Chloe Bailey On Challenging Her Acting Skills In 'Strung'

The American Black Film Festival was able to pull some strings to give us a first look at Peacock’s upcoming thriller Strung starring Chloe Bailey, Lynn Whitfield, Coco Jones, and Lucien Laviscount. 

If the crescendo of hoots and hollers at the screening are any indicator of what to expect, then the film is something you definitely want to stream when it releases. 

Directed by The Best Man and Girls Trip’s Malcolm D. Lee, the psychological thriller follows Laila, a violinist hired by Audra  (Lynn Whitfield) as a live-in music tutor for her granddaughter Zuri (Romy Wood).

Strapped for cash and living on her bestie Jasmine’s (Coco Jones) couch, Laila accepts the job offer and moves into Audra’s luxurious family estate where she lives with her daughter Imani (Anna Diop), her husband Marcus (Lucien Laviscount), and Zuri.

What seems to be a dream job for Laila turns into quite the opposite with twists, turns, high notes, and seat-jumping moments. 

HelloBeautiful was on the scene for the festival’s opening night screening of the film and we talked to Malcolm D. Lee about directing a film that was outside of the comedy and romance genres he’s known for.

“I always want to stretch my muscles as a director. I don’t want to just be a one-trick pony. I just felt like it was time to try something different. The script came across my desk. I said, ‘I like this.’ And I want to try and see what I can do, dip my toe in the water, and put my stamp on it.”

We also got to chat with Chloe Bailey about the upcoming thriller. She tackled the genre in Prime Video’s Swarm in 2023, but in Strung she’s taking on a leading role she admits was a challenge. 

“There are definitely levels to this, baby. I was stretched. And I loved it. And it felt really amazing to be able to let all of my emotions out this way and for people to feel it as an actress.”

The leading lady has never been afraid to pursue multiple passions, even teasing unreleased music on social media. 

The 27-yr-old singer and producer has advice for other Black women with multihyphenate goals.

“Persistence is key. And put in all of the hours. Not everybody will get the vision yet. But when people get it, then they’ll start acting like they were on it,” she told HelloBeautiful.

“Believe in yourself. You will get so many more nos than yeses. Don’t let that make you think you’re not talented and gifted and that you don’t have what it takes because you do.”

Strung is streaming on Peacock on June 26.

Chloe Bailey Reveals How The Thriller ‘Strung’ Challenged Her Acting Skills: ‘I Was Stretched’ was originally published on hellobeautiful.com