The real inspiration behind Billie Eilish’s role in the Swarm series written and produced by Donald Glover for Amazon Prime Video has been revealed.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, co—writer and producer of Swarm Janine Nabers said that this role — the first for Eilish – was inspired by the infamous neighboring Hollywood cult NXIVM and its leader Keith Raniere.
In “Swarm,” Ailish plays Eva, the young executive director of a women’s empowerment group that later turns out to be a sect.
“There was a cult in the world at that time that was very visible,” Nabers told The Hollywood Reporter. “And that’s kind of an element of the real crime in this episode. And I think when people think of artists or celebrities, they think of the Taylor Swift cult, or the Beatles cult, or whatever. What we were really interested in was just seeing someone worshipping at the altar of “something” and (exploring) this idea of what the cult of reason is.”
The main character of the show is played by Dominic Fishback, who added that Eilish was “respectful of the craft” and “came up with ideas, wanting to talk about it, being a game for rehearsals.”
Swarm takes place between 2016 and 2018. Dre (Dominic Fishback), a fan of the fictional musical icon Ni’ja, whose love for her beloved singer crosses the line from obsessive to murderous.
Swarm is already available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
