Emilie de Ravin: From Lost Princess to Indie Queen
Emilie de Ravin by Mario Perez/ABC
Good luck forecasting
Emilie de Ravin's next big-screen role. The ambitious Aussie beauty, who TV fans best know as
Lost's Claire Littleton, this week is celebrating the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of
Ball Don't Lie, yet another edgy endeavor she can add to her resume alongside
Brick and
The Hills Have Eyes. TVGuide.com welcomed the chance to ask de Ravin about her latest "interesting" film role, her romantic comedy aspirations (if she has them) and, of course, the increasingly shaky outlook for
Lost's Claire.
- Matt Webb Mitovich
TVGuide.com: So, tell me not to worry about Claire.
De Ravin: To worry or not to worry.... What can I say? Oh, you know my lips have to be sealed, unfortunately.
TVGuide.com: Her pregnancy was positioned to be so significant to Lost's mythology, I always assumed she would be around for the long haul.
De Ravin: They're doing a lot of interesting things with my character, so I guess we will have to wait and see. [Chuckles]
TVGuide.com: Do you have any private, top-secret insight into why Baby Aaron is with Kate in the flash-forwards?
De Ravin: No! I'm very intrigued to find out why, though. That's one of the big questions I have right now. I always have at least one big question - and I never get answers until I get the script!
TVGuide.com: Was it hard saying goodbye to Dominic Monaghan (Charlie)?
De Ravin: It was hard in many ways. We had gotten so close working together. It was very sad, very emotional.
TVGuide.com: You must have thought that at some point they'd get to dive into their oft-stalled romance....
De Ravin: Yeah, but it got cut short, didn't it?
TVGuide.com: So, turning to your Tribeca Film Festival premiere, Ball Don't Lie: How does a pretty young thing like Emilie De Ravin fit into a teen boy's coming-of-age story set in the world of street basketball?
De Ravin: [
Laughs] I'm actually in the flashbacks, playing the boy's (newcomer Grayson Boucher) mother. There are a lot of flashbacks, a lot of back-and-forth. She's a bipolar prostitute, so she's got a lot going on.
TVGuide.com: But is she the bipolar prostitute with a heart of gold ?
De Ravin: With a heart of gold! She's a very sweet girl, but she's on the wrong side of the tracks.
TVGuide.com: This film features quite the ABC all-star team. Harold Perrineau (Lost), Richardo Chavira (Desperate Housewives), James Pickens Jr. (Grey's Anatomy)....
De Ravin: I know!
TVGuide.com: Was that coincidence, or did you all know someone who was putting this project together?
De Ravin: No, it was complete coincidence. It was funny when I heard that Harold was doing it because I never saw him on Lost. We had no work together.
TVGuide.com: Do you have any other films in the works?
De Ravin: I worked on a movie last summer called
The Perfect Game, which is a children's baseball movie based on a true story and set in the '30s.
TVGuide.com: How did you like the 1930s' sort of wardrobe?
De Ravin: Oh, it's amazing. My character's wardrobe and speech is based on Katharine Hepburn, so it was a lot of fun researching that.
TVGuide.com: I look at movies like Brick... you playing a bipolar prostitute.... Do you have any aspiration to be the romantic-comedy darling?
De Ravin: Oh, I'd like to do that as well. I'm just trying to explore everything. It's fun to mix it up as much as you can. I don't want to get pigeonholed in any one genre. I like to extend myself as much as I can and challenge myself.
TVGuide.com: A romantic comedy would probably be a day at the beach after the likes of chasing zombies with a pick axe.
De Ravin: [
Laughs] Exactly! It's a little bit different.
