The Weeknd speaks highly of his costars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan in an upcoming movie, Hurry Up Tomorrow.
In a new interview with Variety, Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, shared his experience of working with Wednesday star and Saltburn actor in a new suspense thriller.
Speaking of Jenna and Barry, Abel said, “Jenna brought so much depth to the character.”
“There was a scene where Trey and I looked at each other like, ‘On paper, this is just ridiculous — how is it going to translate on screen?’ And she said, ‘I have an idea.’ She led that whole scene — none of it was rehearsed, and a lot of my reactions in it are not acting,” explained the musician and actor.
As far as Barry is concerned, Abel stated that he “was a friend of mine prior to all this”.
“And he was always number one on my list for his role. What makes him different from Jenna is that his talent is so raw, it just comes so naturally to him,” pointed out Abel.
Elsewhere in the interview, the musician and actor revealed that the theme of his character “struggled with sense of self” and “psychology of fame”.
Abel further said that the movie is based on sixth studio album of the same name, which is directed by Trey Edward Shults.
In the same interview, Abel hinted at his retirement, adding, “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for. I feel like it comes with so much…”
“You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it,” said the musician.
Meanwhile, Hurry Up Tomorrow movie will release on May 16, 2025.
