Lily-Rose Depp knows a lot of people have a lot of opinions about The Idol — especially when it comes to its controversial content and nudity (most of which involves the actress.) But Johnny Depp’s daughter said the set “felt like a big creative playground where we were free to try things and have it work or not work. It felt like a really safe creative space.”
“For me, the whole character and the show and her arc was really a collaboration through and through. We know that we’re making something provocative and we are not shying away from that. That’s something I knew I was setting out to do from the beginning,” the 24-year-old told Vogue Australia. “I was never interested in making something puritanical. It’s okay if this show isn’t for everyone and that’s fine — I think all the best art is [polarizing]. I’ve never felt more respected and more safe on a set, honestly.”
Depp said she trusted what she was building with creators Sam Levinson and Abel “the Weeknd” Tesfaye and it made “for a really safe-feeling set.”
“So when it comes to the nudity and the risqué nature of the role, that to me was really intentional,” the actress continued. “That was really important to me and something that I was excited about doing. I’m not scared of it. I think we live in a highly sexualized world. I think that’s an interesting thing to explore.”
As for that Rolling Stone report that production went “wildly, disgustingly off the rails,” Lily-Rose defended Levinson, who took over directing the series amid a creative overhaul.
“I had the best time ever working with Sam and I’ve said this before, he’s my favorite director that I’ve ever worked with. I’ve never felt so creatively inspired and fulfilled and like I learned more, also, I feel like I learned more on this set than I have ever,” she shared.
Levinson has been similarly criticized for featuring gratuitous nudity in his hit show Euphoria.
“The creative environment that Sam creates on set, to me, is conducive to the best work I feel like I have done and it brought the best out of everyone. We did a lot of improv which was really fun, which was really new for me. It taught me so much and I feel like it just made me a better actress. And I just couldn’t have felt more supported by Sam,” Lily-Rose added.
The season finale of The Idol airs on Sunday, one week earlier than the network initially planned. A source close to the situation told Yahoo Entertainment that after Levinson “took over and made significant changes,” the story only required five episodes. HBO initially picked up the show, co-created by Tesfaye and Levinson, as a six-episode series. It’s unclear if The Idol will be renewed for a second season.
