TheMagic,theMusicandtheMuse:LilahPate&WilliamLiptoninConversation

WRITER Phillza Mirza

 

Interview taken from IMAGINE Magazine. Order the latest issue here.

 

From on-set meet-cutes to creative breakthroughs, Lilah Pate and William Lipton open up about connection, ambition, and why feeling deeply is the real work behind every performance.

 

When Lilah Pate and William Lipton sit down together, the room changes. Even through a screen, their connection feels lived-in, easy, unforced, almost gravitational. They speak to each other with warmth, humour, and the kind of familiarity that can only come from building something real together. Their partnership both on and off screen is a blend of instinct and intention: two young artists navigating ambition, identity, and emotion with rare vulnerability.

 

In this conversation, the pair reflect on everything. From their chaotic COVID-tainted meet-cute, to the emotional weight of The Runararound. Lilah’s directorial debut Pine and Will’s evolution from musician to actor and back again. What emerges is a portrait of two people who genuinely see each other, who make room for the other to shine, and who insist on softness, safety, and depth in their craft.

 

PHILLZA MIRZA: When you first met on this specific project, what stuck out to you about each other?

 

LILAH PATE: That’s an incredible question. I don’t even know if Will knows this but when they had the call-back Zoom auditions where they just spoke to the creators, I was secretly watching from the sidelines over the shoulders of the people. I remember when they met with Will right after. I was like, that one, that one, that one, that one. And just his energy – you can feel it through a computer, he just brightens the world and every person that he meets is truly lucky. But then I met him in Chapel Hill when they brought us all up there, and unfortunately, I gave Will COVID-19 pretty quickly. We were all wearing masks and taking precautions. So we did the rapid test, but we were still in a room, and Will and I immediately got locked in a conversation separate from everyone else, and we had masks on.

 

Then all of a sudden I hear a ‘Lilah, Lilah’s positive. Get her out. Get her out.’ And so I was escorted off the premises pretty quickly.

 

WILL LIPTON: Just like that she was gone.

 

LP: Just like that. But unfortunately I might have already infected Will by that point but I just remember feeling so safe and comfortable and excited. Will’s one of those people that when he speaks to you he doesn’t look past you he really sees you and gives you the space to to be yourself and is one of the most caring deep thinking people I’ve ever met and you can just feel that energy the second you meet him.

 

WL: Well how am I supposed to follow that up, that’s crazy. You’re so sweet Lilah. I mean the feeling is very much mutual. I had been attached to the project for like two years upon meeting Lilah. But working with Jonas and getting the project up and running, I’ve heard so much about his kiddos and I was very very excited to meet Lilah because in my gut I had a feeling that she was also going to be attached and we’d possibly be doing a lot of work together. She’s a dream co-star and the magic is just all around Lilah anytime you’re around her. It’s infectious and it was very much evident in our co-star meet-cute and throughout the entire process of filming.

 

LP: I like the co-star meet cute.

 

WL: We have a pretty good one, you gave me COVID and the rest is history. Wait Lilah you know what you’ll get a kick out of this. Guess what honey I’m having in my tea this a.m.?

 

LP: Either Erewhon or manuka or-

 

WL: No, your family’s honey!

 

LP: Pate honey!

 

WL: Pate honey.

 

LP: Oh my gosh that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

 

WL: And it’s by far the highest quality honey I’ve had in a long time really.

 

LP: Really? Well I’m gonna get a new batch soon. We have bees at my house and you know my favorite food is honey. Actually for my birthday one year you got me so many different kinds of honeys from different farmer’s markets, different grocery stores, honeycomb and honey sticks and different flavors and it was the best birthday gift I’ve ever received oh that’s so cute good guy.

WL: So my first question Lilah Pate, what drew you to The Runarounds?

 

LP: I think that this project means so much to me for so many reasons it was such a dream concept for my dad and something that he was so passionate about and I think that honestly watching you guys do what you’re great at watching true musicians play and do something that they were so put on this earth to do was just the coolest experience I’ve ever had in my life. I think that’s what drew me to The Runarounds. I just felt so lucky to be in the room. I mean it was never a question of ‘do I want to do this’ it was more I’ll do anything to have any part of this magic that’s happening around me. It was the easiest sell of all time for me.

