Lily James movies and TV shows ranked: 10 greatest roles worst to best
Over the past decade, Lily James has distinguished herself by building one of the most varied resumes as any film actor her age. After getting her start on British television, James first became known to American audiences in 2012 when she joined the cast of “Downton Abbey” as the love-struck Lady Rose MacClare, a role that earned James two Screen Actors Guild Awards as a member of the show’s ensemble cast.
The actress quickly followed up that television triumph with one on the big screen in the title role of Disney’s live-action “Cinderella,” directed by Kenneth Branagh, which clearly proved her appeal to audiences of all ages. One of the most reliable screen presences in recent years, James showed enormous range in choosing her projects, from such crowd pleasers as “Baby Driver” and “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” to more intimate films as “The Dig” and “Little Woods,” both of which revealed James’ untapped skills as a character actress.
In 2022, she returned to the medium of her first great breakthrough — television — to portray ’90s sex symbol Pamela Anderson in the Hulu limited series “Pam & Tommy.” Her chemistry with co-star Sebastian Stan as husband Tommy Lee garnered critical acclaim and has brought James her first Emmy nomination for Best Limited/Movie Actress. In honor of her much-deserved Emmy bid, let’s raise a glass to Lily James and count down her 10 best movies and TV shows, ranked from worst to best. Here’s to Lily! Scroll through our photo gallery above or click here for direct access.
“I organized a massage for that exact time,” James recently told Gold Derby about how she planned for Emmy nominations morning. “I was concerned I wouldn’t relax, but somehow I did. I had this wonderful massage and then I had a sauna. I was sort of avoiding having to acknowledge whatever might have happened. Then I got back to the locker room and I got my phone out and it had just blown up.”
James’ fellow Emmy nominees in Best Limited/Movie Actress are Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”), Margaret Qualley (“Maid”), Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”), Sarah Paulson (“Impeachment”) and Toni Collette (“The Staircase”). Find out who wins when the Emmy Awards take place on Monday, September 12 on NBC.
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