Pop musicians taking on screen roles often stick to familiar territory, whether that means safe starring vehicles or splashy, self-serving appearances. Charli XCX, however, seems determined to build a film resume on her own terms, sidestepping the usual commercial shortcuts in favor of varied, director-driven projects across different genres. Her newest credit places her in elite company, joining Martin Scorsese for his upcoming gothic psychological drama, What Happens At Night, which features Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
The project marks Scorsese's direct follow-up to his 2023 feature, Killers Of The Flower Moon. Leaving behind the historical American plains of that previous production, the filmmaker is heading into far chillier ground. What Happens At Night follows a married American couple who travel into a remote, snow-covered European town in the hope of adopting an infant. As outlined in the production logline, the journey quickly deteriorates. The couple faces an unraveling domestic dynamic while working to claim their baby, in the process discovering how little they genuinely understand about one another.
Charli XCX is set to appear in a cameo role. Her team has declined requests to share specific details about the part, but the casting is part of an unusually busy run of screen work across the past year. Earlier this year, she took on a supporting role in the fantasy drama 100 Nights Of Hero and played an exaggerated, fictionalized version of herself in the mockumentary The Moment. Her slate also includes the romantic drama Erupcja, a part in Olivia Wilde's I Want Your Sex, and an upcoming role in The Gallerist, a heist thriller starring Natalie Portman.
What Happens At Night also serves as an unexpected reunion between the musician and the director. Scorsese previously posed for the cover of Charli XCX's studio album, Music, Fashion, Film. Reflecting on that striking visual collaboration, she spoke warmly of his demeanor and praised his encyclopedic command of cinematic history. She also highlighted his lifelong dedication to film preservation, describing his efforts in that field as a meaningful creative inspiration for her own work.
For all her momentum in the film industry, Charli XCX has remained refreshingly blunt about the skepticism that follows pop performers into acting. Discussing Erupcja earlier this year, she acknowledged that watching musicians transition into cinema can often feel inherently cringe. That awareness appears to shape how she handles herself during production. Describing herself as very new to the filming environment, she noted that she prefers to stay quiet on sets, choosing to study the mechanics of the craft rather than command the spotlight. By her own account, she reserves her creative suggestions strictly for instances where she feels deeply passionate about an idea and confident that her input will bring something genuine to the table.
That restrained, observant mindset has not gone unnoticed by the directors she encounters. Following the opening night performance of her Music, Fashion, Film tour in September, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan praised her publicly, describing her as a true artist. He singled out her sincere passion as a cinephile, noting that she is someone with whom one can talk endlessly about cinema. Between mockumentaries, fantasy adaptations, and now a Martin Scorsese production, Charli XCX continues to construct an unconventional, curiosity-driven path through modern filmmaking.
