Lily-Rose Depp Says ‘Nobody Lost Their Mind’ On ‘The Idol’
Lily-Rose Depp assures audiences that “The Idol” was no exercise in method acting.
The already controversial HBO series, which premiered at Cannes, has been compared to porn and rape, but lead character Depp is adamant that no one in the cast “lost their minds” during production.
“I don’t think anyone has gone full method – no one has lost their mind,” said Depp Entertainment Weekly.
Depp plays pop star Jocelyn who falls in love with twisted nightclub owner Tedros, played by series co-creator Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.
“Well, sometimes when Abel was going to — I don’t want to give too much away about where the character of Abel goes, but when he was sometimes in full Tedros mode, I would steer clear of him,” Depp admitted. like, ‘He’s in the zone with him right now.’”
“The Idol” underwent extensive reshoots after series director Amy Seimetz parted ways with the production. Co-creator Sam Levinson took over directing duties for the five-episode series. Depp called the production process a “light-hearted” experience despite the heaviness of the series’ content.
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“For something that obviously explores darker themes and has some pretty heavy emotional moments and all that, the atmosphere on set was pretty lighthearted,” Depp said. “We’re all really good friends and we’re all like-minded people and we really understand each other. We were laughing a lot, listening to a lot of music, dancing, and that kind of energy is what made the heavier moments easier and more possible, because every time you knew there was a bigger, more emotional scene coming, you felt like if you were surrounded by people you feel comfortable with, people who have your back and you feel it in the show.
Director Levinson defended the show against rumors of chaos on the set while in Cannes.
“We know we’re making a provocative show,” Levinson said. “Especially in the United States, the influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of young people in the United States. And we see that in pop music and how it sort of reflects the kind of underbelly of the internet. I think with this show and working with Lily, we’ve had a lot of discussions about who she is as a person, who (her character) Jocelyn is as a person (and) from that point, the sexuality comes out of that character. I think she’s very true to what almost every pop star is doing these days.