She got Hollywood’s attention with Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women” in 2016, an audition offered to her with the help of fellow University of Montana grad Rene Haynes. In it, she played Jamie, a ranch hand and dog owner whose isolation leads her to bond with a law class instructor, played by Kirsten Stewart. As Ebert’s own Brian Tallerico pointed out in his review, it’s what Gladstone doesn’t say that makes her performance so special.
After her breakout in “Certain Women” and the Independent Spirit and Gotham nominations that followed, the Blackfoot actress played supporting roles on television and in independent films but in nothing that brought continued success. In interviews, she talks openly about moments when she was rethinking her career due to a lack of momentum. As Gladstone told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2023, at one point she was in the process of signing up for a data analytics course to help track murder hornets to protect the native bee population for the Department of Agriculture. That’s when she received an email invitation to Zoom with Martin Scorsese.
Obviously, that call went well, as Gladstone is now the first Native American woman to be nominated in the Oscars’ Best Actress category for “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Despite setbacks, 2023 was a banner year for Lily Gladstone. For many, “Killers of the Flower Moon” will be their first introduction to Gladstone’s work. However, as with many breakout stars, her filmography is proof of her dedication and hard work. In one year, three of Gladstone’s films have premiered in some capacity. She guest-starred in the final seasons of two of television’s most celebrated shows, “Billions” and “Reservation Dogs.” No matter the size and scope of the role, the quality of her performance never wavered.
On paper, Lily Gladstone’s opening and closing scenes in “Killers of the Flower Moon” appear very similar. Wrapped in tribal blankets, she sits in front of a white man who she knows is trying to take advantage of her. In the first scene, it’s her legal guardian. In the second, it’s her husband, who’s been convicted of killing her family and her people and who she suspects has been poisoning her diabetes medication.
In both moments, she’s calm, reserved, and clearly smarter than each man gives her credit for. While Gladstone radiates quiet confidence in the first scene, placating the man in front of her, an air of defeat drags behind her as she confronts Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest in her final moments. Through hooded eyes she tiredly answers her husband’s questions, biding her time until she can ask her own: “Have you told all the truths?” she asks. As he deflects, saying he would never allow his uncle’s greed to hurt their children or herself, she asks him what was in the insulin he administered to her. Through the simple question of “What did you give me?” she’s letting him know that he’s to blame. As her line of questioning continues, Gladstone’s voice stays even—almost as if she is talking to a child—and her eyes never leave DiCaprio’s.