Lily Gladstone Strikes Hollywood Gold

Every awards season has its breakout star who really captures the heart of audiences. This year, that star is arguably Lily Gladstone. As Mollie Burkhart, the real-life Osage wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s duplicitous Ernest Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon, the Hollywood newcomer delivers a quietly powerful performance that’s earned her best actress nominations at both the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards. But life almost led Gladstone down a very different path. The Montana-born actor, who is of Blackfeet and Nez Perce heritage, was on the verge of registering for a course in data analytics when she received a request to meet with Killers director Martin Scorsese. After a lengthy audition process, she got a call that she had landed the part. It turns out Gladstone’s backup plan to work for the Department of Agriculture, tracking murder hornets, would have to wait. Here, Gladstone discusses her first acting job and her own history with the devastating story of the Osage Nation.

How did Killers of the Flower Moon come into your life?

Killers of the Flower Moon came into my life over a long period of time. The audition process took about two years because of Covid, and it’s been about two years since we finished filming. Martin Scorsese and I first met over Zoom; then I met with both Marty and Leonardo DiCaprio, but I never read the script with them. When my agent called me on December 1, 2020, I thought it was to schedule a chemistry read. Instead, it was an offer to play Mollie Burkhart, the lead of the film. And it also turned out that December 1 was Mollie Burkhart’s birthday!

Did you scream when you heard the news?

Oh, yeah. I threw my phone too.

Did you know the story of Flower Moon before you made the film?

I didn't know as much about the Reign of Terror as I knew about the Osage Nation. There’s a classic story that floats around Indian country of Osages having oil money and one man being sold a Rolls-Royce, driving it around the country until it runs out of gas, and then he just buys a new car. But the main reason I knew about the Osage Nation was, before I was an actress, I had aspirations to be a ballerina. And America’s first prima ballerina was Maria Tallchief, who was Osage. She had a very significant impact on American culture.

How did you switch from dancing to acting?

I was always told by my ballet teachers that I was their actress because I was very performative in my roles. I wasn't getting cast in roles like the Sugar Plum Fairy. I was getting the Rat King. I was very much a character actress.

What was your first paid acting job?

My very first paycheck was for $125 dollars as a featured extra as “a crying girl” in a small indie film called Here Come the Disco Boys. I was 12. This was when the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were huge. I was able to work up real tears in my audition, and they made me a crying girl. Screaming for the Disco Boys!

Did you have any real-life boy band crushes?

Lance Bass. Unfortunately, I think I was barking up the wrong tree. Still a gorgeous man, though!

Where was your first kiss?

I was freshman class president, and he was sophomore class president. He was popular. I was reluctantly popular. The kiss was at an Associated Student Body retreat. Just a quick, very nervous kiss. Girls cabin, boys cabin, overnight. We didn’t last.

Senior Style Editor: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Senior Fashion Market Editor and Menswear Director: Jenna Wojciechowski. Hair for portfolio by Mustafa Yanaz for Dyson at Art+Commerce; makeup for portfolio by Emi Kaneko for Tom Ford at Bryant Artists; manicures for portfolio by Michelle Saunders for Chanel. Set design by Peter Klein at Frank Reps. Special thanks to Ms. Bebe at Outfitters Wig Shop in Hollywood.

Produced by Connect the Dots; Executive Producer: Wes Olson; Producer: Zack Higginbottom; Production manager: Nicole Morra; Production coordinator: David Cahill; First photography assistant: Trevor Pikhart; Second photography assistant: Jeremy Eric Sinclair; Digital Technician: Brendan Pattengale; Postproduction by Lucas Rios Palazesi at Quickfix; Fashion assistants: Tori López, Tyler VanVranken, Molly Cody, India Reed, John Celaya, Kaamilah Thomas, Emily Cancelosi, Allie Kessler, Juliana Bassi, Karla Garcia, Jacqueline Chen, Cosima Croquet; Production assistants: Mateo Calvo, Aspen Miller, Nico Robledo, Griffin Koerner, Danielle Rouleau, Nicolo Battaglini, Juanes Montoya, Juan Calvo, Lily Cordingley, Nathan Gallie, Cameron Hoge, Jack Fahey, Cole Ewing, Karlie Ofstedahl; Hair assistants: Takao Hayashi, Andres Copeland; Makeup assistants: Amelia Berger, Willie Huang; Manicure assistants: Rachel Messick, Marissa Asprer; Set assistants: Christopher Crash Richard, Winston Willingham; Tailors: Irina Tshartaryan, Elma Click, Gayane Mnatsakanyan at Susie’s Custom Designs, Inc.