Lily Collins Praised For 'To The Bone' Weight Loss: “That Is Why The Problem Exists”

*Trigger warning, the content below deals with Lily Collins' portrayal of a character with an eating disorder.*

You may know Lily Collins for playing Rosie in the romantic comedy Love, Rosie, or for her Golden Globe-nominated role in last year's Rules Don't Apply. 

Whether you're familiar with her or not, the 28-year-old has been proving herself to be a dedicated actress for quite some time now.

Collins' newest role in Netflix's upcoming movie To The Bone is no exception to her talent and to committed process, both of which can be seen in the way she delicately approaches a character named Ellen battling a mental disorder.

To get into character, Collins, who wrote a book about her own history with eating disorders and body image, lost a significant amount of weight in order to play the young woman struggling with anorexia.

In fact, Collins lost so much weight even she was shocked upon seeing a picture of herself while filming. She told The Edit in an interview about the project,

There's a scene where I'm taking my clothes off to be weighed by Carrie Preston, my stepmom in the movie, who takes a photo on her phone and shows it to me. I didn't think she'd actually take one but she did. I saw myself in the photo and my heart dropped. So when my mom saw the film, she saw Lily's reaction because she knows me the best.

Perhaps even more harrowing than Collins' own reaction to her weight loss, though, is the reaction of one woman who complimented the actress's gaunt appearance. Collins said,

I was leaving my apartment one day and someone I've known for a long time, my mom's age, said to me, 'Oh, wow, look at you!'

When she tried to explain her dramatically thin appearance was for a role, she was met with,

'No! I want to know what you're doing, you look great!'

After hearing that, Collins told The Edit,

[She] got in the car with [her] mom and said, 'That is why the problem exists.'

Clearly, the comment Collins received about her body proves there is still much work to do in order to redefine the standards for health and beauty. Let's hope To The Bone approaches the subject with tact and positively propels the conversation about mental illness, body image, and beauty standards.