Bebe Rexha makes the most of her big-screen debut
The singer-songwriter plays a coupon hustler in “Queenpins” in her first on-camera role.
Bebe Rexha, the singer-songwriter who earned two Grammy nominations in 2019, is about to hit another milestone.
After dominating the charts with such hits as 2017’s “Meant to Be” and 2018’s “I’m a Mess,” the 32-year-old musician is set to make her acting debut in the comedy film “Queenpins,” starring Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste.
“Music has always been my first love,” says Rexha, who got her start writing songs for Selena Gomez, Eminem and others before charting her own singing career. “But I read the script – it kind of fell into my lap – and I loved it.”
In “Queenpins,” the bubbly pop star transforms into the no-nonsense Tempe Tina, an Arizona-based identity thief who schools Connie (Bell) and Jojo (Howell-Baptiste) in the art of launching a multimillion-dollar coupon scam. This marks Rexha’s first on-camera film role (she voiced a character in the 2019 animated movie “UglyDolls”).
Ahead of the film’s Friday release, Rexha gets candid with USA TODAY about her nerves before shooting, the sugary acting advice she got from Bell and her advocacy for body positivity.
Question: Congrats on your acting debut! Did you have any nerves going into filming?
Bebe Rexha: The night before I really couldn’t sleep, and I kind of felt a little sick to my stomach. It’s like before you take a big test in school or an interview. Everyone was so kind and wanted to make me feel comfortable.
Q: “Queenpins” follows two coupon enthusiasts. Have you ever been on the coupon hustle?
Rexha: Oh yeah, I’ve definitely found some promo codes off some websites, but for some reason, 95% of them never work. But I love a good buy one, get one free. That’s kind of my vibe. I love saving at the supermarket. I’m not an avid couponer where I’m a psycho about it, but who doesn’t like saving money?
Q: Did Bell or Howell-Baptiste give you any tips on set?
Rexha: I was super nervous, but they made me feel so calm. They were like, “We are not going to leave you here. Let’s get the take that you’re happy with. We’ll be here.” They were so patient with me, and it was not what I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting them to be divas, but they’re movie stars. They gave me some funny advice. We were like eight hours (into filming one day), and Kristen told me to have something sweet to spike up my blood sugar and get my energy going. I don’t know how many Raisinets and M&M’s I had.
Q: What inspired you to be so vocal about body positivity on TikTok and how do you hope to influence fans?
Rexha: What inspired me is an overwhelming sense of negativity, not only from people on the internet but from myself. Everybody has a story. Everybody has struggles. Everybody’s going through something we don’t know about. What’s the point of making yourself feel bad and making others feel bad? To me, that’s just a waste of life, and we only have one life to live, so we might as well live it and enjoy what we have in the moment.
Q: What can the entertainment industry, and specifically the music industry, do to be more body positive?
Rexha: Just celebrate and push artists of all shapes, sizes, colors – every type of background. That’s why I think it’s really cool that we have the wave of K-Pop coming into the United States. But it’s about gatekeepers really opening the doors, not just because something is a hot trend of the moment. People really want to see all people win and not just artists of the same mold because that’s, No. 1, unhealthy, and, No. 2, it’s just not real. People want real.
Q: Any chance we’ll see you on the big screen again?
Rexha: If the right script, the right role, comes my way, and I feel like I’m aligned with it, I’m so down.