Evangeline Lilly: From Lost To Quitting Hollywood

Moviegoers and entertainment news outlets were somewhat shocked when Evangeline Lilly — best known for starring roles in the long-running television series "Lost" and the Marvel Cinematic Universe — announced that she would be retiring from acting (at least for now). In an Instagram post published on June 4, 2024, the 44-year-old actor expressed feelings of joy, gratitude, fear, and fulfillment regarding her decision, which seems to have been made out of a desire to begin a fresh chapter in her life after over 20 years in the film and television industry.

Lilly began appearing in Hollywood productions as an uncredited extra in 2003, starting with the David Arquette-led Showtime film "Stealing Sinatra." This was followed by roles of a similar size in increasingly popular projects, including Disney's "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," the horror crossover "Freddy vs. Jason," and the Wayans brothers' cult comedy "White Chicks." She even landed a recurring background gig on The CW's first superhero drama, "Smallville" — but she could only hide in the background for so long. 

About a year or so after "Stealing Sinatra," her career took a massive and sudden leap when she was cast as a series lead in one of the biggest series in ABC's broadcasting history. As she looks ahead to one final role alongside "The White Lotus" star Alexandra Daddario (unless she returns to acting again, that is), we're looking back on the roles that led Lilly to where she is today.

To go from a nameless "Smallville" extra to a series lead on a major television show is no easy feat, though shockingly Evangeline Lilly accomplished it rather quickly. After a 2003 audition, she was cast in the ABC series "Lost," a surreal science-fiction thriller about a group of strangers attempting to survive a plane crash on an island plagued by sinister supernatural forces. Lilly played Kate Austen, a woman with a complicated criminal past who forms a bond with the survivors' de facto leader, Jack (Matthew Fox).

Though it's mostly remembered for its divisive ending, "Lost" boasts arguably one of the most compelling television pilots ever seen (largely thanks to the mysteries established and surprising twists featured in the two-part premiere, courtesy of writers Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof). And yet, as shocking as it already is, there was at least one more twist planned for the pilot that would have changed the series as a whole — and put Lilly's Kate solely in charge of the survivors moving forward.

When they first wrote the pilot script, the writers planned to cast Michael Keaton as Jack — only to subversively kill off the famous Hollywood star so that Kate could take his place as the island's leader. Though we don't know which writer came up with this idea for "Lost," this same subversion was used by Lindelof in his later projects, namely HBO's "Watchmen" and "The Hunt."

Now an integral part of a popular television series, Evangeline Lilly was brought back into the world of film, this time finally as a named character in the low-budget comedy "The Long Weekend." If you haven't heard of this film, it's likely because it was a little known British-Canadian-American co-production that only grossed just under $3.5 million worldwide. Not bad by any means for $1.2 million comedy, but barely a fraction of the measurable draw earned by pretty much everything the actress has done since.

It also wouldn't be all that surprising if you had seen "The Long Weekend" but don't remember Lilly being in it. Though she had graduated from unnamed extra to named character here, one could make a solid argument that this was her smallest role yet. Her character, "Simone," is simply a dead body, featured in a casket in one scene. It's hardly reflective of the heights Lilly's career would soon reach and is perhaps more useful as a benchmark in another Marvel Studios actor's career — released in August of 2005, "The Long Weekend" premiered just one month before one of its supporting actors, Cobie Smulders, would make waves as a core cast member of the soon-to-be smash hit series "How I Met Your Mother."

Though one could say "The Long Weekend" underutilized her talents before sending her back to TV, it wouldn't be long before Evangeline Lilly returned to the big screen in a much more prolific film. In 2008, she was cast in the war drama "The Hurt Locker," which was to be directed by Kathryn Bigelow (at the time best known for her 1991 "Point Break"). Ironically similar to the choices made by Damon Lindelof and co. in the original "Lost" pilot story, Bigelow was actively seeking out actors who weren't famous movie stars in order to give the audience the feeling that any one of the characters could die at any moment.

Lilly's character was one of the safest in the cast, however, playing the supporting role of Connie, the civilian ex-wife of Jeremy Renner's Staff Sgt. William James. The film follows James as he leads an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the early months of the Iraq War. While filming "The Hurt Locker," Lilly developed a friendship with her future fellow-Avenger that lasts to this day. She even provided an update on his poor health in 2023, having visited him while he was recovering from his near-fatal snowplow accident at the beginning of the year.

While working with fellow future Marvel stars Jeremy Renner and Cobie Smudlers so early on would become ironic in hindsight, one project she was a part of both connected Lilly with an even bigger and then-current Marvel legend and laid the groundwork for his shocking debut in the MCU.

