When speaking with India, you’re immediately hit with staggering vibrancy and warmth. Her smile could melt the coldest of hearts, and her glowing positivity is immediately encapsulating. Sitting down to discuss her latest role as Andy Bell in the Netflix series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder we’re struck with the stark difference between herself and the character she portrays. While Andy may put on the façade of the stereotypical popular/mean girl, Davies is the epitome of kindness. In love with love and hates when the main characters of romance stories don’t end up together (we’re looking at you, La La Land) it’s with this heart-on-your-sleeve earnest honesty, that rawness, and exposure of emotion, that makes her such a captivating actress to watch.
Love is the most honest emotion, Davies tells us. It’s everything. It connects us, and it’s the root of all stories. While she may be at the near-beginning of her career, there’s no doubt that with the way she bares herself to acting, her devotion to her craft, and the continued commitment to lead with love and give her everything, she will be a fixture on our screens for years to come.
In conversation with 1883 Magazine’s Dana Reboe, India Lillie Davies discusses the character of Andy Bell in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, her favourite scene to film in the show, what she loves about love, why it’s so important to be kind, what her hopes are for the future, and more.
You said in an interview with Design Scene that you’re in love with love. Can you elaborate on that? What is it about romance novels and seeing other people in love that brings you joy?
I’ve always had that within me. I’m quite an empathetic person. I love watching other people in love. I mean, it’s always been a thing since I was a kid. I would always be completely encapsulated by another couple or a couple with their kids and they’re all just in love. My mom owns a nursery. It’s amazing. I get to be with the kids and their families as well. You get to assess how different people love. I’ve always loved rom-coms. I know all of them. I’ve seen them all [laughs]. One day – I’m saying it here now I will be in a rom-com and it’ll be a good one.
Do you find that mindset and that joy helps influence your creative process?
For sure, with writing music, love is the biggest thing that everybody always writes about. It’s such a powerful emotion. And it opens up so many doors as well. You learn so much about yourself with the way that you love and the way that you see love. I think it’s so amazing.
Speaking of the creative process, you’re a triple threat. Actor, dancer, singer. When did that journey start for you? What inspired you along the way?
I first started singing. I have been singing since I was young. My dad plays the guitar, and he plays piano – he loves music. My parents always played music, and I would always sing along. I was always trying to perform. They put me in singing lessons and I wanted to be involved in all of the school shows. And that’s when acting started. I just fell in love with everything. I did ballet from a young age as well. I actually wanted to do musical theatre. You have to be good at dancing. So, I had to learn.
That being said: would you classify yourself as a musical theatre nerd?
I am [laughs]. I wouldn’t say ‘nerd’ because I know people who know 10 times more about musicals than I do. However, I love them. I will 100% go and see them.
Turning to your filmography, when you look back at your first gig on Call the Midwife, what did you learn about yourself? Do you have any distinct memories on set?
The casting for Call the Midwife was during lockdown and I actually did it with my real-life sister. It was our first job and we both booked it together. But I remember in the casting, we had to do a London sort of Cockney accent and I’d never done one before. My sister had and my mum could do it and they were all laughing because I couldn’t do it for a really long time [laughter]. And then I did, obviously get it right. But when I booked the job, I was like, “Oh my God, I need to get better at this accent.” It was my first time having to go in for a proper fitting for a show and try on so many different outfits. It was a different era, so the costumes were really cool. I was excited to be involved in something that I wanted to do. I was happy that I got to do it.
Absolutely. Congratulations on A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. You’re incredible in it. You’ve mentioned that you read all three books in preparation for the role.
What did you love about Andy Bell in the books that you tried to translate onto the screen?
I loved reading everything about her. When you get to the third book as well, there’s a lot to be discovered about her personality and her motives for what she was doing in book one. Because if you just take book one on its own, she’s quite a disliked character because she does a lot of things that go against the grain, that no one understands. But then when you read through the third book you do understand a lot about her and her motives. I wanted to take my knowledge of the third book, her deeper personality and I wanted to bring it into her. She wouldn’t have been thinking what everyone else was thinking in book one. She would have been doing it for the reasons of book three, you know? She’s kind of trying to be a hero, she’s trying to save people. She’s trying to do her own thing. She’s trying to save herself, and her sister.
I really loved the character and I loved playing her and I loved bringing her to life. I think that she comes across as quite confident. And with her confidence, there is also a layer behind her where she’s unsure of herself. She gives this confidence of knowing what she’s doing, but she’s actually shy and a bit naive. I think she’s also a bit of a hopeless romantic.
Being a hopeless romantic yourself, I have to ask: what are your favourite romance stories, whether in literature or films?
Oh, that’s so good. I mean, Romeo and Juliet, I love it and I hate it, because I want such a happy ending [laughs]. I want them together in the end. Yeah. Even La La Land, I love that film. And when they didn’t end up together? I literally was like, “Why? Why?” I felt my heart break. It was awful. I love all of them. Can I say that? [laughter]
I’d say that’s a valid answer.