 

WL: That’s a beautiful response, we were lucky to have you and your magic. This whole thing doesn’t happen without Lilah Pate. All right, So you have to mix music and acting can you talk a little bit how you adjusted to the dual craft process in your new project?

 

LP: I just filmed a new movie written and directed by the queen Rebel Wilson called Girl Group, produced by Live Nation. And this process was the most insane process. I would call you because I’ve never had more respect and understanding for what you all went through in The Runarounds. You would write these songs and rehearse and rehearse and then be ready to do it on the day, whereas I would just show up to work on the day having done my acting prep but that’s very different than the hours and time you put in to sound like they do on the show.

 

But for this [Girl Group], we were doing a lot of singing and dancing and I was terrified. I remember the callback was actually the day before – we were doing press in New York and so I was flown to LA and I had to miss the second day of callbacks. We had an in-person dance callback with the legendary choreographer Chris Scott and the legendary dancer Casey Rice and Rebel was there and that was the first time I met her in person. There were 50 girls there and I was absolutely terrified. I looked around at all these super trained dancers and I am not a trained dancer. I had actually not taken a dance class since I was like a toddler. I quickly realised that I was not going to win based on technical skills and thought that I should just go for the personality. We had a little improv moment at the end of the section for the choreo that we learned and I remember just blacking out I did a split jump without ever testing the theory of if I could do a split jump, turns out I can. I did the worm, I did a twerk series, I went all out and I think that that pushed me over the edge I guess.

 

Actually doing this movie we had so much time to rehearse, learn these dances, sing these songs and record them that it felt the most like theater for something that’s acting. When you showed up on the day we had already been rehearsing it for a couple months and it was just so much fun and gave me so much more respect for how hard you guys worked with the band and all that extra time that you put in to be incredible at your craft on the day when it was time to shoot because that’s the type of work that we had to do for this movie.

 

WL: Mad props Lilah, no one’s more deserving, what a treat. I can’t wait to watch it! All right moving on to the next question, did you have an on-screen kiss with anyone else in this new movie and if so was it better or worse than Will’s kiss? I’m just reading my notes here. I think it’s a great question. Just kidding, we can move past that one it’s all good. The Runarounds is not just about making a band, it’s about identity, ambition and relationships at a pivotal age. How did you bring your personal experience into the roles even beyond music?

 

LP: Why don’t you answer this question first?

 

WL: Okay well, as the question stated The Runarounds is very much about owning your ambition and following the dream, which I think is what makes it such a relatable show. I played music for a long time so being able to apply all my personal experiences show after show, even with ‘The Runarounds’ we went on tour and it was sold out and it was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had. But it wasn’t that long ago where we were playing to like five people in LA at the Zebulon and all those five people included my work friends and two college buddies. So the whole ‘Runarounds’ process was really chasing the dream and then the TV show is about that. It was very cool to have it all come out and come to fruition, while making so many friends and memories along the way.

 

LP: Great answer. Wow I mean how do I follow. I think that for me, I’m a little bit different than my character in the way that Sophia is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life and following this passion that she has. This calling she has towards storytelling, writing, poetry, songwriting and being an artist. Versus in my personal life, I’ve always known that I was going to be a storyteller in some way, whether that was writing, acting or feature directing. I think that I’m very blessed that I’ve never had that deep internal debate and fear that this is what I wanted to do and I think that comes from being from an artistic family who allowed that dream to exist from the very beginning. That doesn’t make pursuing it any less scary, but I’ve never doubted that I will give my life to the adventure rather than the planned out future that I could go towards.

 

I think that it was so fun to kind of experience that other side of it and then also just the friendships and falling in love at that age is all consuming and I’ve been there with a high school relationship. Getting to tap back into those emotions and how intense it feels and the decisions you make and the people you let in at that time of your life, it is so pivotal it shapes your priorities and the path that you go down eventually. So I think tapping back into those feelings and bringing that to the screen was important to me.

 

WL: A little bit off topic but might I add your skin is just glowing, it must be that Croatian sun.

 

LP: Really? My Skin? It’s probably one of the zoom filters. I’m not kidding I was just thinking how amazing your skin looks and thinking I’m texting you after to ask if you have a new skincare routine.

