Found! It's been a while since former Lost star Evangeline Lilly was last in the public eye, so her appearance at the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts Inaugural Gala in Beverly Hills on Thursday, Oct. 17 was unexpected and especially delightful.
Though she cut off her signature long wavy locks nearly a year ago — a look she sported for years to remain true to her TV character's stranded-on-an-isle plight — her short hairstyle, which has grown into a becoming shaggy bob, still comes as a surprise on the red carpet. Lilly, 34, complemented her no-nonsense 'do by wearing a shiny maroon pantsuit by Moschino (with no shirt underneath!) and Greymar heels.
In an interview with Hitfix, published Oct. 16 but conducted in 2012 on the set of her new movie, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the actress revealed why she chopped off her hair. "I just like short hair on women, I think it's cool," she said, explaining that she would have cut it earlier had she not been contracted to keep it long for her Lost role and then, later, for a cosmetic endorsement campaign.
For her role as Tauriel in Peter Jackson's Hobbit sequel, she wears a long wig — and big ears, of course (Tauriel is an Elf). "I love them , they're huge!," she said of her fake appendages. "They're like three times the size of Orlando Bloom's ears. And I think he has ear envy." It's rumored that her character has a romance with Bloom's Legolas in the new movie.
While Lilly — who has a 2-year-old son, Kahekili, with boyfriend Norman Kali — will certainly have her hands full promoting Hobbit 2, in theaters Dec. 13, she managed to squeeze in a pet project. On Oct. 16, anti-federal surveillance advocacy groups released a new video narrated by Lilly. "Say no to #NSAspying," she tweeted on Oct. 18.
