Jenna Ortega is revealing details about her character in The Weeknd’s psychological thriller Hurry Up Tomorrow.
The film’s first trailer debuted on Tuesday. Per a press release from Lionsgate, the logline for Hurry Up Tomorrow reads, “A musician plagued by insomnia is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence.”
The Weeknd—whose real name is Abel Tesfaye—plays the musician, Abel, while Ortega plays the stranger, Anima.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly that was published on Monday, the Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star said that she first had doubts about herself playing Anima. Her doubts dissipated, though, after meeting with Tesfaye and Hurry Up Tomorrow director Trey Edward Shults (Waves and It Comes at Night).
“I actually didn’t think that I was right for it initially. But through conversation and built trust with Trey and Abel, it felt like a team and vision I wanted to work with,” Ortega told EW.
Ortega also told EW that the film was an “experimental telling of what it means to be an artist who is changing, evolving, managing their past while trying not to fear the unknown. What a mental block can do to one’s sense of self.”
Ortega also noted for EW that her character, Anima, is “a version of Abel. A side of him that the persona The Weeknd doesn’t show as much. There were many iterations of Ani as the new script drafts came in, but I just loved that she consistently took no sh*t and felt everything intensely.”
The first official trailer is embedded below. Note: The NSFW trailer contains F-bombs.
‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ Marks The Weeknd’s Film Debut
Hurry Up Tomorrow—which is also the name of The Weeknd’s new album—marks the musician’s first feature film as an actor. Previously, The Weeknd starred in the 2023 Max series The Idol opposite Lily-Rose Depp (Nosferatu).
Barry Keoghan (The Batman and Saltburn) also stars in Hurry Up Tomorrow and is featured along with The Weeknd and Jenna Ortega in the film’s first official trailer. Keoghan’s character, Lee, appears to be Abel’s manager or close associate in the film, telling the singer, “Stop self-doubtin’—you’re f—ing invincible.”
The fast-moving trailer highlights Abel’s fragile state of mind throughout. The trailer also features Abel in a concert setting with Anima in attendance.
Rated R, Hurry Up Tomorrow—starring Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan—opens in theaters on May 16.
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