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Dec 13, 2009 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

English model Lily Cole has appeared on the covers of the world’s top fashion magazines and has been working with renowned photographers and designers since she was 14 years old. Rubbing shoulders with artists and celebrities is nothing new to her, but she’s a relative newcomer to films. When she auditioned for the role of Valentina in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, she didn’t know that the part would require her to share scenes with revered thespian Christopher Plummer, or that the film would give her the opportunity to dance with one of her favorite musicians, Tom Waits. Least of all, Cole had no idea that she would be the last screen actress to perform opposite Heath Ledger.

Valentina is the 15-year-old daughter of Doctor Parnassus (Plummer), an elderly, spiritual man who throughout time has been lured into wagers with the devil, aka Mr. Nick (Waits). Parnassus has a supernatural gift for guiding the imaginations of others, but he’s been cursed by Mr. Nick with immortality. When Parnassus falls in love with a beautiful woman (also played by Cole), he makes a pact with Mr. Nick, trading his immortality for youth, on the condition that his daughter becomes Mr. Nick’s possession when she turns 16. When the film begins, Valentina’s 16th birthday is days away. She and her father are living from hand to mouth in present-day London as part of a small troupe of vaudevillian performers. They drive about the city in a truck with a fold-up stage in back and invite passersby to step through a magic mirror, where Parnassus will guide them through fantastical journeys of their subconscious. Along their travels, Parnassus and Valentina happen upon Tony (Ledger), a desolate stranger who helps to modernize their show and boost their earnings. Valentina is charmed by Tony, but his past is shrouded, and he might be a wrench in Parnassus’ plan to save Valentina from Mr. Nick.

After the London scenes for Parnassus were completed, Cole and Ledger flew to New York during a short break in production. Parting ways in New York, they were to reconvene in Vancouver to shoot the film’s fantasy sequences, but days later Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. In saving the production and Ledger’s performance, Gilliam revised a portion of the script so that characters’ faces could change when they stepped behind Parnassus’ mirror, allowing Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Ferrell to complete Ledger’s part. Consequently, Cole’s most intimate scenes with Tony were filmed opposite Ferrell.

I spoke with Cole in Beverly Hills in November, the day after she attended the U.S. premiere of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus at the 2009 AFI Fest. As typical as it is for fashion models to be statuesque, Cole’s height in person is striking, perhaps because she plays a 15-year-old in Parnassus, or maybe because faces such as hers and fellow model Gemma Ward’s are distinguished for their doll-like features. Last year, Cole caused a stir when she appeared in pigtails on the cover of French Playboy clutching a teddy bear and wearing nothing more than ankle-high socks. Conservative groups reacted by lobbying for Cole to be released from her contract with British retailer Marks & Spencer, but the company didn’t buckle to the public pressure. At the time, Cole had begun her first year of art history studies at Cambridge. In early 2010, she will star for director Mary Harron in the film adaptation of Rachel Klein’s novel The Moth Diaries. Although Cole is cagey about her role in the film during our interview, she will play the part of Ernessa, the mysterious teen beauty accused of being a vampire.

What was your screen test like for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?

It was OK. I had spoken with Terry at length for a few hours, and then he put me on tape for a few scenes. It was obviously good enough that he put me in this role and thought that I could act with it, but I don’t think it was anything extraordinary, because I really hadn’t figured out the character or the other characters. Not much preliminary work had been done on this at all.

As a model, you’ve been described as having a doll look, and that image is played up in the film. Did you have any reservations about that?

For a lot of the scenes, I’m just dirty, like a gypsy. So I don’t think that in all the scenes I’m dressed up like a theater performer. You have to work within your means, and if my background helped me get to make a film like this and work with people like this, then I’m not going to say no because of that aspect of it. I just kinda count myself lucky.

Were you aware of any other talent that was attached to the film when you tested?

No, but when they offered me the part, they told me that Christopher and Heath were attached.

In the film, you play a 15-year-old. Did you bring anything from your teen experience to the role?

