Lily-Rose Depp says ‘The Idol’ character is not based on Britney Spears, but she drew inspiration from Sharon Stone
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Lily-Rose Depp recently opened up about her upcoming HBO series ‘The Idol’ in which she plays a singer named Jocelyn. It has been speculated that the fictional popstar appears to be inspired by Britney Spears, the “Princess of Pop,” who spent years in a conservatorship.
However, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis has cleared the air around the alleged similarities and told Extra’s Rachel Lindsay, “It's not based on anyone in particular… We’re definitely not trying to tell anyone else’s story, but definitely create one of our own. There were a lot of different people that I was inspired by for this role. Some that were pop stars, some that were not.”
‘I drew a lot of inspiration from actresses’
“I wanted Jocelyn to feel simultaneously like a modern-day pop queen of today but also like somebody that kind of existed in her own world and in her own kind of time so I drew a lot of inspiration from actresses like… Gene Tierney and Sharon Stone and women like that that I find really inspiring,” the 24-year-old actress explained.
Lily-Rose also defended the “too graphic” tag linked with the show. She said, “This is a fictional character and fictional story… I think the daringness of all of the scenes was something that added to the character's rawness. Also to my desire to go there and explore the character to the best I could.”
‘The show explores fame and loss’
‘The King’ actress’ co-star Troye Sivan also agreed with her as the 27-year-old Australian singer-songwriter shared, “This show definitely explores some dark themes… amongst those though is a really human moment… The exploration of loss… The show explores fame and loss, chosen families, and friendship and betrayal. There's so much here. It was a really meaty, complicated story.”
Besides, Lily-Rose also revealed how the drama, airing on June 4, portrays “the industry”. She noted, “The way that we idolize people in the public eye today. And the way that we almost convince ourselves that we know them… We build them up to these god-like statuses and then we kind of relish in taking them down. I think there is a big conversation around that in the show.”
Lily-Rose’s interview with Extra came after she supported ‘The Idol’ director Sam Levinson, who was accused of transforming the television series into “torture porn”. She told E! News, “Sam is, for so many reasons, the best director I have ever worked with. Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input, and opinions more valued. Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way—it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it.”