually understood and respected each other and Jack was always a little above Kate, a little high and mighty for Kate. But I feel like Kate has grown enough in these two seasons that she's kind of on a level with both of them now. I feel like it could split either way and Kate will be fine.

IGN: Will one of those relationships blossom more in Season Three?

Lilly: I don't know. You'd have to ask the producers. I can't confirm or deny these rumors.

IGN: Who have the fans been rooting for you to hook up with?



Lilly: I've read statistics online. I've read statistics in magazines and I've read my fan mail and I can't get a number one way or the other. It seems to just yo-yo back and forth.



IGN: What are you looking forward to personally and professionally in Season Three?

Lilly: Personally, I'm looking forward to yet again settling a little bit farther into the idea of the lifestyle in this industry because that's something that's also new to me. For the first two years, the first one in particular, it was very stressful and it was very intense and I just like the idea that as every year goes by that intensity will mellow and I will be able to spend a little bit more time relaxing and enjoying the benefits of the job and the industry rather than constantly trying to play catch up and learn and grow.

IGN: Did working in Hawaii help you feel more comfortable moving into 'Hollywood'?

Lilly: Probably because I think that being isolated from the Hollywood world of premieres and red carpet events was probably good for me because I could ease into those at will and by my own choice. But in other aspects, when it comes to fanfare Hawaii is nuts and in L.A. they're all so jaded. They don't care. They see another star and it's like, 'oh yeah, we've seen a hundred of them before. You're a dime a dozen'. Which is a little bit easier to deal with.

IGN: Can we expect Kate to be with the Others at the start of Season Three based on what happened at the end of Season Two?

Lilly: I would expect so. So far what I have filmed has been fifty/fifty. I filmed my first episode with Henry Gale, my first scene, I mean, with Henry Gale which was really, really wonderful. I think that everyone knows that he's a fantastic actor and he's an utter gentleman in real life, but it was fun to work with a gentleman and have them call action and have him be this really, really creepy guy.



IGN: Who have the fans been rooting for you to hook up with?

Lilly: I've read statistics online. I've read statistics in magazines and I've read my fan mail and I can't get a number one way or the other. It seems to just yo-yo back and forth.

IGN: Has living in Hawaii changed the way you dress and live?

Lilly: Yeah, definitely it's changed. I can't wear scarves and boots and coats and hats anymore and I miss it like crazy. Of course I do. I'm a good Canadian girl. I miss all that good stuff. I miss tobogganing and I miss snowboarding, but I've also learned to surf and I've become a water baby which I used to be relatively terrified of the water and I kayak all the time now and I'm able to run year round on the beach which you can't obviously do in Canada. So there is all of that and it has been really great.

Source : IGN