{"id":66911,"date":"2022-11-01T15:33:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T15:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=66911"},"modified":"2022-11-11T15:41:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T15:41:24","slug":"lilia-buckingham-big-break-hocus-pocus-2","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/lilia-buckingham-big-break-hocus-pocus-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Lilia Buckingham Almost Walked Away from Acting Before Her Big Break in ‘Hocus Pocus 2’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lilia Buckingham. Photographed by Petros Kouiouris. Styled by Mickey Freeman at the Only Agency. Hair and Makeup by Ammara Rana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two summers ago, actress Lilia Buckingham was itching to get out of her hometown of Los Angeles and start college across the country at Boston University. She was relishing the chance to step behind the camera to focus on film production and put an end to the constant hustle of auditioning. The next phase of her life was all figured out \u2014 but as fate would have it, the universe had other plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided I was going to take a step back from the whole \u2018in front of the camera side\u2019 of the industry, because I’d get so close to booking things, but then wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Buckingham, 19, tells GRAZIA USA<\/em>. \u201cTwo weeks before I’m supposed to move into school, I booked Hocus Pocus 2<\/em>. It was crazy and I could not be more grateful that the universe was like, \u2018No girl, you’re staying in the acting business.'”<\/p>\n

After a three-month audition process, multiple director sessions and chemistry reads, she landed the role of Cassie Traske in the Disney+ hit and ended up living at school for just a month before filming commenced in Rhode Island in the fall of 2021. \u201cIt was definitely one of the craziest months of my life, but amazing, nonetheless,\u201d the star recalls.<\/p>\n

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Lilia Buckingham. Photographed by Petros Kouiouris. Styled by Mickey Freeman at the Only Agency. Hair and Makeup by Ammara Rana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Hocus Pocus 2<\/em>, Buckingham plays one of three friends who tries to save modern-day Salem from the resurrected Sanderson sisters, portrayed by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy. The teen says acting alongside the three legends who reprised their roles from the 1993 hit was \u201csurreal\u201d and she still can\u2019t quite believe it happened. \u201cIt’s just too crazy to comprehend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before her big break, Buckingham was best known for her work with Brat TV, including on the series Dirt<\/em>, Crown Lake<\/em> (which she executive produced) and the movie Spring Breakaway<\/em>. Despite her many roles within the Brat universe, one of the reasons Buckingham was ready to walk away from acting is because she\u2019s well aware that rejection in the business is all but guaranteed for most performers. \u201cI grew up in L.A. around so many other young actors and I knew that it’s such a hard career to be in and it’s almost impossible to book,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt’s really, really tough because there’s obviously so many talented people out there and I think I knew it would be a dream to be in front of the camera; it’s what I loved to do. But I never wanted to get my expectations up because I kept getting my heart broken with all these no\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buckingham reasoned at the time that while her first love, acting, might never turn into a lasting relationship with the business, she could tap into her passion for writing since her r\u00e9sum\u00e9 already included co-authoring the book Influence with Sara Shepard, writer of the bestseller Pretty Little Liars<\/em>. \u201cThe universe is so funny. Once I had accepted that and was happy and excited, the universe was like: \u2018You get the Hocus Pocus 2<\/em> role.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lilia Buckingham. Photographed by Petros Kouiouris. Styled by Mickey Freeman at the Only Agency. Hair and Makeup by Ammara Rana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the movie may have reeled the back-on-the-rise star into getting in front of the camera again, she\u2019s currently continuing her film and television studies in Boston and hopes to one day own a production company that develops books into movies. She names as her inspiration Reese Witherspoon and the A-lister’s company Hello Sunshine, which is responsible for bringing adaptations of Gone Girl<\/em>, Where the Crawdads Sing<\/em> and other bestselling novels to theaters. \u201cI would absolutely love to end up there one day,\u201d Buckingham notes.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Buckingham tells GRAZIA USA<\/em> she\u2019s already started working toward the goal with a short film she\u2019s writing, producing and possibly starring in that she\u2019s \u201csuper passionate\u201d about. \u201cIt’s been really nice just getting to have this creative freedom,\u201d she says. \u201cI’m so lucky and my creative juices are flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buckingham is enjoying getting back into the flow of being a regular college kid, but there are moments when she\u2019s reminded of her double life. \u201cSomebody actually mentioned Hocus Pocus 2<\/em> the other day in one of our lectures talking about multimedia franchises and transmedia franchises and I was like, \u2018I’m in that!\u2019\u201d Buckingham says.<\/p>\n

Another recent day, the actress was walking on campus when she saw a girl dressed in a Hocus Pocus <\/em> sweatshirt. \u201cI was like, \u2018I like your sweatshirt!\u2019 It’s just really cool to see fun little things like that where I really get to just be like Hannah Montana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read GRAZIA USA<\/em>‘s Art Basel 2022 Edition 1 Gazette:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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