Tilly Keeper Channeled Paris Hilton for You's Lady Phoebe

Hello… You. Our favorite twisted show has returned to Netflix for part one of its fourth season (the second half premieres March 9), this time setting down roots in London. In yet another attempt to escape his nefarious past and start anew, our handsome antihero Joe Goldberg now goes by Jonathan Moore and is an American literature professor at a college in the posh Kensington neighborhood. Just when it seems he has finally put his murderous ways to bed, a string of killings threatens to reveal his secret and destroy his new persona. 

This next chapter ushers in an exciting wave of newness for the You franchise: a new location, a new murder-mystery plotline, a new cast of characters, and, yes, a new love interest for Joe, err, Jonathan. One of my favorite new additions this season is Lady Phoebe, a beautiful aristocratic heiress who wears her heart on her sleeve and has a rather dreamy wardrobe. She’s remarkably kind and generous to a fault, and she sees the good in everyone despite their shortcomings. Surrounded by people who only care about wealth, status, and partying, Phoebe is a breath of fresh air, endearing her to the likes of Joe. Not surprisingly, when actress Tilly Keeper first read the audition sides for Phoebe, she immediately fell in love with the character.

Growing up, Keeper was convinced she was going to be a pop star. "That was my little dream,” she tells me with a laugh. She started taking ballet classes because Britney Spears did, but by age 11, she was doing musical theater in the West End of London. Even if pop stardom wasn’t in the cards for Keeper, performing as a career definitely was. After high school, she booked her longest-running TV gig playing Louise Mitchell on the popular British soap EastEnders, after which she starred in a few short films. When a casting dry spell had Keeper rethinking her approach, the production of You arrived on London soil with the perfect role in Lady Phoebe. It was an opportunity for the 25-year-old to join one of her favorite shows and introduce herself to U.S. audiences. 

I caught up with Keeper to talk about joining the massive series, channeling the real-life heiress who inspired her character, and stepping into "Aladdin’s cave of designer dresses” for Phoebe.

When did you first discover the show You? 

I’ve always watched the show since season one. I can’t remember how I heard about it, though, but I think maybe it was like, "Oh, this is Penn Badgley,” who I was very aware of, and I was like, "It’s set in New York. That’s cool.” I also like dark stuff, so it was my brand. But I remember my friend Jasmine saying [I’ve] gotta watch this show on Netflix. She was like, "It’s got this guy that is… Oh my god, you would so fancy him,” and I was like, "Right.” And she went, "And he’s a serial killer.” She kept saying [I] really look like the girl he kills. And I was a little bit like, "Okay… I don’t know how to take that.” But I loved it.

When the show premiered on Netflix, it was a huge hit, and everyone started obsessing over Joe despite his creepy stalker/serial killer ways. Did you find yourself among that camp?

Obviously, Penn is very gorgeous, very charming on-screen, and I think that’s something that you can’t deny or ignore when you are watching it. But also, it’s a really twisted, dark show, and you can’t deny that [either]. It’s romantic in some ways. … I know that Penn is so conscious and aware of how the character is and his responsibility playing that part, so now, the way I look at the show, I’m like, "Ugh, he’s gross. He’s so sick and gross!” It’s interesting, though, because, especially in the earlier seasons, some scenes could be ripped right out of a rom-com, and then other scenes are pure slasher, like real "edge of your seat” ickiness. The show really plays into all of these genres, so it’s no one’s fault if you enjoy the romantic side of Joe and choose to ignore the creepier side of him. But it’s undeniably there. That is the crux of the character. He’s a creep.

What do you love about seeing this show move to London?

I said this to someone else the other day. The fact that Penn’s character… I don’t know whether to call him Joe or Jonathan. I’ll call him Joe even though I know Phoebe only knows him as Jonathan. But Joe has always felt like the other in every scenario he finds himself in. He is very separate from other people because his way of viewing the world and viewing relationships is very abnormal and not okay. But he’s always been the other and always found himself to be superior, and now, he’s on London soil with a group of people who are ultimately financially, in terms of status, superior to him and act accordingly. But also, he feels morally superior to them because they are party animals, and they don’t care about their privilege or whatever else. So it’s nice that we’ve put him in a world where everyone understands each other. Everyone speaks the same language, but the way they behave is totally different culturally. So it’s great that we’ve got that. 

Also, the fact that the series is a murder mystery. … It’s very Gothic this season in terms of our locations, the lighting, and also the themes that we play with. And British literature—Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters—it’s all Gothic, whether it’s romantic Gothic, so it’s nice that we are paying homage to that. 

