Lily James Cried Before Meeting Meryl Streep on the Set of 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'

Lily James graces the cover of the latest issue of PorterEdit, out now.

Here’s what the 29-year-old English actress had to say…

On her emotional first encounter with Meryl Streep on the set of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again: “[Meryl] was singing this song in a chapel and it was so emotional. I was sat outside knowing I was about to meet her. And crying. And it was like: Hold it together, Lily! It was too much! But she was just so cool. We had to do this dance together and she gave it all to me, she let me take my moment.”

On the pressure of taking on the role of Donna Sheridan, Meryl’s character in Mamma Mia: “Oh, God. [It was] terrifying. I tried not to focus on the Meryl Streep-ness of it all, but tried to focus on the Donna Sheridan-ness of it all. Having said that, I did go through all of Meryl’s movies, especially stuff from when she was younger. I loved watching Postcards from the Edge – there’s a spunky kind of madness where she sings in that – and even Death Becomes Her.”

On the rumors that she was engaged after she wore a ring on her engagement finger at the BAFTAs: “I’m just not very superstitious about rings. It’s stupid, probably, but I just put rings on any finger. Also, that was a f–k-off ring. I mean, Jesus. That ring’s worth one million pounds…”

For more from Lily, head to net-a-porter.com.