 

WL: Well yeah, I did just get out of a cold shower. I did a cold shower for you Lilah so I can be up and at it.

 

LP: You know me so well.

WL: Okay moving on with a question for the amazing Lilah Pate. There’s a softness and strength to Sophia, how did you approach building her complexity without showing everything she feels on the surface.

 

LP: I think she doesn’t have many places in her life where she gets to break down or be weak. She doesn’t have her mom to take care of her and the loss of her mom led to her dad really spiraling in a way where she had to step up. There wasn’t space for her to spiral as well so she’s very good at compartmentalising what she’s going through to be the adult in the room. But that allows her to not feel as deeply in life because she’s almost afraid to and she starts to feel like she’s beginning to open herself up to those deep feelings. Life is meant to be felt, the sadness, the happiness, the fear and the love. In my opinion that’s one of the reasons why she originally pushes away Charlie Cooper, not because she doesn’t want to be with him but because it feels too real and that’s scary because then she could actually lose someone again that she really loves.

 

I wanted to show an arc with her over the season of where she starts with her being closed off and trying to be on the right path and take care of her dad. And then getting to a breaking point of ‘I can’t ignore this calling, I can’t ignore this relationship, I can’t just go through the motions of life I have to live it.’ Her learning that she can have happiness and joy in a world where her mom no longer exists and letting in all of those emotions, that guilt, fear and excitement hit her at different times. There’s so much more to be explored with her too, she’s just on the surface of it. Even her just making jokes and being present, not taking everything so seriously all the time. Which I could probably take a page out of her book in ways because you know Will that I can get pretty serious when I’m locked in on something. So it’s really all about the journey for her.

 

WL: What an amazing answer! Okay, so the dynamic between our characters is central to the show. For you, what was the most unexpectedly difficult part that you had to shoot between our characters and how did you tackle it?

 

LP: Well, I think the most difficult scene with us was the one we had to reshoot but-

 

WL: Which one?

 

LP: The one that was in the pilot, when I reject being your date to the party for graduation.

 

WL: Fun fact, I didn’t reshoot that.

 

LP: Okay I reshot it because I was bad! Cats out of the bag. Will, you were perfect, you’re a one-hit-wonder honestly. On the other hand, that was one of the first scenes we did in the pilot. This was not the most complex storyline scene for me by any means but just the one that I struggled with the most and then we ended up reshooting a bit of it. I’m gonna let the people in on some hot tea, originally in the script it was, ‘I don’t want to be part of the fan club. I already know six girls who have had the Charlie rockstar experience, and then they changed it to make it two girls! I was upset about that because- excuse my language- but I don’t think that’s enough slut shaming for him. I think six girls makes it more of a reason why she doesn’t want to be a part of the fan club, and two girls take away from why she’s saying no to this. But I was vetoed. But that is a fact that has not been shared yet with the world.

 

WL: So, yeah, I think we’ll fix that in post, right? We’ll just cut all that out.

 

LP: No, that’s in there. But I think now in a serious answer, the deep emotional scenes that we had, especially near the end of the season, nothing was ever difficult because it was with you.

 

WL: I was going to say that. Yeah, no, 100%. By the time we got to the end and we had to film some of those more tough scenes, it was very much natural and we were just in it and it all fell into place.

 

LP: Yeah, it was the easiest thing as well. Will, you create the most safe space. You ask what I need, when you’re off camera you give it your all., you check in with me. You will do as much prep as anyone wants before and drop it after in the sense of moving on. Or if anyone wants to debrief it, you’re so open to the other actor’s needs in such a selfless way and bring out the best performance in me and everyone lucky enough to act against you.

 

WL: Stop. What? This is your… Yeah, if I can get this recording afterwards to show to Lilah on a later date when she’s mad at me or something.

 

LP: Yeah.

WL: Hey, remember when you said this? How awesome I am? Well, you know, the feeling is very much mutual and I try to remind you that as much as I can. You are such a star, Lilah. And it was my pleasure to work with you. Okay, the penultimate question. What do you hope that audiences take away from the show?

