Bonnie and John Lithgow

In August, I had the privilege of working with the great John Lithgow while he was in rehearsals for Giant at the Royal Court. John, a fellow graduate of LAMDA's Classical Acting course, reached out the the school in search of a student or graduate to help him run lines outside of rehearsal: that's where I came in.

John couldn't have been kinder, warmer, and more welcoming of me. We had lovely conversations in between line-learning stints, and he told me the most amazing stories. Seeing one of the greatest actors of our time in process, stumbling over words and phrases, still shaping his character, was an incredible learning experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Pictured above is John and I at a LAMDA donor event after one of the performances. As we rode up the lift together (my friend from LAMDA was tasked with fetching him from the bar, and she asked me to wait with her so that he could spot us), he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I didn't fuck up too many of my lines tonight."

Update: as of July 2026, Giant went on to win multiple Olivier's including Best Actor for John, transfer to a sold-out West End run, and go on to Broadway where John received a Tony award for his performance.