D&D: Honor Among Thieves: Sophia Lillis' Intense Training Was Completely Wasted
"Dungeons and Dragons" has always been about roleplaying the fantastical, but Sophia Lillis took things a bit further than required. Lillis plays the druid Doric in "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," a being with the ability to wield the magic of nature and who can even take the form of different animals. According to her castmates, Lillis studied a range of different animals in preparation for the role, even learning to emulate their movements. The only problem was, the animals were added in CGI, rendering her training useless.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Lillis' costars Michelle Rodriguez and Regè-Jean Page (who respectively play the barbarian Holga Kilgore and paladin Xenk Yendar, respectively) described the rigorous preparation she did for the role. "Sophia memorized the entire script before we started shooting," Page said, adding, "Did you know that Sophia also, like, studied all of the animals that she turns into? So, this is the tragedy of Sophia Lillis. Please, gather round, children."
But Lillis' painstaking preparation turned out to be for naught, as the animals Doric turns into were all added in post rather than motion captured. "She was a bit shattered when she found out they were all digital," Rodriguez said.
Sophia Lillis thought she'd give Andy Serkis a run for his money
While Sophia Lillis' animal training may seem like a fully wasted effort, it wasn't unreasonable of her to assume she'd be asked to put on a motion capture suit. As Regè-Jean Page explained, "She thought she was going to go full Andy Serkis on this and legit studied the movements of every animal she could turn into." Serkis is well known for his motion capture work with roles like Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" and Caesar the Ape in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," and Lillis clearly assumed similar work would be required of her for "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves."
Page, always a team player, thinks the extra training wasn't totally irrelevant, as it helped Lillis to embody the character of Doric to a much greater degree. Knowing how to behave like the animals she can become may have aided Lillis by allowing her to relate to the way a druid would exist in the world. "She's got that in the locker now," the "Bridgerton" star said. "And also, she's really humble about it. Because you've got all that just in the background of the character. Like, this is where the depths are."