In 2011, shortly after "Lost" wrapped up an impressive six-season run, Lilly went back to film to take on her first major supporting role — futuristic boxer Bailey Tallet in the sci-fi sports flick "Real Steel." It starred Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman as a Rocky Balboa-esque former boxer whose only remaining shot at glory lies in piloting an underdog robot in fighting matches. The film was also directed by Shawn Levy, who collaborated on several films with Ryan Reynolds and eventually reunited with both him and Jackman for the upcoming Marvel Studios feature "Deadpool & Wolverine."

But while Jackman and Levy were establishing a partnership that would bear fruit in a decade, Lilly was already eyeing the exit door. In a candid interview at the premiere of "Real Steel," she admitted that she swore she would walk away from acting after she wrapped on "Lost." (Many years later, she revealed that she even turned down an offer from Jackman made to her after filming "Real Steel" to join the "X-Men" franchise.) Instead, she found herself immediately pulled into not only several weeks of work for "Real Steel," but a massive multifilm commitment to one of Hollywood's most beloved franchises.

If there was a moment that cemented Evangeline Lilly's staying power in the entertainment industry, however reluctant, it was when she signed on for not one, but two films in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" trilogy. In both "The Desolation of Smaug" and "The Battle of the Five Armies," Lilly played Tauriel, a Silvan Elf who fights alongside Orlando Bloom's Legolas and ultimately shares a tragic love story with the Dwarf Kíli (Aidan Turner).

In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes that took place ahead of the release of "The Desolation of Smaug," Lilly described playing Tauriel: "It's definitely been an enjoyable and actually fairly relaxed experience, but I think it's the most difficult role I've ever had to play because I have had to learn so many new skills for this role and then apply them in every single scene that I'm in." Among these new skills were speaking both in a British dialect and in the Elvish language, archery, dagger-play, and Elven movement.

By the end of production for the final film, Lilly described herself in a multi-outlet roundtable interview as being more exhausted than she'd ever been in her life. Her on-set tasks required extensive stunt work, both to execute some classic Elven acrobatics and the actual execution of several dozen orcs. For someone who had been hoping to leave acting four years earlier, it's hard to imagine she could have chosen a more physically taxing — and, not to mention, logistically constrictive — role for herself. Aside, of course, from signing one of the infamous multifilm contracts required of the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.

By 2015, it was safe to say that whatever urge Evangeline Lilly had to end her Hollywood career had been put on hold indefinitely, as she signed on to the role that would ultimately keep her in the industry for another eight years and define her legacy on the big screen as a whole. (And all this so that her son can refer to her as "the worst Avenger.")

Lilly was cast as the sharp scientist Hope van Dyne in Marvel Studio's "Ant-Man," a heist comedy that was originally supposed to be directed by acclaimed auteur Edgar Wright. However, after major conflicts began to arise between Wright and the studio (seemingly over their decision to begin drafting script revisions without his input), he left the project and was replaced by Peyton Reed. Lilly, who incidentally had not signed her contract at the time of Wright's departure, began seriously considering exiting the project. In the book "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," she revealed that Wright had written a very vulnerable, entirely character-driven arc for Hope that relied solely on her relationship with her father, Hank (Michael Douglas).

Fortunately, Paul Rudd and "Vice" writer-director Adam McKay listened to Lilly's concerns, then did what they could to address them by revising her character's role in the script. According to her, her decision to remain on "Ant-Man" was influenced both by their revisions and her initial meeting with Reed, whom she later praised profusely during the film's press tour.

Deep in the throes of her Hollywood career's second act in 2017, Evangeline Lilly landed the starring role in "Little Evil," a Netflix original film from "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" writer-director Eli Craig. In the film, Lilly played Samantha, a single mother whose previous five boyfriends just so happen to be dead. Things take a turn for the apocalyptic when her new boyfriend Gary ("Parks and Rec" alum and future "Madame Web" star Adam Scott) becomes the father that stepped up and moves in. Though Netflix now has somewhat of a reputation for releasing so many movies of average or worse quality, "Little Evil" is arguably one of the rare first-party diamonds hidden amongst the likes of "Red Notice" and "Atlas."

Regardless of quality, a glossy streaming flick is almost a right of passage for a blockbuster actor who finds themselves suddenly in high demand. What's a tad rarer is an actor of that caliber taking on a role in a video game — even one as culturally ubiquitous as Treyarch and Activision's "Call of Duty" series. Nevertheless, Lilly put her voice acting skills to the test in "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4," in which she plays ruthless trillionaire Savannah Mason-Meyer. These two roles made Lilly's MCU hiatus a bit more colorful than some of her peers, but it wasn't too long before she was called back in to make good on her contract.