When did you first hear about the show moving to London and the character Lady Phoebe? 

I had been auditioning for a lot of things and having screen tests and chemistry reads and all the fun stuff that actors have to go through, and ultimately, [I] wasn’t booking the jobs. So I was feeling pretty down about stuff and trying to reassess where I was at. … Did I need to change something like my hair color, or do I need to see an acting coach? I had just found out that I didn’t get a part that I really, really wanted, which is worlds away from You. It’s worlds away from Phoebe, and I was like, "What am I going to do? When am I going to work again?” when my agent phoned me up to be like, "You didn’t get that part, but interestingly enough…”

In turn, Sophie Holland, who did the UK casting for the series, I had worked with her on a project the year before. They said the character was meant to be a little bit older, but collectively, they thought I would be really right for it and [asked me to] put myself on tape. I remember my agent said, "You know the show You? And I was like, "Yes, it’s one of my favorite shows.” He said, "Right—well, you have an audition for it because it’s coming to London.” And then it was that thing of "I have just been told no for a part that I really wanted. If I don’t get this one, what am I going to do?” It’s not only my favorite show, but then you tell me about the character, and I was like, "I love the sound of this character. I love these audition sides. They are so fun. If I don’t get this one it’s going to crush me on top of all the other rejection I just received.” I was like, "Oh god, this could hurt like a little bitch.” But luckily, I didn’t have to face that.

It probably would have been tough to watch it. 

 You know what? Whenever I don’t get a part in something—even if I felt really right for it and if the feedback was lovely and it was just down to your height or your age or whatever—whenever I watch it, I go, "That makes total sense. That person was so right for it.” And that’s why casting directors are so great at their jobs. But I also think I would have been like, "Well, that’s not how my Lady Phoebe would have done it.”

Let’s talk about Lady Phoebe. She is an aristocratic socialite whose every move is followed by paparazzi, but despite what many may assume, she is arguably the kindest person of her friend group. What really stood out to you about her?

When I got this audition and I read the byline of the character and it was like, "She’s famous, and she loves the tabloids, and she’s a party girl,” I was like, "Oh yeah, I know the type.” But then it followed on with "but she’s the loveliest person you’ll ever meet.” I thought it was such a lovely take on… You know we are poking fun at these characters at the end of the day, but it’s really nice that, even though she’s privileged, she’s trying to make good with it, and she shows kindness to everyone that enters her world. And just because she doesn’t step outside of her world doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a bad person. So that was really lovely. And it’s also nice.

I was always happy on set—well, for part one of it. I remember we were all standing around in Sundry House, the set of Sundry House, and one of our directors was like, "And remember, you all hate Joe, or Jonathan. You all suspect him,” and then he went, "Apart from Phoebe!” And I was like, "Aw, that’s just sweet.” And I was like, "See, Penn, I’m your friend.” And he was like, "Yeah, you are friends with a serial killer.” And I was like, "Wait, actually fair point. That makes her even more vulnerable.” That’s the thing I was even more worried about when we were getting the scripts through. … I hope that Joe recognizes that she’s a good person because even the best people in previous [seasons] he has always found fault with them. … I hope that if he can see the goodness of the character, then the audience, in turn, will because we are watching it through Joe’s lens. 

It’s true—everyone in the group has their suspicions about Joe except for Phoebe. Why do you think that is?

I don’t know whether it’s just because she’s blindly trusting him for whatever reason because he’s interesting and he’s American and he’s gorgeous. So she’s like, "Great! There’s nothing wrong with you.” So maybe she’s looking at it from a shallow perspective. I don’t know, but I also think he’s shown her kindness, and she’s always been in front of people who have been harder or bitchier. Even the men she surrounds herself with are sometimes as bitchy as the girls. I think she’s so welcoming, and she sees a guy that is not from London, doesn’t have a lot of friends, and she wants to extend this kindness that she has to him, and she feels like he’s this lost little lamb that needs taking under her wing, and she’s got the means to do so. So I think that’s the least of her troubles. It’s like, "Yeah, of course, hang out with us. That’s not an issue. Let me learn about you, and hopefully, you can give me some love that I so desperately need that I’m not getting from anyone else.” 

In terms of building the character, did you have any specific people or references in mind?

