Charli XCX felt a lack of control when she acted on screen for the first time.
After more than 15 years as a pop star, the 360 hitmaker started exploring acting in 2023 and has swiftly notched up seven acting credits, with two more in the pipeline.
Reflecting on the transition, Charli admitted to British Vogue that it felt “crazy” putting her faith in somebody else after being in the driver’s seat of her music career.
“When I was acting for the first time, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is crazy. I have no control.’ It’s really raw. You’re putting your faith in someone entirely,” she shared.
“It can be scary to leave something behind that you’re known for, then risk it all trying to do something else.”
Although it only came out this year, Charli’s first acting project was the horror remake, Faces of Death, in May 2023. She had never considered acting until director Daniel Goldhaber approached her about a small role.
“I went feeling so like, ‘What the f**k am I doing here?’ I was like, ‘OK, let me just see how this makes me feel.’ And it made me feel really amazing,” she said of the experience, before noting that it sparked her hunger to learn more about acting.
“I feel so lucky to be on set with so many actors and directors I admire. I have a hunger to learn and understand how other people do it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like, ‘Wow, I killed that.’ I feel ready to do it 1,000 times if necessary,” Charli added.
However, it wasn’t until she made the drama Erupjca with Pete Ohs in Poland that she felt like she fully became her character.
“There were definitely moments where I was like, ‘God, I’m not this girl’ and that was really cool,” the singer recalled.
In addition to Faces of Death and Erupjca, Charli’s film credits include The Gallerist, 100 Nights of Hero, and I Want Your Sex, as well as her own mockumentary The Moment.
She is currently filming a movie in Kyoto with Japanese horror director Takashi Miike, alongside Norman Reedus and Milly Alcock, and is gearing up to release the follow-up to her 2024 smash hit album Brat.
