Actress Evangeline Lilly Flees Hollywood: 'God Has a Plan'

Evangeline Lilly on Legend of Destruction

Evangeline Lilly discusses why she joined Legend of Destruction, a film about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple. The story hooked her within seconds: it depicts a society so divided by internal conflict that its people are fighting one another even as Rome threatens the city.

Lilly sees parallels with modern divisions and inequality. She jokes that although technology changes, human nature does not: “There’s nothing new under the sun.”

A distinctive visual style

The film moves a camera across roughly 1,000–1,500 hand-painted digital oil paintings rather than using conventional animation. Lilly says the still images allowed her imagination to bring the story to life. She reflects that imagination feels connected to something divine.

Playing Queen Berenice

Lilly plays Queen Berenice, who is caught between Rome, an uprising among her people, and her love for Jerusalem. Berenice repeatedly faces painful sacrifices. The role also led Lilly to reflect on the difficult choices and sacrifices mothers make in everyday life.

Stepping away from acting

Lilly clarifies that she stepped away from acting in 2020, though the press focused on her decision after a 2024 retrospective. Giving up fame, money, influence, and the affirmation of success sometimes frightened her, but she says she felt convicted in her decision.

Before acting, Lilly had hoped to work as a humanitarian, missionary, or diplomat. After 22 years of hands-on humanitarian work in Rwanda, she wants to do more direct work with people, write her own stories, and support healing and spiritual growth.

She says she has always disliked fame and found it liberating to trust that God’s plan for her life need not involve wealth or power. Her health and happiness improved after she left the pressures of public life, and she says she has no regrets.

Lilly encourages viewers to watch Legend of Destruction, including with older children.

People appearing

• Evangeline Lilly
• An interviewer, not identified in the subtitles