Blackpink’s Jennie says she didn’t train for her acting debut in The Idol: ‘It definitely was a challenge’

Blackpink’s Jennie is all set to mark her acting debut with the upcoming HBO series The Idol. The Sam Levinson-led series was recently screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where Jennie was present along with the cast, including Lily-Rose Depp and Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye. When asked about her decision to choose the series as her acting debut, Jennie said that she had followed the director’s work for a long time and wanted to work with him. (Also read: The Idol first reactions are in: HBO show divides Cannes with ‘too much nudity’)

Controversy surrounding The Idol

The Idol, created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson, bills itself as the “sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood”. Even before the series had premiered it was mired in controversy. A report was published a few months ago where a dozen anonymous members from the crew labelled the set of the show to be exceedingly toxic. At Cannes, the premiere garnered a 5-minute standing ovation amid shocking, divisive reactions on social media.

Didn’t undergo any preparation

In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily right ahead of her Cannes red carpet debut, Jennie revealed that she did not have to undergo any preparation for the role as the director wanted her to be natural. “It was an opportunity to just be myself and be brave. I didn’t really train for it, or prep anything… Sam wanted me to just be myself. It definitely was a challenge, because I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It was like, breaking a wall for me.” She further added that actor Lily-Rose Depp was supportive and made her feel at ease during the shooting process.

Admiration for the director

Jennie also talked about her experience working on the show and what attracted her to the part in the first place. She said that since the series was about the music industry, she thought it would be a great opportunity for her. “I’ve been admiring Sam’s work for a very long time… I trusted Sam to be collaborative with all the scenes that we would be working on together, because it was about the industry. The fact that it was about the music industry fascinated me, and I thought I could bring something to the role,” she said.

The Idol is set to release on HBO from June 4.