Lily-Rose Depp takes on her biggest role to date, playing pop star Jocelyn, in HBOs The Idol, which premiered on Sunday night.
Depp who knows a thing or two about stardom, having grown up in the Hollywood limelight herself says she was interested in The Idol because it delves into the crazy and chaotic world of the music industry.
I was really intrigued by this project as soon as I heard about it. The world that it was exploring with all of the craziness and chaos that goes on is one that we dont get to see all the time, Depp says. Speaking about her character, she adds, Jocelyn is a pop star who is constantly surrounding by people who shes not sure if she can trust.
Talking during a post-show breakdown that HBO aired after the first episode on Sunday, Depp praised her co-star, Abel the Weeknd Tesfaye, who is co-creator and executive producer of the show.
I love Abel so much, Depp says. He was able to melt into this role in a way that is really difficult for anybody to do.
In The Idol, the Weeknd plays Tedros, Jocelyns love interest who is a mysterious and creepy leader of a modern-day cult. In the first episode, Tedros meets Jocelyn at a club and after they hook-up in a stairwell, she invites him over to her house and they begin a complex relationship. The episode ends with Tedros suffocating Jocelyn with her red silk robe and then slitting a hole over her mouth with a knife as a symbol of, what he says, is displaying her trust in him.
He offers her a freedom that she hasnt felt in a while, Depp says of the dynamic between the two characters.
The Weeknd co-created The Idol with Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, creator of HBOs mega-hit Euphoria. Levinson says that right after he had finished the second season of Euphoria, he received a call to head over to the Weeknds house and thats when they started talking about making the show. (Fun fact: Jocelyns mansion in The Idol is the Weeknds real-life Los Angeles home.)
The Idol is about an artist who feels stuck who also feels pressured by the expectations of the world at large and is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to say, Levinson says. He later adds, Part of what this show is about is having a little bit more skepticism about celebrities we ultimately idolize.
Im really proud of how we made this show, Levinson says.
To round out his perfect cast, Levinson called artists that he always admired, but hadnt worked with before. The Idol ensemble includes K-pop superstar Jennie from the group Blackpink; singer Troye Sivan; Eli Roth; Rachel Sennot; Dan Levy; Jane Adams; and DaVine Joy Randolph.
We all have a great dynamic and a loose one and a fun one, Levinson says of working on-set with the cast. Weve got a script, but theyre just riffing and going with one another We had such an incredible cast. There was a real trust that they had of each other as performers, so it was interesting to just see what happens when the life unfolds.
In the first episode, one scene has Jocelyn rehearsing with her dancers, one of which is played by Jennie, who of course, is a real-life triple threat.
I didnt have a lot of time to learn the choreography for the dance scenes, Jennie says with a laugh, during the HBO post-show. But thankfully, I do this all the time, so it came naturally to me.
Even before its premiere, The Idol has generated much conversation and is sure to continue that trend after the first episode. But, the cast says audiences wont expect what happens as the season unfolds.
As the season progresses, there is definitely chess being played between the two of them, Randolph says about Depp and the Weeknds characters. Sennot adds, This is a ride. It goes somewhere different than you think its going to go.