Lily Brooks O'Briant Interview: Life By Ella (2024)

Life By Ella just dropped all 10 episodes of its first season on Apple TV+, and it is the perfect family show to watch this weekend. Starring Lily Brooks O'Briant (who first made a splash on the national tour of Matilda) as the titular character, the series centers on 13-year-old Ella's decision to seize the day every day after surviving her bout with cancer.

Despite dealing with some heavy material, Life By Ella takes the same optimistic approach to its story as the young Ella does. With her family and her best friend Kai (played by Artyon Celestine) by her side, she's determined not to let school politics and social drama weigh her down. The series also stars Kevin Rahm, Mary Faber, and Aidan Wallace as her parents and brother respectively, and Vanessa Carrasco as her frienemy Ximena.

Related:

Screen Rant spoke to O'Briant about her journey from theater to film and television, taking inspiration from Life By Ella for her own personal outlook, and hoping for a second season.

I have to say Matilda was my favorite movie as a child, so you have been living my dream of being in the musical production. How did you go from musical theater to Apple TV?

Lily Brooks O'Briant: I love Matilda. I'm so grateful that I got to play her on the national tour. It was such an incredible experience.

I started out in theater when I was really, really little. I was four or five, and my mom took me to go see a theater production. At intermission, I turned to my mom and was like, "That is what I want to do." My mom took me into some theater summer camps, and I did community theater for a while. Then at some point, I think because I was watching a lot of TV when I was seven or eight, I was like, "You know what? I want to do film and TV too."

Every single day for about a year, I was like, "Mom, can I please do film and TV?" And everyday, she would come up with a different excuse to not do it because she didn't know what to do. She was like, "I don't know how to deal with that," because it wasn't something that we were used to. Finally, we were driving to Disneyland, and my dad told my mom, "She's never gonna give this up." So, I went and did a couple of auditions, and I did extra work. I booked my first movie, which was Shark Lake.

Then I played Matilda and went back to theater for a little bit. And the next thing I did after Matilda was Netflix's The Big Show Show, where I played Mandy. I feel like that was such an amazing transition from theater to film and television, because I still had that audience aspect of it. It was a sitcom, so every Friday, we filmed in front of a live audience. We still had that fun audience interaction and energy that you would get when doing theater. But I love both. I could do theater every single day in my life, but I could also do film and TV. I'm just grateful that I get to do it all.

You have the best of both worlds. Even with a pre-produced series, such as Life By Ella, you will get plenty of online responses after the fact.

Lily Brooks O'Briant: It was amazing on Life By Ella, especially because the story is so important. I was doing a scene with one of my costars, Vanessa [Carrasco], and it was a really emotional scene. We walked out when we were finally done filming the scene, and everyone was crying. And I was like, "What? happened" They were like, "That was so beautiful!" And I was like, "Stop, you're gonna make me cry."

It was so great to see their reactions, because obviously with film and TV, you don't get that immediate response or know how people are going to take the show; if people are going to like it or not. But filming and having that support from our crew and the other actors was just amazing.

When it came to your response while reading the script, what was it that stuck out to you the most and made you want to play Ella?

Lily Brooks O'Briant: Just the heart of the story. It's a comedy, but it's for family. They make this deep and emotional story fun. And I love that because Ella's outlook on life isn't, "My life is so sad because I have cancer." She has made the best out of a bad situation, and I love that so much about this story. She's taken this traumatic experience that she's gone through and turned it into something beautiful. I absolutely love that about my character because going through cancer, she realized that you only have one chance to live life, and she isn't going to let anything stand in the way of living her best life.

I've learned a lot from her, especially about living life to the fullest and being in the moment constantly. I'm just enjoying everything.

I also love Ella's friendship with Kai, which is such a sweet part of the story as well. Can you talk about working with Artyon Celestine and developing that bond?

