Lily James as Cinderella in Disney’s 2015 Reboot Was Just the Start of Her Career in Movie Musicals
Cinderella has courage and kindness. Lily James, as the actor behind this character, is just as courageous and kind, in addition to being talented. In fact, her appearance in Disney’s 2015 adaptation of Cinderella was just the beginning of her career with movie musicals.
Lily James portrayed Cinderella in Disney’s live-action adaptation
As one of the first live-action movie adaptations by Disney, actor Lily James starred as the title character in the 2015 reboot of Cinderella. This film told the story of one courageous and kind girl, Cinderella, who dreams of a life away from her evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters. The film, of course, featured the iconic blue dress.
“I put it on and I felt like that moment in Runaway Bride where Julia Roberts puts on the dress and she looks in the mirror, and I just felt like Julia Roberts,” Lily James said during an interview with Collider. “I was like, ‘This is the best moment of my life!’ And I was so nervous about that bit of the film.”
“Being Ella, I felt like I could do. I felt like she’s just a normal girl, who’s exceptionally good, but just a girl,” she continued. “But being the princess was like, ‘Holy crap! How am I going to do it?’ And then, the dress was this suit of armor. I felt transformed, and I felt so confident in the dress that it made me forget all my own insecurities.”
Lily James sang ‘A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes’
As her first major role with Disney, this was one of Lily James’ first times singing for a movie musical. She performed “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” for the Cinderella original motion picture soundtrack, earning over 30 million streams.
After appearing in Cinderella, Lily James acted in a few other music-centered movies, including the action/romance, Baby Driver. The movie-musical featuring songs by The Beatles, Yesterday, included Lily James as one of the main characters.
Lily James went on to act in ‘Baby Driver’ and ‘Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again’
One of her biggest roles to date was in the sequel to Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, where the actor portrayed Meryl Streep’s free spirited and independent character, Donna Sheridan.
The actress performed iconic songs like “Mamma Mia” and Abba songs excluded from the original musical, like “When I Kissed the Teacher,” “Andante, Andante,” and “Waterloo.” Each song even earned millions of plays on the streaming platform Spotify, as well as love and admiration from fans.
The live-action adaptation of Cinderella is now available for streaming on Disney+, as is the original animated movie. To learn more about Disney+ and to subscribe, visit their website.
