Even starring amid the heavyweight likes of Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s undeniable: Killers Of The Flower Moon was Lily Gladstone’s film. Following her roles in Reservation Dogs and Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow, she went on to steal the show in Martin Scorsese’s take on the Osage murders, earning widespread plaudits (and an Oscar nomination) for her astonishing performance as Mollie Burkhart. And this is just the beginning for Gladstone. After her breakout role, she’s going big – and she’s ready to step into all kinds of different worlds and genres.

As she tells Empire in a major new interview, Gladstone has a wide spread of projects in the works. There’s an upcoming romcom (“It’s deeply indie, which I love,” she says), as well as dystopian sci-fi adaptation The Memory Police, scripted by Charlie Kaufman and to be directed by Reed Morano (“A decentralised indictment of totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and fascism, but in a very Charlie Kaufman way,” Gladstone describes it). Plus, she’s imminently to be seen in Fancy Dance, a road trip drama in which she plays a Seneca-Cayuga woman who, along with her niece, heads out to track down her lost sister. “This is Thelma & Louise, or Paper Moon, just in a different world,” she notes of the film.

But beyond that, Gladstone is hoping to break into action – and beyond. “I like black comedy. Before it’s all over, it would be really fun to do an action film,” she says. “I am having conversations about doing things that have some levity, because while I want my work to be meaningful, I really like getting creative and going against the grain.” Most importantly, she’s ready to bring her Native American identity to roles that aren’t specifically centred on that identity. “It’s all of the things you dream of for yourself when you first become an actor, but unless they were looking for someone Native, I didn’t see myself getting to play those characters,” Gladstone says. “There’s way more diversity in the things I’m being approached for now and what I’m being offered.” The time of Lily Gladstone has only just begun.

Empire Summer 2024 cover – Deadpool & Wolverine© Provided by EmpireRead Empire’s full Lily Gladstone interview – talking the aftermath of the Oscars, the making of Fancy Dance, and where she goes next – in the Deadpool & Wolverine issue, on sale now. Order a copy online here. Fancy Dance is in cinemas and on Apple TV+ from 28 June.