Lily Collins: Les Miserables star opens up on relationship with absent dad Phil Collins

Lily Collins, 29, previously detailed her rocky relationship with her dad, Phil Collins, who was the drummer of rock band Genesis, in her autobiography, titled Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me.

The actress’ dad wed her mum Jill in 1984 but by the time Lily was seven, in 1996, her parents had divorced.

Following the split, Lily stayed in LA with her mum while Phil went to live in Switzerland with his new partner and then wife, Orianne.

Lily admitted she “couldn’t handle” the “pain and confusion” of the divorce, in which Phil was reportedly forced to pay $17 million to Jill.

Speaking about her relationship with her dad, she spilled in her 2017 book: “I couldn’t handle the pain and confusion surrounding my dad’s divorce.”

Lily said she longed for his attention and praise and claimed “she wasn’t doing enough” to win it.

Revealing how she felt about her dad being absent, Lily divulged: “He may have still been alive, but most of the time it felt like he was completely gone.

“I missed him and wanted him there.”

In her book, Lily went on to write her dad a note about forgiveness.

She said: “I forgive you for not always being there when I needed and for not being the dad I expected.

“We all make choices and although I don’t excuse some of yours at the end of the day we can’t rewrite the past.

“I’m learning how to accept your actions and vocalise how they made me feel.”

Back in January, Lily proved she was on good terms with her dad as she shared a picture of the two of them when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in honour of his birthday.

She captioned it: “Happy birthday, dad! Thank you for inspiring me to be a creative spirit, to express myself boldly and bravely, and to stay determined and focused among the noise.

“I love you to the moon and back again. You will always be one of the brightest stars in my sky. Sending a massive hug and kiss your way.” 

Meanwhile, Lily will be the star of the show in tonight’s TV adaption of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables.

Lily will star as Fantine alongside Dominic West, who will play Jean Valjean, and David Oyelowo, who will appear as Inspector Javert.

The series will be completely different from the film and musical of the same name as it won’t feature any singing.

When Les Misérables was announced, the BBC said: “Multi award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies will go back to the original novel and delve deep into the many layers of Hugo’s story, revelling in Jean Valjean (played by Dominic West) and Javert’s (David Oyelowo) cat-and-mouse relationship, against the epic backdrop of France at a time of civil unrest.”

Les Misérables airs tonight on BBC One at 9pm.

source: express.co.uk