From Lost to The Hobbit to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Evangeline Lilly has had some of the biggest gigs in the business – and she couldn’t be less ‘Hollywood’ if she tried. As she gears up for the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the actor, writer and producer talks to AMAZING about the path to finding her dharma.
Evangeline Lilly cuts an inconspicuous figure when she arrives at her AMAZING cover shoot in Los Angeles' Arts District on a sleepy November Sunday. Much like her character Hope Van Dyne (aka Wasp), in Marvel’s Ant-Man franchise, she has mastered the art of going incognito. Dressed casually, with a cap pulled over her pixie cut, Lilly does the rounds introducing herself before heading to hair and makeup. Emerging in a white Jonathan Simkhai pantsuit and flawless glam, she is ready to roll, constantly shapeshifting for photographer Shane McCauley’s lens and pausing only to banter with the crew or chat with the studio owner’s young daughter who is watching intently from the sidelines.
Just over a week later, with Lilly back in her native Canada, we hop on FaceTime and she’s every bit as friendly and unstarry as when we met in person. Splitting her time between Canada and Hawaii with partner Norman Kali and their two sons, the 43-year-old never set out to be a Hollywood star – but the universe had other plans when she was scouted by a modelling agent and fell into acting.
Evangeline Lilly cuts an inconspicuous figure when she arrives at her AMAZING cover shoot in Los Angeles' Arts District on a sleepy November Sunday. Much like her character Hope Van Dyne (aka Wasp), in Marvel’s Ant-Man franchise, she has mastered the art of going incognito. Dressed casually, with a cap pulled over her pixie cut, Lilly does the rounds introducing herself before heading to hair and makeup. Emerging in a white Jonathan Simkhai pantsuit and flawless glam, she is ready to roll, constantly shapeshifting for photographer Shane McCauley’s lens and pausing only to banter with the crew or chat with the studio owner’s young daughter who is watching intently from the sidelines.
Just over a week later, with Lilly back in her native Canada, we hop on FaceTime and she’s every bit as friendly and unstarry as when we met in person. Splitting her time between Canada and Hawaii with partner Norman Kali and their two sons, the 43-year-old never set out to be a Hollywood star – but the universe had other plans when she was scouted by a modelling agent and fell into acting.
“It's sort of sad to say, but it's been a little bit of torture for me; it's never been a fantastic fit,” says Lilly, with a laugh. “The moment when I decided, ‘Maybe I will go out and do some auditions,’ was driven by a couple things. One was desperation because I was going to university and my family had very little. From the time I was 15 years old I was responsible for everything myself, so I was paying my way through university while paying rent and insurance, and all the things. It was pretty hard. Acting and doing extra work on film sets gave me an incredible amount of flexibility for school, but then also gave me a decent income that could pay the bills and pay my tuition, and get things taken care of.”
Studying International Relations and Political Science at University of British Columbia, Lilly had ambitions to “be an ambassador or a diplomat or a humanitarian”, but with some pushing from her agent and her then-husband – as well as some deep self-reflection – she found herself on a different path.
For Evangeline Lilly's full interview and shoot, pre-order your copy of AMAZING issue 3 now.