Lily James does a bit of everything. Disney princess? Check. Young Meryl Streep in an ABBA musical? Sure. Indie drama about poverty in North Dakota? Why not. She started in British TV (‘Downton Abbey’), jumped to Hollywood, and chooses projects that… honestly, don’t always make sense. But she works hard, sings well, and has that thing the camera loves.
Here are her ten best films, which doesn’t mean they are all good.
10. Fast Girls (2012)
British sports drama about athletics. James plays a runner on the national team, rivalry turns into friendship, you know the story. It is low-budget and predictable but sincerely made. Think ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ but with running instead of football.
9. The Exception (2016)
Jai Courtney is a German soldier in World War II tasked with guarding Kaiser Wilhelm II, who is living in the Netherlands. James plays Mieke, a Dutch maid who is actually a Jewish spy. They have an affair, things get complicated, and Christopher Plummer plays the Kaiser. It is pulpy and melodramatic in a guilty pleasure way.
8. Little Woods (2018)
Nia DaCosta’s debut (she later made ‘Candyman’ and ‘The Marvels’). James plays Ollie, a woman in North Dakota who illegally smuggles pills because the American healthcare system is too expensive. Tessa Thompson is her sister. It is somber and realistic and political without being speechy.
7. The Dig (2021)
Ralph Fiennes unearths the Sutton Hoo treasure just before WWII. Carey Mulligan is the widow who owns the land. James plays Peggy, a young archaeologist who falls in love with her cousin (Johnny Flynn) while excavating ancient Anglo-Saxon treasures. It is quiet and beautiful, and while James has little to do, she does it well.
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
James is a London writer who travels to Guernsey in 1946 and discovers what happened there during the German occupation. There is a book club, letters, romance, and a tragic wartime past. It is British comfort TV as a film. Glen Powell plays her American editor fiancé, while Michiel Huisman is the local farmer she actually falls in love with.
5. Darkest Hour (2017)
Gary Oldman wins an Oscar as Winston Churchill. James plays Elizabeth Layton, his new typist who types his speeches and sees his human side. It is a small role—she is mainly there to soften Churchill for the audience. But she has that scene where she cries and Churchill comforts her, and it is well-acted.
4. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
James plays young Donna (Meryl Streep played her in the original). We see how she met the three men who could be Sophie’s father. She sings ABBA, dances on a Greek island, and clearly has the best time. It is silly and joyful, and James has the energy and voice to sell it. ‘Waterloo’ is the highlight.
3. Rebecca (2020)
James is the nameless second wife of Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer), living in the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca. Kristin Scott Thomas plays Mrs. Danvers, the creepy housekeeper obsessed with Rebecca. It is gothic and atmospheric, and James plays uncertainty and fear well. The Netflix film didn’t get much attention but is definitely worth watching.
2. Cinderella (2015)
James is Ella, who becomes Cinderella after being mistreated by her stepmother (Cate Blanchett). Richard Madden is the prince, and Helena Bonham Carter is the fairy godmother. That blue dress apparently cost $12,000. James plays it straight—no irony, no modernization, just a girl who stays kind despite everything.
1. Baby Driver (2017)
Edgar Wright makes a heist film edited to music. Ansel Elgort is Baby, a getaway driver with tinnitus who is always listening to music. James is Debora, the waitress he falls in love with. Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm—the cast is impressive. James sings ‘Harlem Shuffle’ in a diner and it is charming. Their romance is the emotional heart of a film that mainly consists of car chases on beats.
