她身著漂亮的暗粉色長裙，從《唐頓莊園》的舞臺上款款走來，帶著幾分靈動，幾分俏皮，一顰一笑間流露出英國貴族的氣質(zhì)。正驚嘆間，她又搖身一變，穿上了美麗的水藍色連衣裙和流光溢彩的水晶鞋，與王子翩然起舞在富麗堂皇的宮殿里。你一定想知道，這個備受上天寵愛的女孩是誰？她就是英國新生代女演員莉莉·詹姆斯，是山谷中那清麗脫俗的百合花，也是已經(jīng)準備好要擁抱世界的“灰姑娘”。

不久前的一天（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2014年10月），我從倫敦驅(qū)車前往肯特郡的鄉(xiāng)下，與優(yōu)秀的年輕女演員莉莉·詹姆斯會面。大雨傾盆，把鮑頓蒙切爾西宅邸的石墻澆得更顯暗淡。這座宅邸是伊麗莎白時代的莊園大宅，莉莉此刻正身著一襲漂亮的暗粉色長裙，冒著風(fēng)雨在室外拍戲。她在《唐頓莊園》中飾演格蘭瑟姆姐妹的淘氣表親羅絲·麥克萊爾小姐。我穿過這座宅邸，一路經(jīng)過通風(fēng)良好的大廳、開放式樓梯、幾間寬敞的臥室和陳設(shè)考究的客廳，在書房的窗前駐足，看著樓下的莉莉。她是樂觀精神的化身。她當然可愛，但又不僅僅是可愛，她身上流露出一種對于魅力的堅信——你也可以稱之為對于可以變身成另一個人的單純的期冀。這種信念是童話故事的基石：總有一天，我的王子會到來；總有一天，我會擁有自己的大房子和隨之而來的仆從。

莉莉在肯尼思·布拉納執(zhí)導(dǎo)的迪士尼真人版電影《灰姑娘》中飾演同名女主角，剛剛結(jié)束該片的拍攝工作。“我不是那種自信滿滿的人?！蔽覀冏聛黹e聊時，她溫柔地說道。“可每個人都喜歡這個有機會參加舞會的女孩?！蔽艺f?！澳堑故钦娴?，”她說，“我可從來不想像有些演員那樣，悠閑地裝作這根本沒什么好激動的樣子。能夠得到這些機會真是棒極了。我希望能成為其他女孩的好榜樣，這大概意味著我得相信她們對我是有信心的。我想要尊重我們共同擁有的那個夢?！?/p>

莉莉今年25歲，出生于薩里郡。她擁有一個被她形容為“美好得不可思議的”童年，她非常愛自己的母親和兩個兄弟。（她的父親五年前因癌癥去世了。） 莉莉曾就讀于英國市政廳音樂與戲劇學(xué)院。她天生麗質(zhì)，具有那種決不會無視個人魅力的英國式進取心：她有多希望成功，就有多希望受人喜愛。經(jīng)過一系列令人難忘的舞臺演出后，莉莉與比莉·派佩聯(lián)袂出演了英國獨立電視臺的電視劇《應(yīng)召女郎的秘密日記》，之后在《唐頓莊園》里飾演的角色令她成為電視上最討人喜歡的淘氣貴族。不過，她飾演的灰姑娘將使她成為國際上最知名的年輕演員之一，隨之而來的將是受人贊賞，被人效仿，盛裝打扮，供人娛樂。她準備好了嗎？“我喜歡裝扮，”她說，“當別人給你穿漂亮衣服時，你會情不自禁地覺得自己很特別，你會感到很幸運。我覺得每個人都幻想著能擁有這樣的機會，不是嗎？”

