The actor opens up to L&rsquo;OFFICIEL about landing her coveted role in the Brat singer&rsquo;s new mockumentary.

When Trew Mullen landed the role of Charli XCX&rsquo;s personal assistant in The Moment, the actor immediately understood the assignment. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d already heard the Brat album, of course,&rdquo; she tells L&rsquo;OFFICIEL. &ldquo;But when I found out that I was doing this project, I really wanted to take in the whole album in a different way.&rdquo;&nbsp;
So, before stepping onto the set of the A24 mockumentary&mdash;which follows Charli XCX preparing for her first headlining tour&mdash;the Blink Twice star tasked herself with some important homework. &ldquo;I went through the entire Brat album, reading the lyrics line by line, in her words, as if they were a poem,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;It was really beautiful, and I felt like I understood her better. There&rsquo;s just so much vulnerability in there&mdash;which, sometimes, you don&rsquo;t catch when you&rsquo;re listening to a pop song.&rdquo; When she got to the tenth track on the 2024 album, &ldquo;Girl, So Confusing,&rdquo; Mullen teared up. &ldquo;I remember feeling so connected to Charli because the song just felt so haunting and honest, like a conversation that was unresolved,&rdquo; she says, fittingly wearing a Brat-green Boden sweater set that would make any diehard Charli XCX fan proud. Days after the film&rsquo;s Sundance premiere, Mullen swears the outfit choice was subconscious.
Now in theaters, The Moment offers a satirical look at the industry pressure that follows a rare cultural phenomenon&mdash;one that Brat, Charli XCX&rsquo;s sixth studio album, proved to be. Portraying Ana, Charli&rsquo;s hyper-vigilant and ever-present right hand, gave Mullen a new perspective on celebrity&mdash;and on her own future in Hollywood. &ldquo;The film explores how fame can complicate your autonomy and your relationship with yourself,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;It asks the question, How does an artist remain relevant while also remaining true to themselves&mdash;and are those two things mutually exclusive? That's really tough&mdash;and it's something that I think about, in these early stages of my career. I want to be authentic and do projects that are meaningful to me, but, as an actor, you have such little control over what comes your way. And it&rsquo;s not like in the music world, where you have the option to go into a bubble and create something on your own; acting is a total group effort, and that&rsquo;s what makes it really beautiful.&rdquo;
For The Moment&rsquo;s cast, the bonding continued after hours. &ldquo;Charli was really sweet to host these little gatherings on the weekends&mdash;I think we went out almost every weekend and did karaoke or got ice cream, which was really thoughtful,&rdquo; says Mullen. For her, it was the cherry on top of an already-inspiring experience with the pop star. &ldquo;Seeing her do this film, it kind of gives me permission to be like, You really can just go after something that you want."&nbsp;
Keep reading for our full conversation with Mullen about everything from relinquishing control to writing poetry and worshipping the Olsen twins&rsquo; style.

Charli XCX and Trew Mullen in 'The Moment,' courtesy of A24.

