Lily James: The New Action Star?

Why Lily James could successfully follow in the footsteps of Charlize Theron and Alicia Vikander in going from prestigious dramatic actor to new action star with her two new movies 

Lily James in 'Pride and Prejudice Zombies' (CREDIT: Lionsgate)

by Jack Linsdell

Lily James has long cemented herself as one of Britain's finest actresses working in the business right now. I've studied her impressive career in our 'career study' series (see here) highlighting just why she is such a rare talent. Despite making her name in period dramas, whether they be TV series (Downton Abbey, War & Peace) or films (The Exception, Darkest Hour), James' career has been notable for the variety of projects (in terms of budgets and genres) that she's taken on, showcasing her wide ranging acting abilities. She's been in a heist flick (Baby Driver), a big budget musical (Mamma Mia Here We Go Again), a rom-com (Yesterday) amongst her bread and butter dramas like the indie movie classic Little Woods. However, its with her two new projects that James may successfully follow in the footsteps of Alicia Vikander and Charlize Theron in going from respected drama actress to popular action star.

Deadline broke two announcements last week. First, it stated that James would play the lead in Pablo Trapero's latest thriller The Paris Trap, which is described as "young American women (James) who becomes the victim of mistaken identity whilst on holiday in France has to play the part to save her life". Although there's nothing original in its premise (it feels a bit like Taken meets Atomic Blonde) the notion of James leading the chase (pun very much intended) in this action-based thriller is exciting. A week later, they also broke that James had signed on to lead a new heist drama from veteran director Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, Salt) called Peggy Jo. This flick, loosely based on the true story of Texan Peggy Jo Tallas, will see James portray the titular character, who successfully robbed banks dressed as a man. This also sounds exciting, and considering the many heist sequences bound to play out in this, promising plenty of action too. If anyone can shoot action, and shoot it well, its Noyce. 

Anyway, what both The Paris Trap and Peggy Jo have become is (inadvertent or not) action-based star vehicles for Lily James. This reminds me of the careers of Charlize Theron and Alicia Vikander, who successfully went from prestigious dramatic actors, to popular action heroines in at the time what were seen as big career shifts. Theron made her name in acclaimed (and Oscar winning) dramas like Monster, with key roles in The Devil's Adovocate and Sweet November. Then, she become action star with popular starting turns in Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde, not to mention a key supporting role in the Fast & Furious series. Vikander followed a similar path to Theron starting out in (at times Oscar winning) period dramas like The Testamant of Youth and The Danish Girl, only to lead the successful Tomb Raider reboot in 2018 as Lara Croft, with a key role in Paul Greengrass's 2016 Bourne comeback Jason Bourne. 

Talking of Lara Croft, and Angelina Jolie successfully went from respected dramatic actress with hits like The Bone Collector to well-liked action star with the two original Tomb Raider movies and popular hits like Salt. Anyway, it seems James is going in a similar path and for that I'm most excited. She's an incredible actress, with immense physicality and a diverse acting ability and range, not to mention a popular following of young audiences who either idealise her incredible talent or stunning looks. 

And, it seems this transition into action star may actually be intentional on James' part. Back when she promoted the weird yet fun hybrid Pride and Prejudice Zombies starring long time boyfriend Matt Smith, James was talking in interviews whilst promoting the film about how much she enjoyed doing the action and stunts on the film. She said, "...and it was this idea of being an action hero - I just loved it", before going on to conclude "I want to be an action hero forever more". These comments, made back in 2014, do show that perhaps this transition to action star was always a target for James, but that she's waited for the right time in her career before signing on the dotted line for action-based movies.

Anyway, this is exciting and could mean that in a few years, the notion of a new Lily James action vehicle could be an enticing and sweetly anticipated event to moviegoers. And, if the careers (and success) seen by Theron, Jolie and Vikander proves anything its that talented actresses can go from prestigious drama actor to popular action heroine overnight. We'll have to wait and see.