I love all of them. The ones that don’t end up together, those I don’t like as much. Those ones kind of sting a little bit.
That’s totally fair. Can you talk a little bit about what the audition process was like for the show?
I actually did a Zoom, very similar to what we’re doing now. I did one sad scene, talking about Andy Bell. And I actually got halfway through doing the scene and I was like, I did it better about five minutes ago on my own. So, I stopped, and I just went, “I think I can do it better than the way I just did it. Can I go again?” Normally, I used to be quite shy to do that. I’m glad I did it again. And I did it 10 times better. I gave myself that chance to do it better. I did it. And that was it. It was very fast. I booked within the next two weeks, it’s a fast-moving production. It was great. I think it’s because we had to do a lot of art and props work. If you’re showing the life of someone you need, Instagram photos, Facebook photos, photos with this person, and there’s lots behind the scenes. I had to get in quite fast so that they could start filming the beginning bits.
That turnaround time is insane. Is there a particular scene that you filmed that stands out to you? What made it memorable?
I loved the scene in episode six with Raoul (Pattni) because it’s loving, it’s that kind of excitement and adrenaline that you get when you’re doing something that you really shouldn’t be doing, but you love him and you want it. I love that scene. And I loved working with Raoul on it. And the director as well. He was great. It was unbelievable watching it back. I got the emotion that I wanted in it. And I’m really proud of that one. I’m just proud of that scene.
As you should be. Other than the books, where did you draw inspiration for Andy? How did you make her your own?
I do tend to put a bit of myself into most of the characters I play. And I think in that way, I made her a little bit like me. You do, when you react to something, you’re like, “Okay, well, she’s going through this. How would that make me feel?” I did a little bit of that. And the book helped. Raoul, who was playing Sal, played him in a way that helped with the chemistry. You work off other people, I suppose, as well. I wanted there to be an innocence about her, because you’ve got the popular, cool schoolgirl who’s involved in drugs and this and that.
But actually, I reckon she’s innocent in the whole thing. I wanted to make sure that was in there. If there was anything else, I drew comparisons between Pretty Little Liars and Alison DiLaurentis. And, since the show’s come out, I’ve seen a few fan videos where they’ve stitched the two together. I was obsessed with Pretty Little Liars. So, there was a little bit of Alison in there, for sure.
When you look at your evolution as an artist, what is a piece of advice you’d give to somebody who wants to perform?
I think a lot about the behind-the-scenes, because performance, you can learn, you can do all of this, but I feel you won’t get anywhere in life without treating the people that you’re surrounded by, the way you’d like to be treated. On a set, you’re working together so closely with a lot of people. And it’s people that you don’t particularly know but you get to know. Just make sure that you always treat people with kindness. Be kind to everyone you meet, because you never know what they’re going through or what their story is, or where they’re going to go, or where you’re going to go. I don’t know, I think that in any job that you do, be as kind as you can to everyone that you can.
That’s a great answer. As you continue to grow your acting portfolio, what is a genre you’d like to dip your toe into that you haven’t already? You can’t say romance [laughter].
Action. I would love to do an action movie. I have done a little bit in Bridgerton, but I would like to do a period, like a Jane Austen-type thing as well. Jane Austen type thing, but action because I’ve always wanted to play Lara Croft, but obviously that’s already been done. But a Lara Croft-type role.
So lots of stunt work is what I’m hearing?
Yes, I want to be hands-on!
We’re manifesting that for you.
Thank you.
You’ve touched on balancing your music and acting careers. What fulfillment do you get from making music that you don’t get from acting and vice versa? What scratch does acting itch that music doesn’t?
Oh, great question. With music, I get to write about myself and my experiences. And I use it as a sort of therapy outlet. When I write songs, I tend to write songs that I really, really enjoy. And that I like to listen to myself, that kind of vibe. Acting, you don’t get that so much because you’re being somebody else. You have to find the parts of the character that you resonate with. But then, you know, a lot of the time, there are parts where you’re like, “Why would she do that? Let’s find out why she’d do that.” Whereas with me, in music, you can just be yourself, you can write about whatever you want. Also, in acting, it’s someone else’s words. I love being a part of a completely different world. I get to play dress up professionally. And I love it.
And lastly, what does the future hold for you? What is your biggest hope, moving forward?
My biggest hope is, I want to keep continuing to do both music and acting. I hope it goes somewhere exciting and fun. I feel like I’m just at the beginning of my career and my journey. I’m so excited to see where it goes. I hope that I book another amazing, exciting action film or romance, that I get to be on all of your screens, and you can watch it.
Interview Dana Reboe
Photography Jemima Marriott
Styling Jo Shippen
Hair Tarik Bennafla @ Stella Creative Artists using Redken
Makeup Lucy Wearing
Photography Assistant Lee Furnival