Lily Brooks O'Briant: Of course! We actually met for the first time over Zoom. As soon as we started filming, we had a bunch of scenes together. And it was so much fun, because the first time that we actually met in person, we were filming a scene together where we were playing best friends. And I felt so great about filming these scenes with him, because immediately it just felt like we were really best friends. I felt like I could tell him anything. During lunch, we would sit and talk about our lives and get to know each other. I just love working with him, and he's the most supportive actor and person ever. Just being there for each other through scenes and through hard days and emotional days is great.

Something funny is that when Artyon has long days, where he's in a lot of scenes, he calls them "Lily days." I didn't know what that meant until the end of filming. I was like, "What does Lily day mean?" And he said, "It's when I'm in like every scene." [Laughs] Because a lot of the time, I was filming, and I was going scene to scene to scene. It was a lot! So, when Artyon had long days, he'd be like, "I'm having a Lily day."

That is actually something to be proud of, because you have so much weight on your shoulders as the lead of a show like this. And it's also something you're accustomed to at this point in your career. How do you take on that burden, and what's the most challenging or rewarding aspect of it?

Lily Brooks O'Briant: There's definitely hard parts about it, and it's a lot of pressure. But telling a story like this, I just know how incredibly important it is. And I was in it 100% When I booked this role, I was like, "This is so important. I'm going to do everything that I possibly can to tell this story the most accurate and honest way possible." So, I did a lot of preparations for the role. I cut my hair, which was scary, but I'm so glad I did it; it was so worth it.

It is a lot of pressure, and some days it can be a lot. But I am so grateful for every moment of it, because I've learned so much from this experience. I've made so many friends and learned a lot from the crew members and from other actors on the set. I just am so grateful that I had this opportunity to lead an incredible show and story.

You have a musical guest in episode 6, Hayley Kiyoko, so you are again living my dream life. What was that experience like? What is she like off the stage?

Lily Brooks O'Briant: She is the sweetest human ever. I think we had one or two days of filming together, and she was just the sweetest person I have ever met in my life. My sister is a big fan of hers, and she actually made a video for my sister, who was at school. She made like a quick little video for my sister, and we tried to FaceTime her, but she didn't answer. [Laughs] She's just so kind and was the most amazing scene partner as well. She's an incredible actress.

You also mentioned your work on The Big Show Show with, of course, Big Show himself: Paul Wight. What was working with him like, and what did you learn from that experience that you took into Life By Ella?

Lily Brooks O'Briant: Working on The Big Show Show, I learned a lot about comedic timing. I wasn't really big in comedy before I booked it, as I did mostly drama. I never thought in a million years that I would book a comedy, because that was always something that I felt I needed to work on; to learn more about comedy and comedic timing. Being on The Big Show Show was a hands-on experience with the amazing Allison Munn and Juliet Donenfeld and Reylynn Caster—and Big Show, of course.

I learned so much about comedic timing working there, which I was really able to bring to Life By Ella. As for Big Show, I was so nervous to work with him because he was like this scary wrestler in his wrestling videos. I was like, "He is terrifying!" But when I first met him, he was the sweetest, gentlest, kindest person ever. He really just treated me and Reylynn and Juliet like we were his real daughters. He's honestly one big teddy bear, though he can be scary at times. You don't want to be there when he brings out the scary. [Laughs]

Finally, I hope we get more Life By Ella. What aspects of her life—whether it's school, her family, or her friendships—would you like to delve into more deeply?

Lily Brooks O'Briant: Oh, I really hope we get a second season! I would really love to see Ella really explore her relationship with her brother even more. Because we see a lot of Grady this season, and I absolutely love Aiden [Wallace]. He's the most amazing actor, and I really feel like he's my little brother. I would love to see some more scenes between me and Grady, as well as with me and my parents in the show. I love all of the family scenes.

Life By Ella Synopsis

After a life-changing experience, 13-year-old Ella is eager to seize the day. As she learns to appreciate each moment, she faces the fears that once defined her — and encourages others to do the same.

All episodes of Life By Ella are currently available to stream on Apple TV+.