Musically, The Weeknd (33), whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, is one of the most successful artists ever. Now the Canadian singer apparently wants to gain a foothold in the film business. As “Deadline” reports, the musician is currently working on his feature film debut.
He will team up with Trey Edward Shults (34), who will direct and co-write the screenplay with Tesfaye and Reza Fahim. The Weeknd is also one of the producers. Further details about the still untitled film are not yet known, but the project is said to be in production. The cast should also include Jenna Ortega (20), known from the Netflix series “Wednesday”, and Barry Keoghan (30), who can be seen as the simple-minded Dominic in the tragic comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin” and for his performance was nominated for the Oscar and Golden Globe Award 2023.
It’s The Weeknd’s first real lead role. In 2019 he played himself in the critically acclaimed film “The Black Diamond” alongside Adam Sandler (56). He has also made trips to television. He previously wrote and starred in an episode of the animated series American Dad in 2020. He is also said to be starring in the HBO series “The Idol,” which he also worked on and worked with “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson (38).
Most recently, The Weeknd set a musical record: he is the first musician in the history of Spotify to have 100 million listeners a month. “It’s official: On February 27th, The Weeknd became the first artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners,” the streaming service said in a social media post. The 33-year-old already holds the record for the most-played song of all time on Spotify: the hit “Blinding Lights” has been played 3.4 billion times.
