Lily James opens up about late father

"Cinderella" actress Lily James has revealed the heartbreaking memory of losing her father aged 19 helped her relate to her latest film role.
Revealing the personal tragedy recently, Lily, 25, who also stars as Lady Rose in "Downton Abbey", said she identified well with Cinderella because her own father died while she was young, after battling cancer, reported Daily Mirror.
"I had a scene where I was told my dad had died, so it was really hard, but I feel what's important in the film is that Cinderella gains strength from her loss and that was something I could ... That was in me," James said.
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Speaking to the Sunday Times Style magazine, James, who stars alongside Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter in Kenneth Branagh's re-imagining of the classic fairytale, said processing her father's death would take "the whole of my life".
"That's sort of why my experience of drama school is pretty unique - it happened while I was there."
The actress, whose father was also an actor, added she was sad that he had not lived to see her success.
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