The Weeknd is set to make his acting debut alongside Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in a mysterious new project, reports Deadline.
The 33-year-old musician will star alongside Ortega, 20, and The Banshees of Inisherin star Barry Keoghan, 30, in the new film to be directed by Trey Edward Shults, from a script co-written with the singer and Reza Fahim.
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has been working on the film for months, and Ortega and Keoghan are said to have signed on after being “blown away” by the script.
Tesfaye, Fahim, Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss are producing with Shultz and Ortega serving as executive producers.
The Weekend and composer/producer OPN will score the film.
Teaming Up: The Weeknd is set to make his acting debut alongside Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in a mysterious new project, Deadline reports.
The Weeknd is also gearing up for the release of his upcoming HBO miniseries The Idol, which he co-created with former nightlife entrepreneur Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, the writer behind Euphoria.
With a cast that includes Lily-Rose Depp, the show follows a pop star who falls for the owner of a cult nightclub, according to Deadline.
Schitt’s Creek actor Dan Levy, The Simpsons icon Hank Azaria, pop artist Troye Sivan and Inglourious Basterds muffin Eli Roth are all on The Idol.
Anne Heche also plays a supporting role, in what will be her last television appearance after her death in a car accident last August.
This comes after The Weeknd made history as the first artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, days after releasing a remix of his song Die for You featuring Ariana Grande.
The news was confirmed this Monday by the digital music service, which places it well ahead of its peers, such as Miley Cyrus, who has 82.5 million listeners, Taylor Swift with 80.3 million and rapper Drake, who has 68.6 million, according to Billboard.
Their latest collaboration, which was an instant hit with fans, marks the fourth time he’s joined forces with Grande.
The Man of the Hour: The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has been working on the film for months, and Ortega and Keoghan (above last week) are said to have signed on after being “blown away” by the script.
Netflix sensation: Ortega is portrayed as Wednesday Addams
His latest milestone also comes days after launching his televised concert, Live at SoFi Stadium, which documented one of his sold-out shows in Los Angeles.
Throughout his career, the performer has taken home four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards and has been nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy.
In 2021, the Toronto-based musician’s hit Blinding Lights became the first song in Billboard Hot 100 history to stay in the Top 10 for an entire year.
The upbeat track from the artist, whose full name is Abel Tesfaye, previously set a record by staying in the Top 5 for 43 weeks.
The previous Top 10 record was held by Post Malone, whose Circles spent 39 weeks at the top of the charts.
The impressive feat came after the song and her album After Hours were both snubbed in Grammy nominations that year, following her incredible Super Bowl performance.
At the time, the Can’t Feel My Face artist said Billboard that the lack of nominations felt like an ‘attack’ on him professionally.
‘We did everything right, I think. I am not a conceited person. I’m not arrogant. People told me I was going to be nominated. The world told me
‘Like, ‘This is it, this is your year. We were all very confused.
Since the snub, he has refused to submit his music for consideration at the Grammy Awards.
Tesfaye first publicly indicated his displeasure with the Recording Academy in November 2021 after the Grammy nominations were announced.
On a roll: The Weeknd made history as the first artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, days after releasing a remix of his song Die for You featuring Ariana Grande.
He tweeted: ‘The Grammys are still crooked. You owe transparency to me, to my fans and to the industry…’
The singer reiterated his ‘boycott’ months later while recounting The New York Times“Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow myto submit my music to the Grammys.”
The ‘secret committees’ he referred to were nominee review committees, which review nominees selected by Recording Academy members and have final say on the nominees, in what was described as a ‘review process’. complicated and obscure nomination’.