Why Lily-Rose Depp Would ‘Steer Clear’ of The Weeknd When Filming ‘The Idol’

According to The Idol star Lily-Rose Depp, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye would get so “in his zone” when playing sketchy club owner Tedros that she would “steer clear” of him.

Depp, who plays a pop star who falls into the orbit and under the influence of The Weeknd’s character, admitted to Entertainment Weekly that she sometimes avoided her co-star.

“I don’t think anybody went full method — nobody lost their minds,” Depp said. “Well, sometimes when Abel would get — I don’t want to reveal too much about where Abel’s character goes, but when he would be in full Tedros mode sometimes, I would steer clear of him. I’d be like, ‘He’s in his zone right now.'”

Depp and The Weeknd are costars in the new HBO drama that has filled the Sunday evening slot Succession left behind. The Idol follows Depp’s character, Jocelyn, as she recovers from a very publicized mental health breakdown. Tesfaye’s character, Tedros, is a cult leader who takes her under his wing under the guise of revitalizing her career.

The show was critically panned after the first two episodes debuted at Cannes in May. Critics called it a “skin-crawling,” complaining that the show came off as a “sordid male fantasy” following months of bad press.

Though some reviews hailed Depp for her “riveting” performance on the show, others noted that her character is continuously “exploited” to illustrate the dark side of the music industry. But according to Depp, working on The Weeknd’s show was a “quite lighthearted” experience.

“For something that does, of course, explore darker themes and has some pretty heavy emotional moments to it and everything, the vibe on set was quite lighthearted,” she told EW.

“We’re all really good friends and we all are similar people and really understand each other,” Depp continued. “We were having a lot of laughs, listening to a lot of music, dancing around, and that kind of energy is what made the heavier moments easier and possible, because whenever you knew that there was a bigger, emotional scene coming up, you felt like you were surrounded by people that you feel comfortable with, people that have your back, and you feel that in the show.”

A telling report from Rolling Stone revealed that some of the crew members on set didn’t have as positive of an experience once the show started heading in a different direction under Tesfaye and co-creator Sam Levinson’s leadership.

Regardless, Depp has stood by the co-creators. She even praised her costar for his acting during the pilot episode’s post-show breakdown.

“I love Abel so much,” she said. “He was able to melt into this role in a way that is really difficult for anybody to do.”

The Idol episode 1 is now streaming on Max. New episodes premiere Sundays on HBO.