Summary
Lily Collinshas been in a smattering of movies and TV shows since she made her debut in the industry at the age of 10. Her gateway into Hollywood was in a supporting voice-acting role in the 1999 animated filmTarzan. She got her part in that film through herfamous father, British musician Phil Collins,who famously composed themusic forTarzan.
Since working alongside her dad, Collins has come to step out into more central roles in recent years. AfterTarzan, her next roles came a decade later, including parts in90210andThe Blind Side. From there, her career has heated up, and she’s gone on to have increasingly more central roles, though she has struggled throughout her career with the highly variable critical reception of her work.Looking at Collins’ career as a whole, here is a breakdown of her top 10 roles and what made them key parts of the actor’s career.
Is Lily Collins Related To Audrey Hepburn? (& Will She Play Her In The Upcoming Biopic?)
Lily Collins' striking resemblance to Audrey Hepburn has sparked rumors that they are related and that Collins will play Hepburn in a biopic.
10The Blind Side (2009)
Lily Collins Plays Collins Tuohy
ThoughThe Blind Sidehas gone on to be highly controversial, the film was received decently during the time of its release. Chronicling the story of the Tuohy family, a middle-class white family who takes in Michael Oher, an at-risk Black teenager who goes on to become a football star, Collins steps in to play the appropriately named Collins Tuohy, the daughter in the Tuohy family.Collins' Tuohy is a supporting character inThe Blind Side, as the film largely focuses on Michael as well as the mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Still, playing the Tuohy daughter was a key jumping-off point in Collins’ career. Early on in her filmography,The Blind Sideprovided her a chance to act in a high-profile, Oscar-nominated film, significantly elevating her profile as an actor. Collins’ role inThe Blind Sidemay be less significant in terms of screen time, but she performs solidly as a key member of the Tuohy family unit.
The Blind Side
Cast
The Blind Side is a biographical sports drama film that follows the life of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American teenager who is adopted by a wealthy white family. Under the guidance of his adoptive mother, played by Sandra Bullock, Oher overcomes personal and academic challenges to become a successful college football player. The film, directed by John Lee Hancock, is based on the real-life story of Oher’s journey.
9Tolkien (2019)
Lily Collins Plays Edith Bratt
In the years sinceThe Blind Side, Collins went on to act in a series of movies that received relatively poor reviews. This includedLove, Rosie, andThe Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, which received rotten 32% and 13% scores on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. This put Collins in a precarious place in her career in the early to mid-2010s, as she was on a streak of a lot of negatively received work.
2019’sTolkienhelped recover Collins’ reputation. The film is still far from perfect, asTolkien’s mixed reviews left it with a 51% Tomatometer. Still,Collins is given the chance to shine in a lead role in the docudramaabout J.R.R. Tolkien’s early life and inspiration. Collins plays Edith Bratt, an orphan that Nicholas Hoult’s Tolkien falls in love with in the film. She does so with a decent amount of grace, grounding the film’s drama.
Tolkien
Directed by Dome Karukoski, 2019’s Tolkien is a Drama and Biography film that outlines the early life of the famed author J. R. R. Tolkien, en English professor that would become renown for his creation of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series.
8Mirror Mirror (2012)
Lily Collins Plays Snow White
InMirror Mirror, Collins gets her chance at playing theclassic princess Snow Whitein this reimagining of the tale.Mirror Mirrorwas released in an era where adaptations of the work seemed increasingly popular. A year earlier, the Kristen Stewart-starringSnow White and the Huntsmanwas released to mixed reviews, givingMirror Mirrorpressure to outperform as a fellow adaptation of the fairy tale.
Mirror Mirror’s reviews were also mixed, but the film arguably features the better presentation of Snow White. As opposed to Stewart’s characteristically empty performance,Collins’ is charming in her lead roleas she battles against the Evil Queen. Fare-skinned and dark-haired, Collins’ physical appearance also makes it such that she naturally blends into the princess role, aiding the aesthetics ofMirror Mirror. While still not a stellar piece of cinema,Mirror Mirrorhelped better establish Collins as a capable lead.
Mirror Mirror
Mirror Mirror is a new adaptation of the original Brothers Grimm tale Snow White that stars Lilly Collins and Julia Roberts as Snow White and the enchantress Clementianna. When Snow White’s father goes missing, her stepmother assumes control of the kingdom, hiding Snow White away from the world, and jealously banishes her into the nearby woods. As time passes, Snow White, with the help of the dwarves that helped raise her, decides to fight back and reclaim her kingdom from her cruel stepmother.
7MaXXXine (2024)
Lily Collins Plays Molly Bennett
While the bulk of reactions to A24’s horror threequelMaXXXinefocus on the stirring and chilling performance from Mia Goth, the actress is also surrounded by a strong supporting cast. One such cast member is Collins, who plays an actress in the fictional horror filmThe Puritanin the film. Collins is properly disconcerting in the Molly Bennett role, a character who becomes somewhat of a mentor to the lead.
Collins’ performance inMaXXXinehas received a mixed response. While some love her in the role,others have been quick to critique Collins’ distractingly bad accent, which is intended to imitate someone from Northern Yorkshire. Still,MaXXXineis a critical film in Collins’ career, as it sees the actress experience somewhat of a Rotten Tomatoes recovery after a slump.MaXXXinecurrently holds a 74% score on Rotten Tomatoes, anXfranchise low, but still a fresh score.
MaXXXine
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx lands her big break, but her rise to stardom is jeopardized by a mysterious killer targeting starlets. As the body count rises, secrets from Maxine’s past threaten to surface, intertwining her quest for fame with a deadly game of survival.
