To say that Lily Collins could relate to her character in To the Bone would be an understatement. The actress, who plays a woman being treated for anorexia, revealed over the weekend that she too once suffered from eating disorders.
“This was definitely a more dramatic role for me. I suffered with eating disorders when I was a teenager as well,” Collins, 27, told IMDb Studio at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, January 22. “I wrote a book last year, and I wrote my chapter on my experiences a week before I got Marti’s script, and it was like the universe kind of putting these things in my sphere to help me face, kind of dead on, a fear that I used to have and a way to explain it as someone who’s gone through it and to open up a topic that is considered quite taboo with young people nowadays, male, female, and to really start a conversation.”
Collins lost weight for the Marti Noxon–directed drama, which also stars Keanu Reeves, with the help of a nutritionist. Still, the experience caused the star to “emotionally” revisit her past.
“But in a way that was the most safe, healthy way possible, with a nutritionist, and really to physically go there but also emotionally, and it did require a different set of emotional skills, to kind of go back in time for me, with you know, my experiences,” Collins explained to IMDb Studio. “So definitely a different type of film for me to do, very, very personal.”
Collins, daughter of singer Phil Collins and his ex-wife Jill Tavelman, received many well-wishes from fans following the interview and later took to Instagram to thank her supporters.
“Chilled to the bone but feeling so free. What a huge moment this is for me. Owning my past, being open, and having no shame or regrets about my experiences. Sharing my history with eating disorders and how personal this film has been is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,” she captioned a pic of herself jumping in the air. “Thank you for all your love and support. I’m sending all of mine right back (especially today!) and remember, you are never ever alone #Unfiltered…”
