The Weeknd revealed how his personal battle with sleep paralysis inspired the eerie themes and tone of his upcoming film “Hurry Up Tomorrow.”
The Weeknd turned his real-life sleep paralysis episodes into creative fuel for Hurry Up Tomorrow, a psychological thriller hitting theaters May 16.
The Grammy-winning singer revealed that the terrifying sleep disorder directly influenced the tone and concept of the film.
“There are no antagonists in this film,” he told Fader. “I think that sleep paralysis is the enemy.”
In the movie, The Weeknd plays a stylized version of himself—a pop star navigating a surreal and unsettling world.
He stars alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, bringing their edge to the eerie narrative. The artist described how his own experiences with sleep paralysis shaped the project.
“That is something that I was really dealing with, still am to this day, not as much as before, but they’re very vivid nightmares where you’re in bed and you’re half asleep, half awake,” he said. “You’re aware of your surroundings, but you can’t move. You’re paralysed for almost a minute. Sometimes you see a shadowy figure in the corner and you hear voices, sweet nothings. It’s saying nothing, but there are voices.”
Tesfaye said he eventually found ways to manage the condition through better sleep hygiene.
“I did my research on it, and it’s just a lack of sleep,” he explained. “Your brain is still awake when you’re asleep. So my biggest medicine for it is just turn your phone off, turn the TV off, turn all the lights off. And yeah, you won’t get it. The irony is it’s got to all be dark and scary for you to sleep through the night.”
Hurry Up Tomorrow premieres in theaters nationwide on May 16.
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