Lily James on preparing for ‘Mamma Mia’: ‘I went on steroids and didn’t talk’

New parents Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson step out for a late lunch!

I’ve sort of blanked out on the actual plot of Mamma Mia: There We Go Again, so it came as a surprise to me to realize, just at this very moment, that Lily James plays the young version of Meryl Streep’s character. I thought Lily was playing someone else entirely, but no. Lily covers the latest issue of Allure to promote the film and she shows more personality in this interview (plus an interview in People Mag, which I’m adding) than I’ve ever really seen from her. She comes across as a real person who thinks about real things, not just a ditzy posh girl whose life was handed to her on a silver platter. She also reveals something I didn’t even know was a thing: she loses her voice A LOT. Huh.

On being typecast as good girls: “I think every actor is typecast. You have to remind yourself, I can do this for a long, long time, and there’s so much time to reinvent yourself or move in a totally different direction. I’ve just had this feeling that I can’t get rid of recently — and sometimes what you think is right for you is total nonsense anyway — that I’ve wanted to step away from playing characters that feel quite honest and open. There’s a goodness to them that I want to get away from.”

She auditioned for the part on her way to Glastonbury with Matt Smith: “He pulled over and waited for me while I went in and sang a few Mamma Mia! songs and did a few scenes. Then I was like, ‘Peace, I’m out,’ and we went to the festival and had the best weekend. My agents rang me on the Monday or Tuesday, and I had completely lost my voice. They were like, ‘You’re going to be doing ABBA in a few weeks.’ I was like, ‘Oh, sh-t.’ ”

She’s “struggled” with her voice a lot since leaving drama school. “I lose my voice a lot. I have issues — it’s really scary and heartbreaking.”

Preparing for the singing in Mamma Mia: “I didn’t speak for a week before we recorded… I went on steroids and didn’t talk. I watched Mamma Mia over and over again to channel the essence of what makes Donna so unique and brilliant and fearless and courageous.”

She cried the first time she met Meryl Streep: “She was singing this song, and it’s a beautiful song, and it made me cry,” she remembers, and she was also thinking, “ You’ve got to hold it together because she’s coming over. I just hugged her and said hi. She’s such a cool woman.”

She will do inclusion riders from here on out: “I don’t know if people will laugh at me if I say I need to have it, because I guess you have to have a certain amount of status to actually enforce those things. But actually, I think whatever point you’re at it’s something you can say, and we’ve all got that power. It’s certainly stuff I’ve talked to my agents about.”

[From Allure and People]

I’ve heard actors talk about how their voice is one of their most important “instruments” as an actor, and that they must be aware of it and take care of it. It sounds like Lily is sort of predisposed to lose her voice, which I didn’t know was a real thing, and add to that… she maybe doesn’t take care of her voice as well as she should? She’s too busy scream-singing for days at music festivals. I was like, “wow, it’s pretty hardcore to take steroids for a role” but I bet she means corticosteroids to treat an inflammation of her vocal cords. Or something, I’m not a doctor. But I do think it’s weird that she keeps losing her voice.

World Premiere of 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' - Arrivals

Cover courtesy of Allure, additional photos courtesy of WENN.

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20 Responses to “Lily James on preparing for ‘Mamma Mia’: ‘I went on steroids and didn’t talk’”

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  1. Runcmc says:

    This is a weird connection to make but I remember Abby Lee Miller from Dance Moms was constantly losing her voice on the show. Turned out to be one of many early warning signs of non-hodgkins lymphoma which she’s currently in treatment for. I hope Lily has her doctors really look into WHY she keeps losing her voice.

    • Char says:

      My sister is a teacher and constantly loses her voice due to the tiring of her vocal chords, so it’s not difficult to imagine someone who may have to repeat scenes many times and works for hours straight to have the problem.

      • Jane says:

        I agree. I am a teacher, and when I have an upper-respiratory infection while teaching I tend to lose my voice. I talk almost all day long.

    • Lightpurple says:

      A friend had the same issue with Hodgkins. But I lose my voice when I’m really nervous and stressed at work and need it.

      • Kelly says:

        I lose mine a lot during spring and fall when it’s allergy season. There could be a lot of reasons why she loses hers.

      • raincoaster says:

        I had Hodgkin’s and never ran into it. Then again, other than my immune system deserting me, I had a pretty easy go of it. I didn’t even puke once.

    • raincoaster says:

      Isn’t it smoking? All the smokers I know have chronic problems with their throats, even if they don’t get cancer.

  2. Naomi11 says:

    Is it really necessary to have a sequel to this movie??? Come on, really?????

    • Bishg says:

      I don’t understand it either. I love ABBA’s music but I couldn’t get through the first quarter of the first movie. Cheesy (but not in a self-aware, campy way!), poorly acted and SOOOO boring. Also, I don’t know about the first one, but the sequel has been shot in Croatia so it seems kind of a sham to sell it like a romantic group reunion in Greece.

    • Murphy says:

      The last movie made money. So, yes.

    • mander says:

      Personally I was NOT a fan of the original, although all my friends with me seemed to love it. So when I heard about his one, I rolled my eyes and knew my friends would want to go again. Then I read Rotten Tomatoes…..wow. 2 totally different ratings and set of reviews. Going next week, and actually not dreading. We’ll see.

    • raincoaster says:

      I think ABBA is just a good time. I was at a snooty tech party in Vancouver and all of a sudden the entertainment changed from some EDM DJ to an ABBA tribute band, and everyone loosened up and had a blast. I can’t say no to more of that.It’s magic.

  3. Other Renee says:

    As long as Pierce Brosnan doesn’t sing again, I’m looking forward to this movie. Cheesy musicals are my thing. And then there’s Cher of course.

  4. Mrs.K says:

    I didnt watch the first one and most probably wont watch this either. Its like Sharknado…a hot mess that keeps getting sequels.

    • chinoiserie says:

      It’s not a hot mess but a nice musical which only got one sequel ten years after despite making more money than Dark Knight in Europe. I am not saying you have to like it but that it’s nothing like Sharkanado and it’s odd that a female centric films get much more easily dismissed.

  5. Allison says:

    I actually lose my voice frequently as well. If I overuse it, it checks out–particularly when I was younger and in school and using it all the time. Lily does have a sort of breathy quality to her voice and I do too, so maybe like me she just doesn’t quite breathe correctly and it gives out. It can also happen a lot from allergies, so maybe she has some kind of allergic condition.

  6. TeamAwesome says:

    Voice teacher here: overuse of the voice, incorrect speaking and singing technique, and lack of proper, deep, connected breathing all add up to a voice that goes out easily. Breathy voices mean that the vocal folds are letting air escape because they aren’t coming together to vibrate the way they are meant to when functioning their best. Steroids will help the inflammation, but it isn’t a sustainable treatment. She really needs to work with a vocal coach or she can screw up her voice permanently.

  7. ash says:

    she’s earned a fan in me with the inclusion rider…. she is taking her privilege as a white blond woman and spending it for good…bravo lily.