Though “The Idol” may present growing up in the trappings of fame as an inescapable nightmare, that’s not its star’s experience with Hollywood. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Thursday, Lily-Rose Depp spoke about her “normal” childhood with father Johnny Depp in comparison to the Sam Levinson series.
The daughter of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor and French singer and model Vanessa Paradis, Depp has been connected to the industry since birth. Despite that, she said that her parents “did their best to give my brother and I the most ‘normal’ childhood that we could have. Obviously, still not totally normal, but a sense of normalcy, at least.”
This is in sharp contrast to her character Jocelyn’s childhood in “The Idol.” Though the fictional pop star’s backstory has yet to be fully revealed, according to Depp, Jocelyn is someone who grew up with a stage mom and “who’s been working basically since she could talk.” Though their upbringings were “very different,” Depp said she was still able to draw on parts of her experience to help her better understand the role.
“The Idol” is Max and HBO’s latest Sunday night drama. Created by Levinson (“Euphoria”), Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) and Reza Fahim, the series follows a mega, Britney Spears-level pop star who, after a mental breakdown forced her to cancel her last tour, reemerges desperate to reclaim the spotlight. This journey leads her to enter a complicated sexual relationship with the cult leader Tedros (Tesfaye).
The series has been riddled with controversies even before its premiere. Amy Seimetz (“The Girlfriend Experience”) was originally part of the project before she was replaced with Levinson, leading to significant reshoots. The series was also referred to as “torture porn” in a Rolling Stone expose and had a divisive reception at Cannes. The first episode was watched by 913,000 viewers.
New episodes of “The Idol” premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
