Lily Elizabeth Harper (born July 15, 1995) is an American actress and dancer. Harper first gained notoriety in her starring role in the thriller The Willing alongside Jennifer Aniston and Robert Downey Jr. when she was eight. In 2007, she starred in the dance film With Rose's Hand alongside Channing Tatum. Her fame skyrocketed when she was cast as Lizzie Carter / MJ / Blindspot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Since then, Harper has reprised her role as Lizzie Carter in the following MCU films: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).
With cameos in the Black Panther (2018) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Harper and her co-star Chris Evans share the title of having the most appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. Harper's character, Lizzie Carter, is also the first MCU LGBTQ+ character to make an appearance in the MCU Universe. Following the launch of Disney +, producers for the mini-series Falcon and the Winter Soldier have revealed that Harper will have a part in the upcoming series. She is expected to return for the third installment of the Spider-Man movies.
Harper is set to star in an war action film alongside co-stars Tom Holland and Sebastian Stan due to release in 2021. Production was temporarily shut down in March of 2020.
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𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋'𝐒 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌.
— "The chemistry is completely genuine between Chris and I."
BY EVA TWYMAN 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟏𝟔 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒
Being a millionaire at 18—seems pretty great, right? Lily Harper knows better than anyone. With a net worth of $4 million, she seems to have left her mark on Hollywood in a short amount of time—but similar to her character, Lizzie Carter, in the famous Marvel Cinematic Universe, Harper does not seem to mind much of what the world thinks of her. She said that she learned from a young age that as long as you be your best self and always grow from your experiences, the rest will come in due time. Apparently, these are some wise words she received from her co-star, Robert Downey Jr., on their first movie together (The Willing, 2004) when Harper was nine.
While she is most known for her accredited role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier released a few weeks ago on April 4, Harper gained notoriety for her talent at dancing as well as acting at young age. A less known feat about the arrow-slinging heroine is that she is trained in hip-hop, tap, contemporary, and ballet. Her agent found her at eight during a talent-show for his own daughter back in Chicago, Illinois, and saw the potential Harper had to be a huge success. When sitting down with her, she had a laugh about all of the times on set when she would break out into dance alongside her co-stars (and best friend—again, DREAM!) Chris Evans and on-screen sister, Emily VanCamp.
ELLE: WITH THE RELEASE OF THE WINTER SOLDIER, WHAT HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN LIKE? THIS IS YOUR FIRST MCU MOVIE, HOW WAS IT TO JOIN THIS WORLD?
Lily Harper: The response was better than I was imagining, especially coming into a universe that was so well known as a character that could be received in so many ways. I fell in love with Lizzie the moment I walked into that audition room, though, so being able to share her with the world is such a gift. There was a lot of anticipation during production about whether or not the 'bomb' would be dropped on her nickname since there has not been any talks of a Spider-Man movie.
I was going to ask about that—so you're MJ. How did you come about getting ready for such a famous role like that one?
I never really saw Lizzie as MJ in that sense. It was a nickname that Steve and her family used a lot in the movie, but it was secondary in my mind. I always focused more on shaping Lizzie, and paying attention to the little ticks that could show the comparison in that nickname—being a little Peggy Junior—rather than comparing her to any variations of MJ done in the past. Kevin Feige and the Russo brothers both wanted to be sure that the nickname came from being Peggy Carter's niece and not the 'MJ' we would normally see in a Spider-Man movie. They are very different characters.
Speaking of Steve, what was it like to develop such a close relationship with another actor? Steve and Lizzie end up with a very father/daughter-esque dynamic by the end of the movie—what was it like finding that dynamic with Chris Evans?
The easiest thing in the world. Literally. In the entire experience working on this movie, working with Chris was—by far—the best and easiest part of all. The chemistry is completely genuine between Chris and I. We found that out during our chemistry readings, and it felt like I was bickering with my older brother. I was seventeen at the time, and immediately after, he was like "Do you drive? Want me to teach you some cool things?" and it was pretty much a downhill spiral of us messing around after that. He's got dibs on taking me out to a bar when I'm finally legal.
I love that. So much. Do you still see each other regularly?
Of course! I've noticed from a lot of my other work on movies that actors split after the production is finished, and then you have this awkward blip in time, then it's time for press and interviews. Sometimes it's awkward to find that relationship again with people you haven't seen in a while, but Chris and I will hang out all the time. We live pretty close to each other. Just makes for some really interesting interviews because we can never be serious.
Lizzie obviously isn't like many 13-year-olds and at the end of TWS, we see her put all of her training at S.H.I.E.L.D. to the test. How will we see the effects of the fight in TWS impact Lizzie in the future movies?
Lizzie's always projected this...maturity unlike anything I have ever seen before in films, and I worried for a while that it would be portrayed as an adult playing a kid, but the writing in this movie was incredible. The Battle at the Triskelion is definitely going to leave some residual scars on Lizzie, some PTSD, and maybe even some...drive? She saw the foundation of her family's legacy fall apart around her. With what happened with Bucky and Rumlow...I think she's definitely going to be changed from this experience. Maybe not completely, but definitely not as innocent and happy-go-lucky as we saw in TWS. She's a teenager in the middle of a war. What do you expect, y'know?
We learned that Lizzie has met Iron Man, Hawkeye, and obviously Captain America. Is there anyone in particular that you would love to work with in the future as Lizzie?
I would LOVE to see an interaction between Lizzie and the Asgardians. I think it would be so fun to see the dynamics between her and Thor, or even her and Loki. She has a way of charming even the hardest of hearts.