Evangeline Lilly's next Marvel Studios project after "Ant-Man" was, of course, "Ant-Man and the Wasp," a film which pays off the previous installment's post credits scene by letting Lilly's Hope van Dyne suit up as Scott Lang's (Paul Rudd) partner in crime-fighting. It also picks up right where the last film left off in terms of Hope's strained relationship with her father, Hank Pym. The film was especially impactful as it came out right after 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" (with its cliffhanger finale generating monumental amounts of anticipation for every product that followed).

But while this sequel marked a milestone in Lilly's on-screen presence as a superhero, it also represented personal growth for the actor behind the scenes — particularly when it came to asserting herself on set. As she said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she made a conscious effort during production on this film not to be agreeable just for the sake of fitting in with the boys. "I really challenged myself on this film to shut out all of those critical voices, and the male pressures to conform and to really stand up and be a female voice in this world," she said, elaborating on how patriarchal fears had previously caused her to be silent in order to be liked in predominantly male spaces.

This lends even more weight to one of her shining moments in the following film, "Avengers: Endgame." One scene during the final battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin) features the female-identifying cast uniting to protect Tom Holland's Spider-Man — a moment that seems to be explicitly welcoming fans of all genders into a space that has historically been geared toward boys.

Now having featured in some of the most popular and profitable movies ever made, Evangeline Lilly seemed to be fully embracing her career and the power she derived from it. Over the next few years, she chose to go far afield of aliens and wizards and instead lent talents to much smaller projects. And though she wasn't exactly drawing the same crowds, making the same money, or even garnering the same rave reviews she was with Marvel, this period proved the range of talent she had within her, as well as the desire to take genuine risks rather than rest on the laurels of a comfortable Marvel contract.

Her first post-"Endgame" film was 2021's "Crisis," a thriller that examines the various levels through which the illicit drug trade is allowed to profit. Though it might not be as effective as similar films or series, it features compelling enough performances from Lilly and Gary Oldman — as well as the work of relative newcomers Lily Rose-Depp and Scott Mescudi (aka the musician Kid Cudi).

That same year, she also could be heard in "Legend of Destruction," an adult animated historical epic war drama that takes place during the first Roman-Jewish war. Finally, she starred opposite Jason Sudeikis in a rare neo-western drama called "South of Heaven." Lilly plays a terminally ill woman, Annie, married to a recently paroled convict. Of the latter, she told Any Good Films?, "I have to say that of all the characters I've ever played, I feel like [Annie] was the closest to me."

Following this period of artistic exploration, Evangeline Lilly returned to the MCU during an interesting time in its growth. Following "Avengers: Endgame," Marvel Studios essentially enacted a strategy of producing and releasing as much content as possible — all within a timeline truncated by the delays of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, Lilly was needed for several smaller projects, including one episode of the animated series "What If...?" and various "Ant-Man" attractions for Disney parks.

Her next major project with Marvel Studios was a third "Ant-Man" film, titled "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." Unfortunately, the film not only garnered extraordinarily poor reviews from by critics, but was mired in controversy due to the casting of Bill Murray, the allegations of assault made against Jonathan Majors, and rumors of Lilly herself being fired for her alleged involvement with the anti-vaccination movement. She has since denied she was ever in danger of being fired.

In the midst of so much conflict, however, Lilly appeared surprisingly optimistic about her future with Marvel leading up to the release of "Quantumania." On the red carpet, she was championing a potential "Wasp" spin-off story focused on her character, pitching it as a dark origin story for Hope. She even expressed her desire for an impossible team-up with Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman (she almost played the role herself in Joss Whedon's infamous swing at the character). Whatever plans she may have had, the exact wording of her retirement announcement suggests her contractual relationship with Marvel has indeed come to an end.

In her retirement announcement posted on Instagram, Evangeline Lilly shared a clip of herself seemingly on the set of "Lost" saying that she hoped to have moved on from acting within 10 years. Though she may have missed the mark by about a decade, she has finally kept this pledge to her younger self. In a statement shared with Variety, the actor confirmed that she began her hiatus after wrapping "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," that she is "not under any contractual obligations to anybody," and that she has spent the past three years "not actively pursuing any work in the industry."

Though she isn't saying for certain that she'll never return, again, the words she chose indicate it's not something she's even remotely tempted by. Repeating almost exactly what she said in the video from the "Lost" set, Lilly told Variety, "I am devoting my time to my humanitarian work and my writing." Currently, Lilly still has one project in the works that has yet to be released — a drama titled "Happy Life," in which she's set to star alongside Ike Barenholtz and Alexandra Daddario. However, the last update on the project came in 2019, which means it may be possible the only "Happy Life" we get starring Evangeline Lilly is the one she's living outside the big screen.