我和莉莉聊天時忽然想到，也許世界上唯有英國才有“演藝皇族”這種說法。實際上，對英國大多數(shù)年輕人來說，瑪吉·史密斯女爵幾乎就像王室成員一樣，還有許多演員也是如此?！坝藢τ诒緡鴼v史有著強烈的感受，對我們而言，過去是一種真實的存在，”《唐頓莊園》的編劇朱利安·費洛斯這樣說道，“因此，當你選用像莉莉·詹姆斯這樣一個年輕貌美的現(xiàn)代女孩，再讓她穿上帶裙撐的裙子時，她立刻看上去就好像真的屬于那個圈子。這是真正的天賦?！?/p>

“英國的這些年輕演員和老演員合作得怎么樣？”我問。“非常好。《唐頓莊園》在表演方面的成功很大程度上與活力有關(guān)。你把莉莉這樣的年輕演員和佩內(nèi)洛普·威爾頓這樣經(jīng)驗豐富的演員放在一起，那種活力依然保持著，絲毫沒有減少。這樣的組合管用，而且充滿魅力。我認為魅力是一個人最重要的特質(zhì)。別去管什么階級。世上的人分成兩類，一類是讓人損耗精力的，另一類是發(fā)散熱量的——后者能給人溫暖。好演員有一種能力，能讓人們?yōu)樗麄兯萁巧钠D難處境牽腸掛肚。莉莉·詹姆斯就擁有這種能力?！?/p>

大約一周后，我來到克拉里奇酒店的“雪茄吧”（譯注：Fumoir是法語，原意為“熏制食品工場；吸煙室”），桌上的銀花瓶里插著一枝氣味芬芳的粉紅色玫瑰。隨后，莉莉·詹姆斯?jié)M面春風(fēng)地走了進來。燭光搖曳中，兩杯“莫斯科佬”雞尾酒被端上桌來。“一開始我對羅絲小姐[她在《唐頓莊園》里的角色]有些又愛又恨，”莉莉說，“那時的她似乎很淺薄，但是現(xiàn)在她在改變，盡管過去她的價值觀全是關(guān)于特權(quán)和享樂，但她學(xué)會了去關(guān)心更重要的事情。作為一個演員，你要努力去把握你所扮演的人物。”

“顯得壓抑克制是十分地道的英國人做派。”我說?！翱墒俏也幌矚g壓抑克制，”她說，“我想要率直坦誠，自由自在，快快樂樂，有什么就盡管說什么。我想你得當心點?！薄暗悄氵€是意識到了英國式的表演方法，對嗎？”“是的。我是說，我喜歡凱特·布蘭切特和艾米·亞當斯這類演員，可是看看瑪吉·史密斯吧，不只是現(xiàn)在，就算是看她當年扮演的苔絲德蒙娜（編注：莎士比亞悲劇《奧賽羅》中的女主人公）或在《加州套房》中的表演，你都會覺得，‘哇哦，她好性感，好有趣。她就是個楷模?！?/p>

在我們快喝完杯子里的酒時，莉莉講了一件與她哥哥查理有關(guān)的趣事。查理在天空體育臺工作，喜歡高爾夫?！扒耙魂嚕肴ビ^看高爾夫大師賽，但他不知道能否及時拿到簽證。我向你保證，我當時的想法是：‘我寧愿是他拿到簽證，而不是我得到灰姑娘這個角色！’”

“我必須提醒你，莉莉，那真是太貼心了。”“哦，可他真的熱愛高爾夫，他當時很想去?！薄懊總€人都有想要的東西，不是嗎？”我說。她嘆了口氣，撫了撫身上的薇斯萊斯牌女裝。“是的，”她說，“現(xiàn)在每件事都是一種新的體驗。我正在讀卡森·麥卡勒斯的小說《心是孤獨的獵手》。她23歲時寫了這本書。它的文字直白，不加掩飾，可是有這種偉大的傳統(tǒng)做她的后盾，有整個國家在她的左右，你就會想，‘哇哦，你所能期望的就是充分去欣賞這樣一部才華橫溢的作品?！?/p>

