The series “The Idol”, the landing of Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye on television, has been heralded by HBO as the most sordid tale seen to date about the music industry. But beyond its content for adults, it is more of a fable about the darker side of fame, according to its cast.
“We put them on top of the world and then we throw them away, just like that, so easily. It almost seems that it gives us pleasure,” actress Lily-Rose Depp, in charge of giving life to Jocelyn, the “popstar” who stars, explained to EFE. The Idol”, during his recent stint at the Cannes Film Festival.
Daughter of fellow actor Johnny Depp and French singer Vanessa Paradis, the 24-year-old actress has known well what it’s like to deal with fame since the beginning of her life, although “The Idol” -co-created by Tesfaye (The Weeknd), Sam Levinson (Euphoria) and Amy Seimetz- take the pressure of celebrity to the extreme.
“It’s a fictional series, obviously, and we’re telling a fictional story. But we’re basing ourselves on a world that of course has darkness in it,” the actress said.
For Troye Sivan, music star and also part of the cast of “The Idol” with what is his first television role, fame is something that easily goes to your head.
“I think it can bring out a lot of darkness in people and I think that’s something that the show explores. For me, being in the music industry as my actual job, I feel like I had moments where I would look at things and be like ‘oh , I definitely recognize that emotion or that character trait,'” he explained to EFE.
However, the 27-year-old singer assured that he has never witnessed things as “crazy” as those addressed by “The Idol” and considered that his journey to fame has been a comfortable journey because it was “slow” and “gradual”. .
“I never had any kind of overnight moment where my life changed in one day. I think that, for people, is very scary. For me it was something consistent,” added Sivan, in addition to counting that he can always come back to Australia, with his family and friends, to enjoy a bit of “normalcy”.
THE SCANDAL OF THE SUMMER
The series, which reaches the platform HBO Max this Sunday June 4, It has been preceded by numerous controversies due to its explicit content, changes in creative direction and rumors of a toxic environment on set, something that the team flatly rejected at the grand gala premiere of the first two chapters, which took place at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
And for the actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who, like Sivan, plays one of the characters that make up the entourage of the leading popstar, not even that alleged indecency of the series is such a big deal.
“It’s not outrageous for the simple fact that we’re not reinventing the wheel (…) Behind closed doors, everyone knows what you’re doing in the privacy of your own home, so to me, I think if anything it just shows a very realistic and sometimes exaggerated version of how things can go,” Randolph told EFE.
“At the same time, I think it’s important to point out that this shows a cautionary tale. You put up a mirror to show that this is what can happen depending on how you choose to navigate and move. But it’s layered and I think when episodes three come around and four, definitely five, there will be a twist that you don’t expect,” he promised.
Lily-Rose Depp was also convinced in Cannes that the sex scenes and nudity of her character in the series are a reflection of the emotional nakedness of Jocelyn, a singer who is looking for a new direction for her career in the middle of a sea of pressures and who allows himself to be taken in by a manipulative self-help guru played by Tesfaye.
“It reflects the world we live in,” said the actress. “We always knew we were going to do a provocative show. And that’s something that was part of the attraction for me. I’m not afraid.” EFE