Like Fury? Or possibly The Winter Soldier in the future?
Who knows? [Laughs] I know about as much as you all do about Lizzie's future in the MCU Universe. I love playing her though, so I'm excited to see what is in store for her in the future.
Maybe a Spider-Man?
Maybe!
See profile:
lily ...
5, 585, 040 views Liked by tomholland13
lily the only reason why @emilyvancamp and i get along anymore is because we have to. here's a behind the scenes video of us on TWS from a few years ago when we couldn't finish any of our scenes without laughing. enjoy! ❤️
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emilyvancamp I miss my sister! Come back to me, bug.
↳ lily Soooooon. MCU misses their favorite sisters.
↳ marvel The BEST sisters.
April 4, 2015
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lily ...
Liked by imsebastianstan and 7, 293, 442 others
lily The Peter Parker to our MJ? The Spider-Man to our Blindspot...we all know who wears the pants... 💙❤️🕸🕷
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tomholland13 Definitely not Peter, he wears the tights.
↳ lily I'll protect you, Spidey. ❤️
June 25 2015
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lily ...
Liked by marvel and 8, 299, 201 others
lily I could've posted a picture from the red carpet. Then I saw this sign. Lizzie would be proud of me. I hope everyone enjoyed the premiere of Captain America: Civil War. So so happy to be back playing my girl...onto the next one...
Comment something Lizzie would say about standing next to this sign. I'll go: "Guess I should be standing next to it since I'm smoking...hot."
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April 13, 2016
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lily ...
Liked by cassadeewilson and 5, 203, 220 others
lily Enjoy this picture of Casey & Lizzie reunited in my apartment. We started it all, baby. So happy to bring LBGTQ+ representation to the MCU family. Lizzie loves you all. Happy Pride!
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cassadeewilson I love you Brooklyn. @tomholland13 just remember she was mine first, Queens.
↳ tomholland13 I ship it
emilyvancamp My pretty girls. Love u both.
June 28, 2016
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Interview w/ Chris Evans and Lily Harper
602, 060 views • Mar 12, 2014
Chris Evans and Lily Harper were two of the worst people to be in a room together, interviewed. Most everyone knew it, but unfortunately for interviewers, being two of the main-faces of the new MCU movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, that left the two actors left paired together for almost everything. They'd been sitting down in those chairs for their interview for too long—for one—and for two, they were going a bit stir-crazy. Chris was on his second coffee in the last hour, and Lily had taken it upon herself to start a competition with Chris where they would start out every interview with the last word used in the last interview—time was their word of this interview.
"The two of you are matching the poster," the interviewer, Sarah, said with a grin. Both Lily and Chris glanced over at the Cap's shield behind them, grinning. "Was this planned?"
"Time and time again, we do this," Chris sighed dramatically, throwing his hands up. However, he was unable to contain his immediate amusement, Lily struggling to contain her laughter next to him only setting the two of them into a fit that the interviewer didn't understand. "I'm sorry—I'm sorry. We, uh—"
Lily took over, throwing a hand out to his chest to interrupt him. "We have this thing going where we have to start out with the first word the last interview used. It's stupid—we're literally going insane over here."
"Well, I've just got a couple questions, hopefully they won't be too bad for you. I'll try and end this interview off with a good word—" Sarah said, and then she glanced down at her cue-cards. Lily and Chris were still grinning at each other, him nudging her with his elbow as he took a sip of coffee. "Well, for starters, you two obviously had to become close for your roles in this movie. Lizzie and Steve develop this very fast-paced friendship many are comparing to a father and daughter...how was that like for you? Was it a challenge to build that connection quickly?"
Lily shook her head. "I think how quickly we had to become close really reflected in the relationship between Lizzie and Steve. I mean, sometimes in these roles, you literally act the friendship down to a T, but...I don't know. The script was there, but so much of it came naturally for us—"
"—it always helps when you just have an immediate chemistry with someone, too. When she came in for the chemistry reading, everyone in the room just kind of knew. Good thing, too," Chris went on. " Her and Emily are freaky twins, so they were a perfect fit for this movie."
"I was just about to ask if the two of you were actually related," Sarah grinned, nodding her head as she glanced at a picture of the two next to one another at the premiere.
"Surprisingly, no," Lily denied. "Not that we know of, at least. We definitely argue like ones though. That's another one of those things that just kind of...happened. We didn't need to work to make that relationship seem real. It was just there from the get-go."
"So what's next for Lizzie Carter and Steve Rogers?"
"I don't know. I think...I think when we see Lizzie next, she'll have definitely grown up a lot more and that's going to be an adjustment for both the audience and for the characters closest to her, like Steve," she replied, pointing at Chris who nodded his head along to what she was saying. "Steve ended the movie making the deal that he would train her—'m eager to see just how much she's changed in training with him and SHIELD being taken down. She's got some new demons to fight that she's never experienced before, but...Lizzie's tough. And she has Steve."
Author's Note:
I....cannot. This took me so long, and I've been working on this for nearly twenty years it feels like. This is inspired by stilestastic after she did something similar in between parts of her Peter Parker story, Havoc. Go check it out! And I hope you guys enjoyed this little snippet. I know when I finish movies or shows, I always go and stalk the actors right after...well, here's Lizzie's actress, Lily. I'm hoping to do more of these after every part (coinciding with the movies and the years the parts were in).
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! (Disclaimer: the picture manips are not mine. Only the gif!)