Lily Collins names her favourite movies of all time
Whilst actor Lily Collins is better known as the daughter of the Genesis drummer Phil Collins, she is quickly rising the ranks of industry fame, becoming a celebrated performer in her own right. First appearing in the Oscar-winning drama The Blind Side in 2009, the actor is gradually growing in prominence, having worked with the likes of John Singleton, Bong Joon Ho and David Fincher ever since.
Despite success with such aforementioned names in the likes of Abduction, Okja and Mank, Collins is best known in contemporary circles for her turn in the Netflix TV series Emily in Paris. The comedy-drama, starring Collins as Emily, a young American woman hired by a marketing firm in Paris to provide them with an American perspective, is beloved by many and ironically applauded by others.
Still, like it or not, Netflix was happy with the response to it, renewing the show for season three, airing on December 21st, 2022. This has led Collins to become a recognisable star in contemporary popular culture, with many eager to hear her opinion on the latest TV and movies. Sitting down with Rotten Tomatoes in 2012, Collins gave fans just this, revealing her top five favourite films of all time.
First on her list is the iconic John Hughes coming-of-age movie, The Breakfast Club, starring Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald. A lover of many of his flicks, Collins states, “I was actually having trouble because I would say Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Breakfast Club, but that would be three. Of all three, Breakfast Club is my favorite. But those John Hughes films, with Molly Ringwald and the Brat Pack, those are my favorite grouped films”.
Collins finds it equally hard to pick just one Harry Potter movie as her favourite, eventually choosing the entire series. Trying to figure out which is the best of the eight, Collins states, “I wouldn’t necessarily know which. I mean, I love the Goblet of Fire. I don’t know. Maybe the Goblet of Fire,” continuing, she adds, “To me they just succeeded. I don’t know, I just love them so much”.
A little like her love for John Hughes’ Breakfast Club, Collins also loves the films of Richard Curtis, choosing the Christmas flick Love Actually as her pick for her third favourite movie. “That film I can watch any day and it makes me smile; and I love Christmas, so it kind of matches perfectly,” the actor says of the movie, which stars Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and Liam Neeson.
Taking the fourth spot is the adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen and Carey Mulligan. Speaking about the movie, she states: “I love sweeping British drama period pieces, and I hope that one day I can do one just like that because, to me, I love old English literature. And I’m a big Keira Knightley fan. It’s just so beautiful aesthetically and in terms of story”.
Lily Collins’ favourite movies:
- The Breakfast Club (John Hughes, 1985)
- Harry Potter series (Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, David Yates, 2001-2011,)
- Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003)
- Pride and Prejudice (Joe Wright, 2005)
- Sabrina (Billy Wilder, 1954)
Taking the final spot on her list is the Billy Wilder movie Sabrina from 1954, a film that tells the story of a playboy who becomes interested in the daughter of his family’s chauffeur, starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. “It’s just such a classic, and I love black and white,” Collins says of the movie, picking out Hepburn as one of her favourite actors, adding, “She is just someone I’ve always admired. She says so much without saying anything at all”.
