The daughter of famed film director M. Night Shyamalan used the pop star as a guide for her breakout role in the psychological thriller
Saleka Night Shyamalan tapped into her inner-Taylor Swift for her feature film debut.
On Wednesday, July 24, PEOPLE spoke to the 27-year-old daughter of director M. Night Shyamalan at the Trap world premiere at Alice Tully Hall in New York.
The movie stars Josh Hartnett as a father and serial killer who takes his teen daughter, played by Ariel Donoghue, to a pop concert, that turns out to be a trap police set to capture him.
In the film, Saleka stars as Lady Raven — the pop star Hartnett and Donoghue’s characters, Cooper and Riley, are there to see.
“We talked a lot about Taylor Swift on set and how she’s this boss woman and CEO,” the singer-songwriter tells PEOPLE.
She added that the Grammy winner “is kind of something for women to aspire to be” in terms of the “Fortnight” singer being someone “who runs her business.”
The actress, who recorded and performed songs for the soundtrack of her father’s film, praises Swift for being a positive role model for others.
“I watched a lot of videos of Rosalía performing on stage, and Billie Eilish and just artists that I love because for me, I’m kind of this introverted, shy person, so walking out on stage with confidence is not something that comes naturally to me, so I was trying to channel all of the beautiful pop stars of our generation,” Saleka says.
Ahead of Wednesday’s premiere, the rising talent announced via social media that her new album Lady Raven, with 14 original songs from Trap, would be arriving on Aug. 2.
Again, she gave credit to those who have inspired her journey.
“I can’t even believe this is real but I had the greatest honor of my life getting to make songs with 3 artists whose music has meant so much to me, @Amaarae @Russ and @KidCudi ❤️❤️❤️,” Saleka captioned a July 1 Instagram post before proceeding to let each of the three know the role they played in her career.
“Russ, I’ve been a fan of yours since day one and getting to work with you, seeing your skill, your work ethic and openness has only made me an even bigger fan. You are a true artist, everything comes from you and your music connects with us so deeply because of it🙏🏽,” she said of the 31-year-old entertainer.
Saleka and Russ, who also attended the New York premiere, collaborated on a track called “Hiding.”
Trap arrives in theaters nationwide on Aug. 2.
Source people.com
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