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: When did you find out that you were cast in The Moment?
TREW MULLEN: I was filming another project in Chicago at the time, and after sending in my tape, [director] Aidan [Zamiri] wanted to do a director session with me. He gave me a few notes and we also did a bit of improv, so I threw some fun stuff out there. A week later, my reps called me and said, &ldquo;You're going to London." I was like, "Let's go."
L&rsquo;O: At what point in the process did you meet Charli?
TM: Everything moved very quickly because when I got the role, we were about three weeks out from filming. I met Charli for the first time at the table read; she had messaged me beforehand that she was excited to work together, though, which was really sweet. She's very grounded and charismatic, and I could sense that by just sitting next to her. It takes such courage to jump into something like this&mdash;to create the story, produce it, and act in it. Seeing her not listen to anyone else and just do what she wants&mdash;which is so much the point of this film and its message&mdash;is such a beautiful thing. And witnessing how she navigates this crazy career path&hellip;It&rsquo;s something to look up to.
L&rsquo;O: How did you prepare to play a celebrity assistant? Did you speak to Charli&rsquo;s actual assistant?
TM: I didn't get to meet her real assistant until we were almost done filming. But without knowing it, though, I actually did my research on a previous film that I did, [the 2024 psychological thriller] Blink Twice. I observed [writer and director] Zo&euml; [Kravitz] and [co-star] Channing [Tatum]'s assistants, and I saw how they moved through the world, which gave me a lot of insight. But I work in a more internal way with a lot of imagination, and I felt like my character Ana was someone who really had to grow up fast and sort of be the adult in the situation, so I created a history for her that felt appropriate based on that. And being a personal assistant requires so much; it's almost like a chosen family, in a way, to be traveling all the time by their side and in this orbit. I don't know if I could handle what that asks, but I think it&rsquo;s a really interesting career choice.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: Do you relate to Ana at all?
TM: Ana thrives on control. She&rsquo;s always one step ahead of the narrative, and if she can control the narrative, then everything&rsquo;s fine. She is terrified of this mask falling off, and it actually did make me think about how often I do little things to create the illusion of control for myself. It highlighted the fact that, if you believe you can control something, you feel a bit safer&hellip;.but then is that your most authentic self? Authenticity is, I think, what's most important as a person, so when does that become affected? There are definitely times when I like to be in control and to overprepare; I can be a little bit observant and reserved, especially in social situations. Ana is someone who doesn't involve herself in gossip or anything like that, because it is a risk. I think sometimes I&rsquo;m a bit reserved for similar reasons.
L&rsquo;O: You also played a character who was very aware of how she was perceived by others in the psychological thriller Blink Twice, which was directed by Zo&euml; Kravitz. How did this portrayal compare?
TM: Ana is very aware, and she makes a very conscious effort to show restraint. Everything is by choice; she&rsquo;s not engaging or saying anything even when she has a lot of thoughts about something, because anything she says could be told to someone else and used against her. It's all about job security and protection. With [my character] Heather in Blink Twice, it was more subconscious&mdash;there was a need to keep the blinders on and allow people to see her as dumb, but it was also a form of protection. That was such a fun role because it allowed so much freedom; I just kind of went there, and I guess Zo&euml; happened to like it [laughs]. I still think about it; I'm like, Who was that? It was so fun.

Trew Mullen. Photography by Tristan Kallas.

L&rsquo;O: You've worked on a screenplay of your own and write poetry, too. Are there any specific themes you return to in your writing?
TM: I don't want to write for the sake of writing. I want to write because I have something to say. Thematically, I find that a lot of the poetry I write is about identity and the limitations of our own belief systems&mdash;the ones that we have of ourselves, and the limits and rules of the universe. Really, of being a human in this world and the pain of that sometimes. My Notes section is a wild mess; I have so many conversations and scenes written down that don&rsquo;t quite belong in one cohesive piece of work.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: You&rsquo;ve also done some modeling. What do you gravitate towards, style-wise?
TM: I like pieces that feel very cinematic&mdash;they feel like there's a world behind them, without getting too costume-y. I've never been someone who feels most attractive when I'm done up like a bombshell or something. I always feel prettiest when I'm in something artful, that feels like it has more to the story. I love the breeziness and youthfulness of Chlo&eacute;; it reminds me of being in a field and sunshine. Saint Laurent is always fabulous and sleek. And I love Valentino.&nbsp;&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: Who&rsquo;s your style icon?&nbsp;
TM: Chlo&euml; Sevigny has such a playfulness, and it always feels like her choices reflect something deeper about who she is; the clothes never wear her. The Olsen twins, always. They really know who they are, and everything is always effortless and understated. There's a sense of not needing to show anything, but so much is being said at the same time.
L&rsquo;O: Besides the Olsens, who or what is inspiring you these days?
TM: Architecture really inspires me&hellip;don't ask me questions about it though, because I know nothing. But I love going to a new city or country and seeing the different streets, buildings, rooms, and walls. For work, it feels like it gives me this permission to step into and create another world that's so different from my own world.
L&rsquo;O: You've already worked with some huge names in the industry. Who is your ultimate dream collaborator?
TM: I would love to work with Sofia Coppola. She has such an eye, and it would be fun to work with a director who sees in that way, and to play around with that.
L&rsquo;O: What kind of stories do you hope to keep telling through your work?&nbsp;
TM: The stories of complex women who have great interior lives. For me, the more there is there to dive into and understand, the better. I like when things aren&rsquo;t just obvious on the surface, and projects that allow for space and silence&mdash;and for the performance to do the heavy lifting.

Playing Charli XCX's Assistant in 'The Moment' Fueled Trew Mullen's Ambition

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