‘Sit and Receive’: Lily Gladstone’s Advice for Filmmakers

In a particularly potent scene from Martin Scorsese’s 2023 historical epic “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Osage woman Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) tells Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) to “be quiet for a while” and listen to the “powerful” storm raging outside. This moment, which juxtaposes the delicacy and strength of restraint, encapsulates Gladstone’s own approach to performance. Here, the Oscar nominee shares advice for filmmakers on why the best stories are often found in the spaces between.

There’s magic in stillness.

Moments like the film’s rainstorm scene can hold immense power, so don’t be afraid to embrace tranquility. “Stillness is something that I know a lot of people, period—even outside of the acting realm—just struggle with,” Gladstone explains. “But it’s really magic, what happens when you can sit and receive and just allow things to happen. It’s like, out of stillness, really authentic movement can rise.” 

Create space with actionable directions.

Gladstone believes filmmakers should provide clear, action-based feedback rather than relying on psychological manipulation. She found this type of straightforward guidance in her collaboration with Scorsese: “An actionable note that Marty would give is, ‘Lily, can you look like you like [Ernest] a little bit more?’ What’s nice about that is like, OK, that’s an action. It allows the space for me to articulate what that would look like as Mollie. It also clued me in to how [I] was coming across on film…. [He] was not trying to get into my head, not trying to dictate my psyche to me—which is a very quick way to annoy me as an actor, is a director trying to tell me what my character’s thinking.”

Respect each actor’s unique process.

Giving performers the space to use their own acting approaches can lead to powerful onscreen chemistry. While DiCaprio had a “very demonstrative” take on Ernest compared to Gladstone’s subtlety with Mollie, she says that it was this very difference that engendered “the heart of the chemistry—these two seemingly opposing processes working together…. It just reinforced how powerful that stillness of Mollie is in contrast with the shiftiness and duplicity of Ernest.” 

Ultimately, Gladstone’s advice for filmmakers is that making space—for stillness, thoughts, processes—gives your project the chance to transcend mere storytelling. By being “quiet for a while,” you can create something sacred.

This interview was originally featured on Backstage and In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast.