WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
It will be pretty obvious from the following article that Lia McHugh did very little before taking on the role of Sprite in The Eternals where she acted alongside some rather big names in the acting world. Funnily enough before the film, Sprite was depicted as male in the comic books but since 2019, they are now depicted as both. Interestingly, Sprite is described as being mischievous but I never really got that from Lia’s performance of the character, but it was pretty obvious that she had a crush on Ikarus.
The Lodge
The first thing I have to say is that I cannot believe how much Lia grew up in the space of two years! It’s not clear how old her character of Mia is supposed to be in this film but she was 14 years old at the time but looks about 12. It is hard to comment on her acting in this as she has more of a bit part role compared to Riley Keough who plays Grace, the soon-to-be stepmom. There is however, a really touching moment between Mia and Aidan, her older brother, early in the film following the funeral of their mother. Mia has just kicked her father out of the room and while still in bed, crying her eyes out, Aidan comes in carrying his duvet and pillow to sleep on the floor of the room and takes his little sister’s hand as he lays down to sleep.
Tell Me Your Name
To avoid any confusion for anyone looking to watch this film after reading this article, you will find it titled Along Came the Devil. I’ll be honest, it feels like a little bit of cheat to use this film as it seems that Lia only stars in the first few minutes – playing the younger version of the lead character Ashley – but I stuck it out just in case there were any flashbacks. I wasn’t completely wrong. It is not a flashback when we see the young Ashley again, but a little flicker of a possible memory of her playing with her mother at a young age.
Songbird
I think a lot of people may find this film a little close to home, especially as there seems to be a recurrence of COVID in the recent weeks. The opening definitely reminded me of all the conspiracy theories and fake news that was floating around for about 2 years during the pandemic. Now unfortunately, Lia has a very small role in this film as it focus on different story lines – the relationship between Nico and Sarah, May and Dozer’s online connection and Piper and William’s illegal activity. Lia plays Piper and William’s unwell daughter Emma, whose life they are potentially putting in danger by gaining immunity passes for those who are not immune. Additionally, it seems that William has one himself even when he isn’t immune. What’s clever about this is that it turns out everyone story is connected in some way – and it is actually a lot more intense a film than I expected.
Honorary Mentions
Outside of the films mentioned above, Lia only starred in two other films so this won’t be much of an honorary mentions I’m afraid. A year before starring in Tell Me Your Name, she had roles in Hot Summer Nights where she was only credited as “Summer Bird Sister” and Totem where she played Abby.
