ASSIGNMENT X: Exclusive Interview: HELL ON WHEELS actress Dominique McElligott on the AMC series
December 19th, 2011
by ABBIE BERNSTEIN
In AMC’s post-Civil War Western HELL ON WHEELS ... the railroad-building camp is primarily populated by men. One exception to this is Lily Bell, played by Dominique McElligott. Lily is the English wife of an American railroad surveyor – she has been widowed when her husband was killed by the anti-railroad local tribe. However, she’s a force to be reckoned with on her own.
McElligott (pronounced mick-el-i-cot), who is Irish, has been visible as a variety of nationalities this year. In BLACKTHORN, she plays American Etta Place, and in THE GUARD, which just garnered a Golden Globe nomination for leading man Brendan Gleeson, McElligott portrays a prostitute from Dublin. The globe-trotting actress talks about Lily and her other acting adventures...
... AX: How would you describe Lily as a character?
McELLIGOTT: "Lily is no shrinking violet. She’s this Englishwoman, educated, cultured and when she comes over to America, it’s a ballsy move for someone of her class and the etiquette of that day, very unlikely that she would do such a thing. She met her husband in England and he’s American and she’s come back with him to help him with his work. He’s a surveyor on the railroad and one of [railroad owner] Durant’s main men, really, and he passes away, obviously, and she’s left on her own. So from the very beginning, you see that there’s a spark in here that’s something that’s a little bit more. She has a little bit more fire in her and she’s a feisty woman and she learns to deal with a lot. She’s got a lot of strength..."
The next NEW episode of Hell on Wheels, 'Derailed,' airs Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 10/9C on AMC.
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