The girl that I’m playing has such a different lifestyle to me. She lives in this isolated, gypsy kind of environment that’s very unfamiliar to me. She has a lack of freedom, whereas I had a lot of freedom in my childhood. But the yearning and the rebelliousness, the wanting to break away from home but still being loyal to and loving your family, that dialogue, I think, everybody can relate to, and I’m sure I brought [that] to it.

Have you seen the finished film?

Yeah.

What was your reaction when you first saw your scenes with Heath?

It made me really moved and touched, and very sad. I hadn’t seen him in over a year, and I’d been so hurt by what had happened, as had everybody on the film. Though, in a funny way, it was really nice to see him on screen again and see him playing a character that was so familiar to me.

There’s a fair amount of physicality to your role. You throw a few punches, get tossed around, you dance. Does the physicality in acting feel much different than in modeling?

Sometimes you have to do shoots where you’re jumping around and they’re looking for a moment, but I guess the difference with acting is that you have to aspire to have continuity and be a lot more real. Whereas modeling, you might jump backwards and forwards all day [laughs], and if you were to film that, it wouldn’t make any logical sense. The movements in acting need to be really relevant to what you’re doing.

How did you prepare mentally for working with such experienced and esteemed actors and artists?

I did my own preparation. I invested myself into thinking about who this girl was, and reading books that might be relevant, watching movies that might be a good influence—playing with different ideas of what she could be performing on the stage. That was all ambiguous fodder that I could try and take with me and then be on set and hopefully turn into something. With regards to the other actors, I was definitely intimidated by being so young and so new and being with such talented and experienced actors, and having such a huge role to play against them. But I just took the challenge and put my all into it.

Heath Ledger and Lily Cole in a scene from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Was there anyone in particular who took you under his wing?

I’m inclined to say Heath, just because he was so supportive, and I really felt that. Not that he gave me any kind of specific tips, but he gave me this voice work guy Gerry Grennell to work with me. He had a conversation with me before about being nervous and would encourage me when I’d done well and tell me, “I’m really proud of you,” and would give me 100 percent even if the camera wasn’t on him, trying different ways to pull out of me whatever I needed to do—read through scenes before, if that was helpful. He wanted the best for everybody on set, and I really felt that support.

What’s the status of your studies at Cambridge?

I’m in my second year. I just took a week out to come out here and promote this. But yeah, I’m in the middle of my second year. It’s a three-year course.

You’ve appeared in music videos for notable acts, including Primal Scream. Who are some of your favorite bands or musicians?

Of new bands, I love Sunset Rubdown. Modest Mouse, I really like. Beirut, I love. Bon Iver. I like people like Tom Waits and Bjork and Radiohead, that go back generationally. The Knife, I love them.

Did you get much rehearsal time for your tango with Tom Waits?

Yeah, we did rehearsals in a trailer to his music, which I think he was horrified to be dancing to.

Whose decision was that?

I think probably Terry’s. But it was quite funny [laughs], and I think I might be the only person to dance with him to his music.

Lily Cole as Doctor Parnassus’ daughter Valentina.

Were you surprised by the controversy surrounding your Playboy cover shoot?

To an extent. I didn’t really follow it too much, but I hear feedback. Models have done much more revealing shots than that. I’ve done more revealing shots than that here. You actually don’t see anything of me the whole shoot because I’m always covering myself in some way. I think the media just enjoyed that kind of sensationalism. I know why I did it, so I just kind of ignore that.

What can you tell me about the upcoming projects you have?

Well, I’m finishing school, [laughs] my priority. And then I’m just doing a film with Mary Harron at the beginning of next year. It’s based on a book called The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein, and it’s set in a boarding school. There’s a girl. It’s told from the point of view of another girl, and it could be that she’s psychologically putting these ideas onto this girl, or that she really is a vampire.

Have you had to turn down any offers because of school?

Not so, explicitly, but I haven’t really gone up for things that tend to clash, unless I really love them and I’d be willing to sacrifice school.

www.sonyclassics.com/theimaginariumofdoctorparnassus