One day recently， I drove from London into the Kent countryside to meet the excellent young actress Lily James. Rain was rolling in and darkening the stone of Boughton Monchelsea Place， an Elizabethan manor house1）. Lily， who plays Lady Rose MacClare， naughty cousin of the Grantham girls in Downton Abbey， wasbraving2） the blustery3） weather in a beautiful dusky-pink dress. I walked through the house—the draughty hall， the open staircase， the large bedrooms and the well-appointed4） drawing-room—and stopped to look down at Lily from the library window. She is the very picture of optimism. Not merely lovely， though certainly that， she exudes5） a kind of faith in the idea of enchantment6）， a simple hope， you might say， in the possibility of changing from one person into another. Such a belief is a cornerstone7） of fairy tales： someday my prince will come； someday my house will come， and with it the servants.

Lily has just finished playing the title role in Disney's live-action Cinderella， directed by Kenneth Branagh. \"I'm not like some dynamo8） of self-confidence，\" she says sweetly when we sit down for a chat. \"But everybody roots for9） the girl who gets to go to the ball，\" I state. \"That's true，\" she says. \"And I never want to be one of those actors who sit around10） pretending it isn't totally exciting. It's wonderful to have these chances. I would like to be a decent example to other girls and that probably means believing in their belief in me. I want to respect the dream we're all having.\"

Lily is 25 years old and was born in Surrey. She had what she describes as a \"ridiculously lovely\" childhood， and she dotes11） on her mum and two brothers. （Her father died of cancer five years ago.） She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Lily has natural beauty and the kind of British ambition that doesn't ever forget about charm： she wants to be likeable as much as she wants to succeed. After a series of memorable stage appearances， Lily worked with Billie Piper in Secret Diary of a Call Girl on ITV， before her role in Downton made her television's most appealingly12） naughtyaristo13）. But her turn as Cinderella will make her one of the biggest young actors in the world， fêted14）， copied， dressed and papped15）. Is she ready？ \"I love to dress up，\" she says. \"You can't help but feel special when you're given something lovely to wear. And you feel lucky. I think everybody fantasises about having a chance like that， don't they？\"

Talking to Lily， it occurs to me that Britain is perhaps the only country in the world where one can speak of16） \"acting royalty\". Dame Maggie Smith17）， to all intents and purposes18）， seems royal to most young people in Britain， and so does a whole group of actors. \"The British have a strong sense of their own history and to us the past is a real place，\" says Downton's writer Julian Fellowes. \"So when you take a girl like Lily James—beautiful， young， modern—and put her in a crinoline19） dress， she immediately looks as if she belongs. That's a real gift.\"

\"And how do young and older British actors blend？\" I ask. \"Beautifully. A lot of the success of the acting in Downton is to do with energy. You put a young actor such as Lily next to a seasoned one like Penelope Wilton20） and the energy doesn't go down a single bit. It holds. And they work with charm. I think charm is the most important ingredient in a human being. Forget class. The world is split into drains and radiators—the latter give out warmth. Good actors have the ability to draw one into a state of concern over their character's predicament21）. That is what Lily James has.\"

When I turn up at the Fumoir Bar at Claridge's a week or so later， a single， sweet， pink rose sits on the table in a silver vase. Then Lily James arrives in the bar all smiles and the candles flicker and the Moscow Mules22） come after. \"I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Lady Rose [her character inDownton] at the start，\" says Lily. \"She seemed shallow. But she changes. Even though her values were about privilege and having a good time， she learned to care about bigger things. As an actor you struggle to take ownership of the people you're playing.\"

\"It's pretty English to appear repressed23），\" I say. \"But I don't want to be repressed，\" she says. \"I want to be open and free and happy and just get it all out. I suppose you have to be careful.\" \"But you're conscious of a British way of acting？\" \"Yes. I mean， I love the likes of Cate Blanchett24） and Amy Adams25）， but you look at Maggie Smith， not only now， but when she played Desdemona or was in California Suite， and you think， 'Wow， she's so sexy and funny. She's an exemplar26）.'\"

