Charli XCX Discusses Acting Career and Moving Beyond ‘Brat’ Era at 2026 Sundance Film Festival
"I am like the me in the [The Moment] where I am wanting Brat to stop and pivot," she said.
'The Moment'
Charli XCX is opening up about her career beyond music at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
During a Q&A panel following the premiere of her new A24 film The Moment on Friday (Jan. 23), the 33-year-old pop star discussed her evolving acting career and whether her real-life persona differs from the heightened version of herself depicted in the upcoming mockumentary, which is inspired by her blockbuster Brat album and world tour.
“I’m obviously quite related to my character, so I had a lot of inspiration to pull from,” Charli said. “I would like to think I’m not as much of a nightmare as Charli in the film, but my real managers are in the audience and they probably know the true answer to that.”
The Moment, directed by Aidan Zamiri, follows “a rising pop star navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut,” according to A24’s official synopsis. Check out the first trailer here.
The film, which hits theaters on Jan. 30, also stars Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Alexander Skarsgård, Kylie Jenner, Rish Shah, Jamie Demetriou, Arielle Dombasle, Trew Mullen, Shygirl and A. G. Cook.
The British singer-songwriter dominated summer 2024 with the release of her sixth studio album, Brat, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Her world tour in support of the project ran from November 2024 through August 2025.
During the panel, Charli went on to acknowledge that some of the movie’s more chaotic moments hit close to home.
“I know that sometimes I do give them a bit of a hard time, and I think for me those real spiral moments that you see in the film, I have been there,” the singer said. “As an artist, I am quite a volatile person. I am nice, though! I am quite nice, too. Right?”
Zamiri was quick to jump in. “Yes, yes, confirmed,” the director replied, prompting Charli to fire back, “Too f—king right,” sending the crowd into laughter.
Charli is keeping busy at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. In addition to The Moment, she appears in two other films premiering at the event: Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman, and Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist, which features Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega.
“Right now, I am like the me in the film where I am wanting Brat to stop and pivot,” she said at the panel. “That is not because I don’t love it, it’s just because for all of us as artists, you want to challenge yourself and totally switch the creative soup that you are in and go and live in a different bowl for a while.”
She added, “That is how I feel about the projects that I am in. I just really want to work with these incredible directors like Aidan [Zamiri], Gregg Araki, [and] Cathy Yan, who I can live completely different lives with.”
Beyond Sundance, Charli has appeared in projects such as 100 Nights a Hero and Erupcja, as well as playing herself in the Amazon comedy Overcompensating. Her upcoming films include Faces of Death and the Dakota Johnson–directed A Tree Is Blue.
