What Happened To The Actress Who Played Claire On Lost?
It's been over a decade since the controversial Lost finale aired, and fans still haven't stopped dissecting the series. Despite the fact that many viewers and critics alike felt that the writers didn't quite stick the landing during the final season, Lost is still regarded as one of the best TV shows of all time.
Since the show ended, the former Lost cast members have taken their careers in a variety of different directions. Some have focused on activism and philanthropy, some have gone on hiatus, some have joined other TV series, and others have appeared in major blockbuster films. But what about Emilie de Ravin? Well, the actress who played the heavily pregnant Claire hasn't worked on any movies or shows quite as successful as Lost, but even though you might not have heard her name in a while, she's managed to stay busy since the Lost finale. Here's what de Ravin has been up to since getting off the island, and why you probably won't be catching her on the big screen any time soon.
She had a starring role in Remember Me
Just before the final season of Lost wrapped up, de Ravin starred in her biggest film role to date: Ally Craig in Remember Me. The critics weren't huge fans, but the film definitely connected with viewers. Remember Me was released a couple of months before the Lost finale aired, and it was de Ravin's first step towards establishing her post-Lost career trajectory.
Although the unexpected ending of Remember Me left some audience members reaching for their tissues and others feeling like the plot twist ruined the movie, de Ravin definitely got a boost by playing Robert Pattinson's love interest. She insisted that while there were no off-screen sparks flying between them, their chemistry was authentic. "We spent a lot of time together, talking about our characters and their relationship, because it's so important to be comfortable together," she told The Independent. "Then, when we were actually shooting, everything fell into place and felt natural. It didn't ever feel like we were reading a scene or going through the motions."
Taking on the role of Ally in Remember Me was undoubtedly a smart choice for de Ravin. Even when the Lost finale faced heavy criticism, she was riding a wave of good publicity.
De Ravin has bad luck with the critics
Unfortunately, de Ravin couldn't keep up the positive momentum with her subsequent films. After Remember Me, she appeared in a string of movies that just never seemed to appeal to critics or audiences. Her next role was Kathy Jensen in the film The Chameleon, which was based on the the true story of Frédéric Bourdin, who impersonated a missing child years after his disappearance. The concept was interesting, but it got terrible reviews. Next up was Operation: Endgame, an action comedy that only got a limited release in the United States. After that, she appeared in the Finnish film Love and Other Troubles as Sara, a line dance teacher caught in a love triangle.
De Ravin's most recent role in a feature film was Alice in the indie movie The Submarine Kid. It was another love story, but this time, there was a supernatural twist. The film had the potential to be moving, but it fell short of its promise. It was criticized for stereotypical characters and a bland narrative. De Ravin's performance was considered a bright spot, but it wasn't enough to salvage the film. "The film frequently becomes languorous and dull, revealing the solutions to its central mysteries long before the credits roll," wrote Keith Watson at Red Carpet Crash. "It would be interesting to see this movie radically recut."
She doesn't like the spotlight
De Ravin had appeared in a few films that got significant press before joining up with Lost, like the cult favorite Brick and the disturbing horror movie The Hills Have Eyes. But when she began playing Claire, there was no escaping the spotlight. Lost became such a huge success that the cast members couldn't exactly fade into anonymity.
However, de Ravin wasn't a fan of having all eyes on her. And when she worked with Pattinson on Remember Me, it only got more intense. Pattinson had such a massive, devoted fanbase because of Twilight that crowds often surrounded their sets while filming, which proved distracting. When the two appeared on red carpets together, they often looked like they were a little uncomfortable with being the center of attention, and there was a grain of truth to that assumption. "It was difficult for Rob and I to figure out the logistics of a rehearsal when you've got thousands of people watching," she told The Independent. "Even if you're not looking at them, you're aware of it. It can be hard to focus."
De Ravin is an indie darling
You won't catch de Ravin following in the footsteps of Lost alumni like Evangeline Lily, who went on to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or Elizabeth Mitchell, who landed a leading role in The Purge: Election Year. De Ravin has admitted that she doesn't want to work on big, blockbuster films, which is why we probably don't hear her name as often as other former Lost cast members, despite her steadily working after the show ended.
De Ravin is drawn to smaller, low-key productions, and when you consider her dislike of the constant attention that accompanied her work in Remember Me, it's easy to see that she's not seeking a repeat of that experience. In fact, when asked if she was interested in being a "mainstream actor," she said that she wasn't aiming for that status. "I love the indie circuit. I think there's some amazing sort of younger or undiscovered talent out there as far as directors, and just really edgy scripts," she told Film Monthly. "They're maybe not going to be as widely released but just really, really interesting subject matter which definitely interests me."
She's been battling the Lost 'curse'
When de Ravin tried to establish another recurring role on a TV show after Lost, things didn't pan out quite like she'd hoped. She was up for a role on the series Americana, but the pilot went unsold. In fact, ABC, the same network behind Lost, actually passed it over. Several other Lost cast members also swung and missed with their other TV endeavors, so de Ravin certainly wasn't alone. For example, Nestor Carbonell, who played Richard Alpert, was set to appear on a series titled The Smart One, but the networks weren't interested in that pilot, either.
Thanks to all these rejections, some joked about a "Lost curse" hanging over the actors' heads. Thankfully, if there was such a curse, de Ravin managed to shake it off and revitalize her career within a couple years of the show ending. But the obstacles she faced just prove that appearing on one highly acclaimed series doesn't mean that an actor can simply coast on those accolades forever.
De Ravin has troubles with typecasting
In Lost, Claire's unique status as a pregnant woman on the island was important, as the survivors later discover that any woman who gets pregnant after arriving at the island can't carry her pregnancy to term. Since Claire was pregnant when the plane crashed, she's a special case, and she's able to have her baby.
