Actress Lilah Fitzgerald chatted about “Lucky Hank” and being a part of the “Monster High” movies.
How was “Lucky Hank” for you?
Lucky Hank was a surreal experience for me. It’s the exact sort of show I both love to
watch and have dreamed of being cast in: a comedy steeped in human emotion. Not to mention I got to work with someone as established and talented as Bob Odenkirk.
When I first auditioned, I honestly didn’t think I had a chance of booking it. I assumed
they would hire a bigger name, or someone older, or someone who was simply better
than me.
Landing the role left me feeling both surprise and boundless excitement—especially because Ava, my character, is such an entertaining person to portray. I was, of course, terrified on my first day.
Despite the fact that I’ve been acting for more than half my life, I still get nervous before stepping onto any set—but the nerves before a show like “Lucky Hank” are off the charts.
Luckily for me, everyone on set was incredibly humble, hilarious, and kind. It’s one of the greatest shows I’ve been on—I’ll be grateful for the opportunity for the rest of my life.
How was your experience in “Monster High” and “Monster High 2”?
Working on the “Monster High” movies has been a true full circle experience for me.
Growing up, my sister and I loved playing with our “Monster High” dolls. Spending almost three hours in hair and makeup each day I got to watch myself slowly transform into the real life version of a doll that was so important in my childhood.
It feels like the culmination of eight-year-old me’s wildest dreams. I’m honored that I get to be part of inspiring the next generation of “Monster High” fans.
The most fun part of the movies, in my opinion, is the musical aspect. Not only do I get to be part of a movie that helps kids believe in themselves, I get to do it while singing and dancing. I think the world needs more lightness, and the joy we all felt while filming really shines through on screen.
What did you like most about your character Ghoulia?
What I like most about Ghoulia is that she never worries about fitting in. She speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to be loud and take up space. I think that’s something that needs to be encouraged in little girls. Girls are taught at a young age to be polite and not bother people, but confidence needs to be fostered and commended.
What I liked most on a smaller scale, however, was getting buried alive in a shallow
grave. It’s definitely a unique experience, and makes for a great story when I hold back the context of being on a movie set at the time.
How does it feel to be an actress in the digital age? (Now with streaming and
technology being so prevalent)
The hardest piece is social media. Not only are actors performing on sets, now we’re
performing every single day for followers. It’s already hard enough to put ourselves on camera knowing people are going to judge us, but with social media we’re facing that hate every day.
For performers, social media isn’t a fun way to connect with friends, it’s a business portfolio that needs to be constantly updated and maintained. Social media, and streaming, has created faster trend cycles. Now actors are grasping for anything and everything we can get our hands on to stay relevant. I’m glad to see some streaming services returning to a slow rollout of shows—while binging is fun, it’s upsetting to see a project that was months in the making become old news after a single
week.
Streaming in and of itself is both very good and very bad for actors. On the bad side, so many projects are straight to streaming now that the age of true movie stars is almost phasing out.
Being cast in a Hollywood blockbuster is becoming a more and more intangible dream every day—I’m honestly not sure how long movie theaters will even exist with streaming taking the forefront in entertainment. But the good part of streaming is that it’s created so much more content.
New shows are being created every single day, and the chance to land a breakout role in a tv show has increased dramatically.
All in all, I would say technology has made breaking into the industry both more
accessible and harder than ever. We can be discovered and made famous through a
single TikTok, but the pressure to constantly perform for the world with no rest is
dangerous.
What do your plans for the future include?
At this point, my plans consist of writing, writing, and more writing. My debut young
adult novel “Stars & Swashbucklers” is releasing on April 4th everywhere you buy books, kicking off with a live launch at Chevalier’s Books, the oldest indie bookstore in Los Angeles.
It’s the first installment in The Last Montmorency Saga, the first of many series I
plan to write, all set in the Broken World. The Last Montmorency Saga will have seven books, as well as four spin-offs exploring the backstory behind some of the characters, and many many prequels set in the same world.
My stories chronicle the pseudo-history of the Broken World in reverse—starting with The Last Montmorency Saga, and working my way backward through the many wars and revolutions, all the way to the shattering of the earth.
Outside of Broken World novels, I also hope to write for film and tv. Acting has been
present in my life for years and years, and as grateful as I am for the many opportunities I have had, I’m ready to create my own stories to tell on screen. Be that through a film adaptation of Stars & Swashbucklers or one of the scripts lying in wait on my laptop, I’m not quite sure yet—but I’m excited to see where I go in the film and tv world next.
Can you tell us more about your new book?
“Stars & Swashbucklers” takes place in a fantasy future where the earth has shattered into islands dangling between the stars. Ships sail the sky like they used to sail the sea, privateers abound, and Beings reside in the magical Mysts between islands.
Anya Marcox, our protagonist, is stuck in steerage aboard a luxury cruise ship sailing across the islands. But sneaking off her ship leaves her entangled with both a conspiracy to find a powerful relic, and the dashing thief heading the search. Thrust into the life of a privateer, Anya must navigate not only the stars but magic, royalty, and—worst of all—her own heart.
I planned for the book to be a hard sci-fi novel, but it spiraled into the fantasy genre very early in the writing process. With a blend of futuristic space travel and enchanted relics, “Stars & Swashbucklers” is a space opera set in a world with magic in its bones.
Although writing “Stars & Swashbucklers” was an escape from reality, the monsters I battle in my day-to-day life took on fantastical faces within the pages without me even realizing. OCD haunts my brain daily, and the whispers that haunt Anya are merely a magical version of real mental health challenges that many people experience.
I hope my book can be both an escape and a weapon in the hands of girls like Anya; girls who burn brighter than any of the stars even though the world has tried to dim their flame; average girls who would do anything to be something more; girls who fight the monsters in their minds every day, and just need someone to reassure them that, in the end, they will slay their dragons.
What would you like to tell our readers about “Monster High”? (What’s the one thing
you want them to get out of it)
The most important thing I hope people get out of “Monster High” is that what we
perceive as our flaws can be our greatest strengths. There’s so much pressure on youth to be perfect, to be quiet, to conform to exactly what society expects them to be.
Being unique and wholly ourselves is the only way to push the world forward. Kids are the future, and the future needs to be diverse and truthful and kind. I hope the acceptance of everyone’s differences in Monster High can transfer into the real world
To learn more about rising actress Lilah Fitzgerald, follow her on Instagram.