 

LP: I really, really hope anyone who watches this show remembers the feeling of having hope and believing in something. The world can feel very daunting and there can be an attitude of why even try. But I hope that anyone who watches this show, if they have something that they’re passionate about, they wake up thinking about it or make their heart beat faster and they care- It can be so niche. It can be a certain reptile that they are absolutely obsessed with or learning an instrument. Anything that you really care about, pursue that with your life.

 

I think life is short, but it’s also long, and you want to spend that time doing something that is very fulfilling and it will be work. It’ll be hard, but you don’t know what will happen. You don’t have control over the end result, but you do have control in the effort and how relentless you are with trying.

 

Find people who care as well and bring out the best in you. Like we’re the sum of five to eight people we surround ourselves with. So if you surround yourself with passionate people like Charlie Cooper, who constantly is pushing you and believing in you and believing in the dream it makes you believe in it. And ;go chase your dreams and write love songs that change the world.

 

WL: Well said, Lilah Pate. Crushing this, you’re a pro. Final question. How has your approach to script, rehearsal and character changed? Especially now that you have directed your short Pine?

 

LP: Oh my gosh. I get to talk about Pine with my leading star. First of all, I just have to go on a little bit of a tangent about this. It was the most incredible experience of my life. I have known I wanted to direct for forever, but having the opportunity to actually step into that role. I wrote a poem my freshman year of college that is a very funny private story between Will and I in many ways.

 

I ended up wanting to turn this poem that I wrote into a short film. Getting to cast my actors, which obviously I cast my two favorite people in the world, you and the amazing Emme Sibulkin. Then getting to storyboard, choose the lenses, choose the locations and choose the costumes. I was hair and makeup for them in the morning, I was props, I was crafty, went to Trader Joe’s, got all the snacks in the world. Getting to wear every hat gave me such a deeper appreciation for everyone on a crew, first of all. And when you’re making these choices, you realise how purposeful everything is.

 

You know when you’re annoyed at an English teacher in class because they’re trying to find reasons behind everything that the author put in there and you’re like, this can’t be that purposeful. There’s got to be a point where we’re dissecting this a little bit too much. No, film, when it’s done right and when there’s care behind it, every detail matters. Everything is thought about. Every colour they’re wearing, every transition, every look, and getting to have that dialogue with you and Emme was the coolest experience. It just made me more camera aware for the future, but also made me think even deeper about characters and storytelling and the ways to tell stories without the words. And so I think I would hope it has made me a better artist. I think it has made me a better artist, storyteller, and I honestly can’t wait for the opportunity to do it again one day. Will, how was your experience on Pine?

 

WL: Oh, man. Well, it was, it was just lovely. Lilah is such a powerhouse of a human. She’s so talented. And when she approached me about wanting my help, to do her first directorial debut, there was no greater honour. I had a blast filming. It was fun because it was in Bloomington and I had just been there for The Runarounds and I definitely was missing working a little bit. And so to, working with something like the same crew again was so much fun and then seeing Lilah in the saddle doing her thing was just so beautiful to watch. I definitely have to give a special shout out to Emme, who is such an amazing actor. I didn’t get to work with her all that much on The Runarounds, but we are good friends. Being able to work with her and Lila, just dream come true, dream team, and I hope we can do it again.

 

LP: One day. They’re my muses. I feel like now I understand when people say they have a muse. When I would watch Emme and Will on screen, I was like, oh, this is what it feels like to have a muse that you just want to show in all their beauty. You’re the most beautiful people on the planet. My gosh. It’s not hard to do.

 

WL: Oh, stop.

 

LP: He’s blushing. You can put that in the interview. You know, Will blushes as Lilah speaks.

As their conversation winds down, one thing becomes unmistakeable: Lilah and Will are not simply co-stars, they are creative anchors for each other. Their admiration is mutual, their curiosity unforced, and their support genuine. In a moment of rising careers and increasing visibility, both artists hold tightly to the parts of themselves that matter most: honesty, generosity, ambition, and care.

 

If The Runarounds, Pine, or Girl Group are any indication, their futures are already unfolding into something bright. But listening to them here, it’s clear the real story in the evolution happening in real time; the way they push, challenge and elevate each other. Whatever comes next, they’ll walk into it with the same fearlessness they bring to everything else.