As it turns out, this wasn't the first time that de Ravin played a pregnant woman. In Brick, her character, Emily Kostich, turns out to be pregnant, and in Roswell, she played Tess Harding, who gets pregnant at the end of season two. De Ravin admitted that for whatever reason, casting directors had her pegged as the perfect actress to play a mother-to-be. "I must have some sort of maternal draw to me," she said in an interview with GQ. "I do love children, but I don't really talk about that in auditions. Hi! I really love kids! Book me! But I keep reading scripts that are like that, too."
Claire becomes Belle
Although de Ravin needed some time to figure out her post-Lost direction, she eventually struck gold with the series Once Upon a Time. The series brought classic fairy tale characters to life in the modern world. De Ravin played Belle, and she got the chance to show a whole new side of this Disney princess outside of the story of Beauty and the Beast. At first, she was only brought on as a guest star, but by season two, she'd become a series regular. Although she left Once Upon a Time after season six, she did return for guest appearances in the final season, including the tear-jerking finale.
Once Upon a Time turned out to be a hit, earning a grand total of seven Primetime Emmy nominations. So far, this has been de Ravin's biggest TV role since Lost, and since the show was created by Lost writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, it's no surprise that it was so well-received. De Ravin had nothing but positive things to say about being a part of Once Upon a Time. "It was just a really awesome journey to be able to give my own spin on such a special, iconic character and to work with such amazing people," she told The Hollywood Reporter.
De Ravin has been going in a new direction since Lost
After Lost, de Ravin was ready to mix things up. Although she was best known for her role as Claire, she didn't want to feel like she was playing the same part over and over again. While Roswell and Lost were very different shows, they were both centered around the paranormal, and de Ravin was looking to get out of her comfort zone in future projects. "In an ideal world, I try and make it so, [with] each job I do, it's not a repeat of a similar character ... wearing different clothes and different hair," de Ravin told Hello Giggles.
This might be why Once Upon a Time turned out to be such a good fit for de Ravin. The fantasy series was nothing like Lost, and de Ravin got to challenge herself to try something new. However, Belle did have one thing in common with Claire Littleton and Tess Harding: She gets pregnant and has a son. Perhaps de Ravin still wishes she'd moved away from playing maternal characters, or perhaps she's just embraced the fact that she has a specific niche. Either way, Once Upon a Time gave her the opportunity to spread her wings while working with a skilled writing team that she already trusted.
Love lost and found
Up until recently, it seems like de Ravin has always had a tumultuous love life. She got engaged to fellow actor Josh Janowicz in 2003, and they married later that year. Only a few months later, they split up and then got back together. The couple maintained a long distance relationship while de Ravin was working on Lost. But by 2007, things were rocky once again. De Ravin filed for divorce, and then eventually decided to try to work things out.
In the end, they just weren't meant to be. The couple separated for good in 2013 and filed for divorce in 2014, and this time, the decision was final. But a new romance was just around the corner for de Ravin. While shooting The Submarine Kid, she got together with the film's writer and director, Eric Bilitch. So despite the film's lukewarm reception, it looks like de Ravin made the right move when she signed on to play Alice. The couple got engaged in 2016, and they're still happily together today.
Family matters to Emilie de Ravin
Yes, de Ravin often plays mothers in films and TV shows, and now, she's actually a mother herself. De Ravin gave birth to her daughter, Vera, in 2016, and she had her son, Theodore, in 2018. Now that she and Bilitch have started a family, she definitely has a lot more responsibilities on her plate. After years of portraying mothers on TV, now she knows what it's really like.
De Ravin admitted that pregnancy was tough on her at times. She experienced eight hours of excruciatingly painful back labor when Vera was born. Despite the difficulties, de Ravin chose to have both of her children at home with a backup doctor.
Although she's kept busy with acting commitments after becoming a parent, she definitely puts family first. She's always sharing photos of sunny days spent outside with her children. De Ravin still loves acting, and she's not planning on taking a serious hiatus anytime soon, but she also has some other, more important priorities to attend to right now.
Saying goodbye to Australia
De Ravin is originally from Australia, and when she moved to the United States, she often found herself missing home. When she was asked about Australia in interviews, she became very sentimental, speaking highly of her home country. Even though she spent most of her time in California (when she wasn't shooting Lost in Hawaii), she used to refer to Los Angeles as her "temporary home," saying that she missed "everything" about Melbourne.
"I don't get home as much as I would like to," she told The Independent. "I miss my family so much, my ideal holiday is just to hang out with them."
But it looks like she had a chance of heart after getting engaged to an American man and having two children with him. She may still miss living in Australia, but family life is definitely a little easier when you share citizenship with your kids. In 2018, de Ravin officially became an American citizen, and Bilitch proudly tweeted about her to celebrate the occasion.
What's next for the actress who played Claire?
According to IMDb, Emilie de Ravin has only had one project in 2019 so far — A Lover Scorned, a TV movie about a woman who has an affair and becomes entangled in a murderous plot. But other than that, de Ravin is taking it easy. She just finished appearing at her last round of events with her Once Upon a Time costars, and now, her schedule will have a lot more flexibility. What does she want to do with all of that extra time? Well, she's in no rush to get back in front of the camera. De Ravin would rather enjoy some downtime with her family.
After Once Upon a Time ended, she finally got to take a belated maternity leave. "There are things in the works right now, but I've taken the last few months off to be a mom, because I've been working since I had my daughter a year and a half ago, so I was just very excited to be able to do that, " she told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. It looks like this phase of her career will be all about finding a balance between work and family, but with two successful shows and few solid films under her belt, de Ravin still has a bright future in Hollywood.