I had a few. At first, I thought she was going to be a little more Kate Moss, a little more rock and roll. But that’s just because I want to be Kate Moss even though I’m so not cool like Kate Moss. There’s a joke in my friendship group that I’m Kate Moss’s grandma probably, just like an old lady. So I was like, "Yes, she’s like Kate Moss rock and roll!” And they cast me, and I [thought], "Actually no, she’s probably a little more prim and proper.” But I know styling-wise … and actually character-wise also she was very much based on Paris Hilton because it’s the most obvious reference. When you think pink heiress, you think of Paris. You know, Paris is also infamously kind to her fans as well. Not going into spoiler territory, but the way Phoebe deals with her stalker is incredibly kind. Watching Paris’s documentary, she really invites her fans out to meet her, and I can imagine Phoebe probably doing the same thing. 

Also, [I was inspired by] our British socialites, especially from the ’90s, who were always photographed just having fun on nights out, being girly girls. They are all just having a white-wine night out, but they are getting photographed doing so and maybe stumbling over to another bar. I drew a lot of references from that. I think Phoebe is alluded to being a party girl, but we don’t really see it on-screen because a lot of it’s about how she interacts with people.

She seems like a fun character to play, especially from a fashion sense. Can you tell me about the wardrobe conversations for Phoebe? 

Our costume designer, Sam Perry, is amazing, and I love her. She put me in the coolest stuff I think I’ll ever wear on a TV show. So obviously, the mood board was a lot of Paris Hilton—Paris Hilton and blazer dresses and power suits because, at the end of the day, Phoebe is a businesswoman like Paris Hilton, and they are businesses themselves, so she’s got to take herself seriously sometimes. We had a whole shopping day where it was like walking into Aladdin’s cave of designer dresses, and it was amazing. We wanted her to feel sexy in her clothes but not desperately sexy. She’s sexy because she wants her boyfriend to fancy her and notices he’s slipping away.

We had a whole shopping day for that first dress from the first episode, and I remember the note was something like… Because I tried on so many sparkly dresses and that was one that was quite big for me, the note [said] that it looks like it could fall off at any time, which it did. I feel like I walk around in that dress in the first episode like I’ve got rigor mortis. I was so scared of that dress falling down. I never lift my arms. So yeah, it was just sexy, and even when she’s got a pearl necklace on, it’s a Vivi Westwood. It’s got that little fun—I call her Vivi Westwood like I know her. Rest in peace. You know, it’s fun. She’s always taking something quintessentially British and posh and putting a fun sparkle on it. And even if I’ve got a plain pink dress on, they would put tinsel in my hair. So it was Barbie-fying lots of stuff.

Do you have a favorite look of hers?

Even though the first dress was really scary to wear and … the beads got tangled and all that, it looked so beautiful on camera. I loved the gold chain-mail dress I wear in episode two. I think that was the most me I felt. I would want to wear that dress. I had some really good ones. There were also some that I would wear in the back of a shot and you don’t even see. In episode six, I’ve got a different outfit in every scene until we get to the party, and I wear a Jacquemus blazer suit set that was backless. I remember I walked on set, and Lukas [Gage] was like, "That’s hot! That’s a really hot suit.” I liked it as well because it was the most business that Phoebe has ever looked, but it’s still sexy. We also liked it because it was a neutral color, and it showed that Phoebe wasn’t feeling her most sparkly self that day because it wasn’t a bright color. I thought that was a sweet little character choice. 

I love hearing about those subtle details. 

It’s always something I’m paying attention to too. When I watch a TV show, I’m always noticing what the characters are wearing. So Sam was really gracious and collaborative with me as well. She let me in on those conversations that they were having about Phoebe’s fashion choices of the day. 

Can we talk about where things left off for Phoebe in part one and what we can expect from her in part two?

So obviously, her house has just burned down. No big deal. This house that has been in her family for hundreds of years has just burned down. And she has just suffered a lot of loss and tragedy and has a lot of unanswered questions, even down to her bodyguard Vic. She doesn’t know what’s happened to him. She’s just assumed he’s gone away somewhere. So she’s feeling very lost, very on edge. … Obviously, we know that Kate is very wealthy, but Phoebe feels like a very natural next target for the "eat the rich” killer, so that’s playing on her mind for sure. And what was her perfect world of being in love with this gorgeous, fun guy who makes her feel really alive and excited, she feels like he’s slipping away from her, and she doesn’t know him as well. And now, it’s like, "If I don’t know him, I don’t know any of my friends because I don’t trust anyone at the minute,” and that conflicts with her nurturing, loving side. She’s just feeling pretty on edge and looking for some kind of way to soothe herself, which is hard when you live things in excess. 

You season four, part one is now streaming on Netflix. 

Photographer: David Reiss

Stylist: Farrah O’Connor

Hairstylist: Paul Jones

Makeup Artist: Maria Asadi