The Umbrella Academy Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. If you’re a fan of the series, you’d probably know Lila Pitts, the crazy time assassin who befriends Diego Hargreeves back in time. However, what you may not know is that Lila’s character is played by an actress of Indian origin, Ritu Arya.
Arya was born in England to Indian parents who worked in real estate. She has two brothers. She began her acting career as a teenager and even did training at the Oxford School of Drama. She has performed in theatre, television, and films. The actress also has a B.Sc. in Astrophysics from the University of Southampton.
Her first major acting gig was her role as a psychiatrist Dr. Megan Sharma in the British soap opera Doctors, which featured from 2013 to 2017. She was also nominated as Best Newcomer in 2017 for the same role in British Soap Award. She also starred in the commercially successful film Last Christmas and Red Notice.
The actress made guest appearances in Sherlock and Doctor Who. She also appeared as the android Flash in Humans and Lava in Feel Good. Her role as Lila Pitts in The Umbrella Academy is one of the most popular performances in her acting career.
Besides being an actress, Arya is also a drummer and a member of a London-based Indie-pop band KIN, who released their debut, Sharing Light, in 2020. Since then, the band has also released other beautiful tracks like L.O.V.E and Wander & Lost.
In an interview with People, Arya mentioned that she grew up watching Bollywood movies and fell in love with acting during her school days itself.
I got full marks on one of my performances. I thought, ‘That’s pretty cool. Maybe I’m good at this?’ But I went to college and studied astrophysics, before going to drama school. Which was a weird move. But I was quite into space and stuff.
Oh! And if it’s not clear by now, Arya is a person with varied interests. She spoke about her passion for drumming and her band in the same interview.
I really love it. The band is so great. It really adds some security and certainty, doing something that you love, that you’re sort of in charge of.”
In another interview with Comic.com during the press for her film Red Notice, Arya spoke about Lila’s character arc in season 3 of The Umbrella Academy.
I hope that the audience enjoys seeing Lila sort of developed further down the line, seeing more of her. I hope that it’s going to be fun to watch. I really had fun filming it and delving deeper into her character more and her relationships with the family more. So, I hope that comes across.
Arya is also said to be joining Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the much-awaited Barbie movie, which will release in July 2023. Till then, you can watch the actress on The Umbrella Academy Season 3 currently streaming on Netflix.
