The actor on her role in the BBC’s new Nancy Mitford adaptation, the joy of female friendship, and preparing to play Baywatch star Pamela Anderson
Lily James was born Lily Thomson in Esher, Surrey, in 1989. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and made her TV debut as Ethel Brown in the BBC’s Just William (2010) before appearing in Downton Abbey and War & Peace. Her film credits include Baby Driver, Darkest Hour, The Dig, Rebecca, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and the lead in Disney’s live-action Cinderella. In 2019 she starred in Ivo van Hove’s All About Eve in the West End. James plays the heroine, Linda Radlett, in the new BBC adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s 1945 novel The Pursuit of Love.
Were you a fan of Nancy Mitford’s book before you took this role?
Absolutely. It was huge fun to immerse myself in the period, although my character, Linda, could almost exist at any time, because she breaks all the rules.
