‘The Idol’ Star Moses Sumney on His Acting Debut in the Controversial HBO Series, and Playing Izaak as ‘Dumb and Hot’

variety.com:

Ellise Shafer For Moses Sumney, being cast in Sam Levinson’s controversial HBO series “The Idol” was, as he tells Variety, “strangely cosmic.” The singer-songwriter — whose two studio albums, “Aromanticism” and “Græ,” were released to critical acclaim — first came into contact with Levinson when he synced Sumney’s song, “Me in 20 Years,” for Rue’s special episode of “Euphoria” in late 2020.

Sumney, who had been taking virtual acting classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, then found himself auditioning for the role of Elliot (Dominic Fike) in Season 2 of the series. “I auditioned kind of on a whim, and it weirdly went really well and went pretty far until I think the powers that be were like, ‘So, I don’t know if he looks 16 years old,'” Sumney says with a laugh. “Then Sam called me and was like, ‘I love you so much as an actor, I’m gonna keep you in mind.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever, sure.'” Flash forward a year, and Levinson kept his promise. “He was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this show that we’re doing, and I’m writing it right now and I cannot get you out of my mind for it — will you do it?'” Sumney recalls. “I was just like, ‘Well, fuck it.

OK, sure!'” That show was “The Idol,” a drama following pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), who tries to reclaim her career after suffering a nervous breakdown due to her mother’s death — and ends up in the arms of Tedros (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye), a sleazy club owner leading (and sometimes torturing) a cult-like group of aspiring musicians.

Sumney plays Izaak, a seemingly-always-shirtless follower of Tedros who seduces Leia (Rachel Sennott), Jocelyn’s assistant and best friend. “The Idol” hasn’t been without controversy.