Lily-Rose Depp Reveals Who Really Influenced Her Pop Star Character in 'The Idol' (Exclusive)

The actress plays a modern pop star -- but drew inspiration from some past generations of celebrity.

Lily-Rose Depp plays a modern pop star in the upcoming Max series The Idol, but for her inspiration for the character, she drew on icons from different generations.

"Of course, there are so many incredible pop stars of today that I have nothing but admiration and respect for -- and of course, you can't help but thinking of when you think of a character like Jocelyn -- but we're definitely not telling anybody else's story or trying to base her on any real person," the actress explained to ET's Rachel Smith over a virtual interview from the Cannes Film Festival, where the series premiered its first two episodes this week.

"We actually drew from a lot of other influences that are not pop stars," she added. "We thought a lot about Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and the Gene Tierneys and Lauren Bacalls... all of these women that were very inspiring to me for the role."

There was plenty of pop star inspiration for Depp to draw from on set, as well. The Idol stars Abel Tesfaye -- better known as The Weeknd -- as Tedros, a charismatic self-help guru and Jocelyn's love interest, and Troye Sivan and BLACKPINK's Jennie Ruby Jane appear in supporting roles.

Tesfaye and his creative partner, Reza Fahim, co-created the series with Euphoria executive producer Sam Levinson, and the group was all on hand at Cannes to receive the first public reactions to the controversial show.

"It was incredible," Depp recalled. "It felt like such a beautiful celebration, and culmination of, like, everything  that we have been through together and the beautiful process that was in the show and creating this little family together."

"It just felt really, really nice and special to get to celebrate together, and we're just so happy with the response," she added. "It felt really nice to watch the reaction and everything and finally get to share something with the world that we're all so proud of."

Depp also revealed that she got a chance to draw a little inspiration from Jennie, when she had the "best time" at a BLACKPINK concert, and the singer shared that her bandmates have been nothing but supportive of her acting venture.

"When I was filming for The Idol last year, it was while we were filming the music video for our latest album, Born Pink," Jennie recalled. "So they just checked in on me every day. They would call me when I was in L.A. shooting, just making sure that I was doing all right on my own."

And that support has continued as she promotes the upcoming series. "Today, Jisoo texted me, 'You look beautiful, I'm so happy for you!'" she shared. "It's a nice family that we have."

The Idol premieres June 4 on HBO.

RELATED CONTENT:

Latest News