As we get to the bottom of our glasses she tells a wonderful story about her elder brother， Charlie， who works for Sky Sports and loves golf. \"A while ago， he wanted to go to the Masters and he wasn't sure if his visa would come in time. And I promise you， I was like， 'I'd rather he got his visa than I get Cinderella！'\"

\"I must warn you， Lily—that's very sweet.\" \"Oh， but he really loves his golf. He wanted to go.\" \"Everybody wants something， don't they？\" I say. She sighs and smoothes the material on her Whistles dress. \"Yes，\" she says. \"Everything's a new experience just now. I'm reading The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter， the novel by Carson McCullers27）. She wrote it when she was 23. There's a rawness28） to it and yet there's this great tradition behind her and this whole nation around her， and you think， 'Wow， all you can hope for is to do justice to29） the whole brilliant thing.'\"

1. manor house： <英>莊園主宅第，莊園大廈

2. brave [bre?v] vt. （通常為達到某目標）勇敢面對

3. blustery [?bl?st?ri] adj. 狂風(fēng)大作的，天氣惡劣的

4. well-appointed： （房間、建筑等）設(shè)備完善的，陳設(shè)講究的

5. exude [?ɡ?zju?d] vt. 充分顯露

6. enchantment [?n?t?ɑ?ntm?nt] n. 魅力

7. cornerstone [?k??n?st??n] n. 基石；基礎(chǔ)；最重要的部分

8. dynamo [?da?n?m??] n. 精力充沛的人

9. root for： 支持

10. sit around： 閑坐著；無所事事

11. dote [d??t] vi. 溺愛；寵愛；過分喜愛

12. appealingly [??pi?l??li] adv. 有吸引力地；有趣地；動人地

13. aristo ['?r?st??] n. <英口> （一個）貴族

14. fête [fe?t] vt. 贊譽；歡迎；敬慕

15. pap [p?p] n. （無藝術(shù)或教育價值的）娛樂節(jié)目或影片。這里用作動詞，指“被娛樂節(jié)目八卦”。

16. speak of： 談及；提及

17. Dame Maggie Smith： 瑪吉·史密斯女爵（1934～），英國著名女演員，一生從事演藝事業(yè)，獲得榮譽和獎項無數(shù)，是英國最受認可的演員之一。她曾在《哈利·波特》（Harry Potter）系列電影中出演米勒娃·麥格教授，在《唐頓莊園》中出演老伯爵夫人維奧莉特·克勞利。

18. to all intents and purposes： 在所有主要方面；實際上

19. crinoline [?kr?n?l?n] n. （19世紀的）襯裙，裙撐

20. Penelope Wilton： 佩內(nèi)洛普·威爾頓（1946～），英國演員，在《唐頓莊園》中出演男主角馬修·克勞利的母親伊索貝爾·克勞利。

21. predicament [pr??d?k?m?nt] n. 困境；艱難的處境；尷尬的境地

22. Moscow Mule： 莫斯科佬，一種雞尾酒

23. repressed [r??prest] adj. （感情、欲望）被壓抑的，受到抑制的

24. Cate Blanchett： 凱特·布蘭切特（1969～），澳大利亞演員，是奧斯卡影后。其代表作有《伊麗莎白》（Elizabeth）、《指環(huán)王》（The Lord of the Rings）三部曲等。在迪士尼真人版電影《灰姑娘》中，凱特·布蘭切特飾演灰姑娘的繼母。

25. Amy Adams： 艾米·亞當斯（1974～），美國演員、歌手，在2007年的童話電影《魔法奇緣》（Enchanted）中飾演公主。

26. exemplar [?ɡ?zemplɑ?（r）] n. 典范，榜樣

27. Carson McCullers： 卡森·麥卡勒斯（1917～1967），美國小說家，其代表作《心是孤獨的獵手》探索了美國南方一個小鎮(zhèn)上那些不幸的人和被排擠的人孤獨的精神世界。

28. rawness [r??n?s] n. （文字）不加掩飾，如實坦陳，反映真實情況

29. do justice to： 盡情享用；充分看到……的優(yōu)點