For Lily Collins, art has mimicked life.
As the star of Marti Noxon's upcoming drama, To the Bone, the 27-year-old actress is tackling a character that hits close to home. In the film, which recently debuted at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Collins portrays a woman seeking treatment for anorexia, a battle she also faced in her personal life.
"This was definitely a more dramatic role for me. I suffered with eating disorders when I was a teenager as well," she said during an interview with IMDb Studio. "I wrote a book last year and I wrote my chapter on my experiences a week before I got Marti's script and it was like the universe kind of putting these things in my sphere to help me face, kind of dead on, a fear that I used to have and a way to explain it as someone who's gone through it and to open up a topic that is considered quite taboo with young people nowadays, male, female, and to really start a conversation."
While she shed weight for the role safely under the guidance of a nutritionist, the emotions triggered by the performance transported her right back to her past.
"It caused me to have to emotionally go there, but in a way that was the most safe, healthy way possible with a nutritionist, and really to physically go there but also emotionally and it did require a different set of emotional skills, to kind of go back in time for me, with you know, my experiences," Collins continued.
"So definitely a different type of film for me to do, very, very personal."
Personal—but freeing. The actress later took to Instagram to express the impact the public revelation had on her.
"Chilled to the bone but feeling so free. What a huge moment this is for me. Owning my past, being open, and having no shame or regrets about my experiences. Sharing my history with eating disorders and how personal this film has been is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life," she penned on her social media account.
"Thank you for all your love and support. I'm sending all of mine right back (especially today!) and remember, you are never ever alone #Unfiltered..."