If playing a gun welding survivor in ‘Lost’ wasn’t enough for Evangeline Lilly, she can now add archery and daggers to her list of weaponry skills. In an interview with EW, Lilly talked about what audiences can expect when they see her in Peter Jackson’s film ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.’
Lilly has been working on the movie on and off for the last six months and will be doing so for the next several. She plays an Elfin warrior named Tauriel who she describes as a bit of a bad ass:
“…she is a warrior. She’s actually the head of the Elven guard. She’s the big shot in the army. So she knows how to wield any weapon, but the primary weapons that she uses are a bow and arrow and two daggers. And she’s lethal and deadly. You definitely wouldn’t want to be caught in a dark alley next to Tauriel.”
Fans of ‘The Hobbit’ book may not recognize the name of her character and that’s because she doesn’t exist outside the movie version. So how does her character come into play in the capture of the dwarves and the Battle of Five Armies? Lilly admits she doesn’t know yet as she hasn’t filmed that part of the movie yet. But she did give us a preview of what to expect:
“(Tauriel is) not in the first film very much. She comes into the first film near the end, and has a very small part to play. Her role in the second film is much more involved. Although, I have to say, when I first read the scripts and took the job, she had a lot less going on in the second film. I think the role is becoming a bit more demanding than I had expected it to be. There’s a lot more for me to do now, which is a lot of fun, but it’s a little more pressure.”
Lilly has been flying back and forth from LA to New Zealand to film as her scenes come up and although her contact has her unavailable until filming is over, she has heard rumors of a sequel to ‘Real Steel.’ If it does come to fruition, Lilly was told by director Shawn Levy that her character would be featured a lot more than the first movie. But Lilly doesn’t care too much about that. She’s still enjoying acting in “small little roles with great actors who get to carry the film.” And obviously, ‘The Hobbit’ fits that bill precisely.
How do you feel about Evangeline Lilly’s character, Tauriel, in the movie and what do you think her involvement will be in the grand storyline?
