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FKA Twigs says that acting in the forthcoming remake of The Crow allowed her to heal and accept her inner darkness again, after life circumstances left her feeling “unsafe”.
The gothic superhero film based on the comic book series by James O’Barr is a reprisal of the original 1994 supernatural drama starring Brandon Lee, who tragically died after a prop gun malfunctioned on set.
Starring It actor Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven, it follows a resurrected anti-hero who seeks revenge for his death and that of his fiancée Shelly, played by Twigs.
“I think for the past few years I’ve had to, because of life circumstances, kind of step away a bit from the darkness that I have inside me which is such a huge part,” she told Buzzfeed UK’s Seasoned BF.
“People can think that darkness is like a bad thing but I don’t see it like that. It’s like a well, it’s like a beautiful deep pool. It’s depth of character.”
The 36-year-old “Cellophane” singer – real name Tahliah Barnett – filed a lawsuit in 2020 against ex-partner and Honey Boy star Shia LaBeouf for “relentless abuse” including sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress, during what she called a “living nightmare” of a relationship. LaBeouf has denied the allegations, and the case is expected to go to trial this autumn.
The star continued, “For a few years, before playing Shelly, I became shy of my darkness because it felt maybe unknown and it felt like an unsafe place for me because of circumstances in my life. But through Shelly I was able to explore that again and think no, this is beautiful. This is what makes me who I am.
“I think that since playing Shelly I’ve been able to embrace that part and give it a hug and let it come through and in turn give a new light, like a new ray of light through the darkness.”
“So it was almost like a therapeutic healing process playing her?” Buzzfeed UK’s Ada Enechi asked.
“Yeah it was almost like a way back into a part of myself that I’d not seen for a second,” Twigs replied.
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The movie is sold as a dark and glamorous action-romance with its trailer boasting taglines such as “True love never dies” in an ode to the resurrected lead and his quest to avenge the death of his lover.
British actor Josette Simon who plays Sophia in the film, is seen in the clip advising, “It’s not anger, it’s love” while another character urges, “You know that love promises only pain”.
Twigs told British Vogue in March that the film had changed the way she saw relationships and that her and co-star Bill Skarsgård had “incredible chemistry” on and off screen.
“It set a new bar for the type of love that I want,” she said.
“I’m so romantic, I got to live a romance for a whole summer. How incredible to play that, because at the time, I was quite a broken woman.
“At the end of filming I was actually nervous about leaving Eric behind. But then I do think I still have Shelly within me, which sounds weird. But you know what Shelly taught me? That my darkness is beautiful, like a black rose.”