6Les Misérables (2019)
Lily Collins Plays Fantine
One of Collins’ more underrated roles is in the TV miniseriesLes Misérables, which aired in 2019. Despite receiving largely positive reviews, the show has been largely forgotten, even in the mere five years since its initial release. Collins steps into the show to play Fantine, a working-class Parisian woman who is impregnated by a rich student and struggles to raise her daughter, Cosette.
Other stars of theLes MisérablesTV series include Dominic West, David Oyelowo, Adeel Akhtar, Olivia Colman, and David Bradley.
Collins appeared as Fantinein three of theLes Misérablesepisodes. Her acting does not have nearly the same gravitas as someone like Anne Hathaway, though it is hard to compare the 2012 musical — which is replete with the power ballad “I Dreamed a Dream," with its songless miniseries counterpart. Even paling in comparison to some past versions, Collins shows off her acting range in this more dramatic role, fitting in swimmingly with an overall well-cast series.
5Rules Don’t Apply (2016)
Lily Collins Plays Marla Mabrey
Released in 2016,Rules Don’t Applyis yet another example of Collins’ fraught Rotten Tomatoes streak. The film received a 55% Tomatometer and a 34% audience approval score, becoming yet another title on Collins’ poor streak in the 2010s. Critics did not appreciate the unevenness of the story as well as the choppy editing, leaving the film with reviews that slant negatively.
That said, the film deserves high praise in any discussion of Collins’ work due to how good the actor is in the role of Marla Mabrey. The lead is an uncomfortable role to play, to say the least, as it involves a massive age-gap relationship between Mabrey and Howard Hughes. Collins’ spot-on performance inRules Don’t Applyreceived award recognition,earning the performer a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
4Okja (2017)
Lily Collins Plays Red
Okjais one huge exception to the trend of Collins’ Rotten Tomatoes struggles during the 2010s. This pre-ParasiteBong Joon Ho action filmis an adventurous take on environmental crisis and food production that spins in wild direction. It is one of the more creative films to come out of this era, and undeniablyone of the most well-regarded movies in which Collins has appeared.
Collins plays a smaller role, Red in the film. Red is a member of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the animal rights activism group that is a stand-in for PETA inOkja. The lines that the ALF has to say are often times over-the-top as the group engages in guerilla efforts to save animals. While Collins’ role is not as extravagant as the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal or Tilda Swinton within the film, she fits well within theOkjacast, making the part a small yet significant part of her oeuvre.
Okja
Okja is a 2017 sci-fi fantasy movie that tells the story of a genetically modified super pig and a young girl who goes on a mission to rescue her from the evil meat industry. The movie was written and directed by Academy Award winner Bong Joon-ho, who is best known for his 2019 movie Parasite.
3To the Bone
Lily Collins Plays Ellen (2017)
Collins’ lead role inTo the Bonewas arguably the most challenging rolefor the actress. In the Netflix drama, Collins plays a young woman named Ellen who is grappling with severe, life-threatening anorexia. In the movie, Ellen’s life changes when she meets an understanding doctor who will challenge her in ways that she has never been challenged before, and highly encourage her on a path to recovery.
Collins delivers a resonant performance in the lead role inTo the Bone. The film helped to establish Collins as a dramatic lead, in a part that was working on a far deeper level than something likeThe Blind SideorThe Mortal Instruments.To the Boneitself was somewhat controversial, as its portrayal of eating disorders was highly discussed, but as a work of acting, it stands up as one of Collins’ best parts.
2Emily in Paris (2020)
Lily Collins Plays Emily Cooper
Nowadays,Collins’ name ismost synonymous with the Netflix showEmily in Paris. In the series, Collins plays Emily Cooper, an American woman who finds a job at a marketing firm in Paris, where she is tasked to give her perspective on all things United States.Emily in Paris’s reviewsare mixed for the show as a whole. While it initially received awards recognition, including an Emmy nod for Outstanding Comedy Series, the show has been thought to go downhill since then.
That said, Collins’ role inEmily in Parisis her most significant part to date. As Emily, she has to grapple with workplace drama, complicated friendships, and rom-com-style plots, wearing as many proverbial hats as the fashionista herself may don in the series.Emily in Parisis Collins’ only starring role in a major TV show, making it one of the most vital parts of Collins’ career.
Emily in Paris
Netflix’s Emily In Paris is a comedy series starring Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, a college graduate who travels from Chicago to Paris when she lands a one-in-a-lifetime job opportunity that allows her to enjoy French culture and glamour while she overhauls a local marketing firm. From the mind of Beverly Hills 90210 and Sex and the City creator Darren Star, Emily In Paris takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the cultural differences between the United States and France.
1Mank (2020)
Lily Collins Plays Rita Alexander
Topping the list of Collins’ roles isMank. Collin plays Herman Mankiewicz’s real-life secretary, Rita Alexander, in the Oscar-nominated David Fincher biopic. Collins’ had to conquer the feat of tackling a character largely unknown to film history, and she did so with grace in this substantial part.Mankwas well-regarded, receiving an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Mankitself is easily one of the best movies she has been in, along withOkjaandTo the Bone. Shot to mimic the sensibilities ofCitizen Kane,Mankis a cinematographic feat that well-deserved its Oscar win for Best Cinematography and its nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor.Collinsherself was not recognized for her role at any major awards shows, but she nonetheless plays Rita with great elegance as she helps maintain the film’s potent dramatic beats.
Mank
Mank is David Fincher’s two-time Academy Award-winning film that was released on Netflix and select theaters in 2020. Starring Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, and Lily Collins, Mank tells the story of Herman J. Mankiewicz, the real-life alcoholic screenwriter responsible for penning the screenplay for the 1941 classic Citizen Kane.
