Lily hunts the undead
By Tatat Bunnag
Photos courtesy of Sahamongkol Film International
Did you know
Lily will appear in a stage adaptation of Romeo and Juliet which will be broadcast live to cinemas in July.
In the past few years, beautiful English actress Lily James has become well-known for her string of hit roles. Following the hit TV series Downton Abbey, 2012’s Wrath of the Titans and Disney’s Cinderella, Lily now returns as a zombie slayer in the period action horror Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
The film is set in the 19th century, when England is overrun with zombies hunting humans for their blood. Lily takes the leading role as one of the Bennet sisters skilled in martial arts and swordplay, and fights an epic battle to rid the country of the undead.
With the film hitting cinemas this week, Student Weekly had an email interview with the 26-year-old actress, who told us all about the making of the film.
Student Weekly: How is the film related to the classic1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice?
Lily: The film is based on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a mash-up parody novel which combines Jane Austen's classic novel with modern zombie fiction. In fact, I hadn’t heard of it before. When I first got offered the role, I thought it sounded terrible! [Laughs.] But after reading 10 pages of the script, I thought, this is actually pretty cool!
Student Weekly: How did you prepare for the role of Elizabeth Bennet?
Lily: Apart from wearing the elaborate dresses of a 19th century lady, I had to learn many skills such as firing a gun, sword fighting, riding horses and some martial arts. It was a lot of fun. The five Bennet sisters are a dangerous group of girls.
Student Weekly: What kind of weapons do you use in the film?
Lily: Elizabeth Bennet is like a ninja who uses a dagger and a sword. She has a weapon on her at all times because there could be a zombie attack at any moment. The trick is to defeat zombies by attacking their brains.
Student Weekly: Did you enjoy working on the film?
Lily: It was really fun. When I film Downton Abbey I become a bit podgy because I don’t really need to exercise, so it’s been really good getting fit during filming. Working with all the people in the stunt team has been awesome.
Student Weekly: What would you do if there was a real zombie apocalypse?
Lily: I’d find a badger’s den and burrow down with some canned fruit and hide until it’s over.
Student Weekly: Did you recently go on a backpacking trip in Southeast Asia?
Lily: Yes, after the long and exhausting press tour for Cinderella I went backpacking with a friend across Southeast Asia, staying in huts that were £2 (100 baht) night. It was fun!
Vocabulary
- slayer (n): someone who kills in a violent way
period (adj): having a style typical of a particular time in history
undead (n): a fictional character who is dead but still moving as if alive
parody (n): a piece of writing that deliberately copies the style of something in order to be funny
dagger (n): a short knife
podgy (adj): slightly fat
badger (n): an animal with grey fur and wide black and white lines on its head
den (n): the hidden home of a wild animal
