Was Billie Eilish almost cast in a horror movie? All about Azrael

Billie Eilish was almost cast in an action-horror movie, Azrael, directed by E. L. Katz. In a Collider interview in March, Katz revealed that he had envisioned Billie Eilish in the movie. While Billie Eilish is a musician, she has revealed on multiple occasions that she harbors a genuine love for movies, especially those of the horror genre.

During an Oscar red carpet interview, when Eilish was asked about her favorite movie, the bury a friend singer answered The Badabook immediately, saying that the 2014 film was her all-time favorite. Eilish also went on to express her love for horror movies, saying:

"I always loved scary stuff."

The Badabook is a supernatural psychological thriller movie featuring the struggles of a widowed mother to protect her son from a monster he starts seeing after reading a pop-up book.

---

Billie was allegedly going to play Samara Weaving's role in E.L. Katz's Azrael

In her interview with Collider, E.L. Katz recalled the creation of Azrael, which was credited to Simon Barrett, saying:

"So, Azrael, [Simon Barrett] wrote that in what felt like two weeks or three weeks or something. It was something I’d never read, even from him, and it was almost like all of his sensibilities distilled in this austere experiential thing with no fat at all."

After reading the script, Katz fell in love with it almost instantly, revealing:

"I loved it and I just wanted to see it get made. At first, Simon was going to direct it. I wanted that to happen. We wanted Billie Eilish to be in it, or something."

When the director was asked which of the movie's characters they had envisioned Billie Eilish playing, Samara Weaving—who was also present there—quickly responded: "Mine, I'm assuming."

With no further response by Katz or Barrett on the question, it was speculated that the lead character of the story was indeed created with the you should see me in a crown singer in mind. Whether or not Billie Eilish was approached by them for the part remains unknown.

Ultimately, Samara Weaving, the Australian actor and model, was chosen to play the titular lead in the movie. According to IMDb, the plot of the movie revolves around a young woman, Azrael, who has escaped the imprisonment of an all-female devout cult who then hunt her down in order to sacrifice her and pacify a devil lurking in the wilderness around them.

When Weaving was asked what she thought was the biggest challenge in the movie by Collider, the actress answered:

"I thought the biggest challenge was the obvious one, that no one speaks. So it’s all physical, and how to capture a scene without any dialogue. But that ended up being so wonderful and such a great challenge because, actually, we say so much without saying anything, and that's usually the most important things, you know, said without words.”

Azrael premiered at the South by Southwest festival on March 9, 2024.

---

Billie Eilish made her acting debut on Prime Video's Swarm last year

While Billie Eilish might not have been cast in Azrael ultimately, the singer-songwriter already made her acting debut last year by playing a cameo role in Amazon Prime Video's Swarm - a satirical comedy horror thriller series exploring the theme of toxic fandom.

In the fourth episode of the series, Eilish plays the character of Eva, a leader of an all-women cult who lures the protagonist, Dre, in with her charm and gets her to confess all her crimes.

In February 2024, Billie Eilish also won a People's Choice Award for TV Performance of the Year for her acting debut.