A Field Guide to Evangeline Lilly

"Ant-Man" came out last weekend and if you are looking for a popcorn-munching fun time at the movies, this is most definitely it.  I am a sucker for this kind of flick and you bet I was in sixth row this weekend soaking up Evangeline Lilly kicking Paul Rudd's ass on his way to becoming the hero he was destined to be, according to the movie's poster.  

Lilly plays the role of Hope van Dyne, the estranged daughter of inventor Hank Pym, played excellently by Michael Douglas and it has been a long road for this Canadian actress to land herself into a prime role in the Marvel Universe.  (I truly can not wait for her to become the Wasp!)  She was discovered on the street by the Ford Modeling Agency in Kelowna, British Columbia.  She was not interested in modeling as she was a devout Christian who spent time as a missionary in the Philippines.  She studied international studies at the University of British Columbia and earned extra money for school being an extras on some of the many productions that were shooting there around the time.  Blink and you will definitely miss her in 2003's campy horror fun "Freddy Vs. Jason".  

She eventually relented and did some modeling just to pay some of her student debt (yeah, that student debt thing happens to even the most beautiful of us) and she goes from that the trying to acting roles.  She scores a small one on the show "Smallville" and then auditions for an ABC TV show set in Hawaii that changes her life forver.  That show, of course, was "LOST".

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In the role of a bankrobber marooned by the plane crash that kept the whole cast on that kooky, mysterious island, Lilly became a star.  She was a lead actress on a show and had no experience doing that at all.  To be able to do that, required a whole lot of guts.  "Lost" was one of the most chatted about dramas on TV during its run from 2004 through its spectacularly crappy finale in 2011 and millions of people watched the show every week.  Going from a non one to being a superstar on television freaked out Lilly a bit and pushed her back to missionary work in Rwanda for a while while she show was not taping.

"Over and over again, I've been called a walking oxymoron. I do things that you wouldn't associate with a good little Christian girl. People say I'm half-boy, half-girl. I love style and dressing up, but I've also got competitive testosterone and I'm incredibly stubborn. When I'm going for a jog and I come up behind a guy on his bike, I try to beat him, even if it kills me," Lilly said in an interview with Rolling Stone in the middle of all of the "Lost" insanity where she also had a relationship with castmate Dominic Monaghan.  In 2006, her rented home in Hawaii burns to the ground and she loses nearly all of her possessions and MAXIM votes her number two on their annual Hot 100 list.  In 2009, the reluctant model became the face of L'Oreal cosmetics.

After having her first child with her boyfriend Norman Mali, she played Hugh Jackman's main squeeze in a horrible robot boxing movie "Pure Steel".  From, there Lilly got another chance of a lifetime and she got to join the whole Lord of the Rings world.  She got to play an elf named Tauriel in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies".  A role liek that in a franchise like that?  Amazing stuff!  

Now, she is a firm member of the Marvel Universe with Ant-Man being a firm success and with the film itself announcing that Ant-Man will return.  Lilly is currently pregnant with her second child with her boyfriend Mali and is, according to the ending tagged onto the end of the summer blockbuster, up for being a superhero with her own suit meant to be like Douglas' late wife's "Wasp" suit.  Fans are salivating to see Lilly in that suit and are wondering how much longer we all have to wait to see a female hero kick some ass on her own in the Marvel canon.  Lilly is a fine choice for the wasp, given a career where she definitely has weathered the storm of fame and come out the other side with super roles and (hopefully) a fine partner and two great kids.  I can't wait to watch Lilly trim the baby weight off to kick more ass and show us all how strong and beautiful she is on screen again.  You gotta love a woman who can kick that much ass and look that hot while doing it.  I know I fucking do.