Chloe Bailey on Sexy Thriller ‘Strung,’ the Best Advice Beyoncé Gave Her and Racist Backlash to ‘The Little Mermaid’

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains mild spoilers for “Strung.”

Nostalgic for erotic thrillers of the ‘90s like “Sleeping with the Enemy” or “Basic Instinct?” Then “Strung” is the movie for you.

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee (“Girls Trip”) and debuting June 26 on Peacock, the film tells the twisty tale of Laila (Chloe Bailey), a talented violinist who, after a mind-blowing one-night stand with a fine stranger (Lucien Laviscount), is hired by the matriarch (Lynn Whitfield) of a rich family to tutor their daughter Zuri (Romy Woods). The two develop a close connection, which runs her afoul of Zuri’s mother (Anna Diop). Things take an even thornier turn when Laila learns that the dashing fella who rocked her world is Zuri’s stepfather(!). But that’s just the beginning of what this deeply damaged family has in store for her.

“It’s so much fun,” Bailey says. “I love the drama of it all.”

The cast is rounded out by Coco Jones as Laila’s bestie Jasmine and Langley Kirkwood as the family’s creepy butler. And Lee’s film, which was shot in scenic Cape Town, South Africa, doesn’t pull any punches in the sex and violence departments. It’s held together beautifully by Bailey, who’s easy to root for as the tortured protagonist, and, as one half (along with her sister) of the musical duo Chloe x Halle, knows a thing or two about the musician’s plight.

Bailey opened up to Variety about “Strung” and her journey from child star to scream queen.

What attracted you to “Strung?” Tonally, it reminded me a bit of “Obsessed,” another fun, sexy thriller starring your mentor, Beyoncé.

I loved “Obsessed.” I love all the psychological sexy thrillers, and that’s what gravitated me toward the project. It had everything I love to watch — plus music — so it was a no-brainer of saying yes and attaching myself to it.

And you do your own violin-playing in the film. How much training did you have to do for that?

Yeah! So, I played the violin in fifth and sixth grade for school, and then my last year before I got homeschooled, I gave it up for choir. I had about a week and a half to prep my fingerings and all the pieces Laila would be playing throughout the film, and oh boy, I was nervous! I’m that weird person who will stare at the movie and be like, “Oh, her lip-synching is off” or “Oh, the playing is off, they’re just pressing any chord.” I couldn’t produce anything I didn’t want to see, so I have to give a big shout-out to Stephanie [Yu], who was my tutor in L.A. and Tony who was my music tutor for the film in South Africa.

You have excellent chemistry with Lucien. At what point did you realize that you two had sizzling chemistry together?

It just kind of hit! We hit it off really easily. He’s such an amazing guy, inside and out, and our personalities are quite similar. We’re both very goofy, bright, positive people, and even after filming I consider him a great friend. We never did a chemistry test, it just happened, and it worked. I’m really grateful that I was able to do the intimacy scenes with someone like Lucien because we both made ourselves very comfortable.

Was it difficult shooting that sex scene in the shower? Because I imagine you two are just in there for a really long time with the water hitting you.

Yeah. It was freezing. It was freezing. It was not hot. And it was late at night in this cold warehouse, so it wasn’t a sexy setting! We were freezing.

There’s an edit I really enjoyed in the film where your and Lucien’s characters are having sex and then it cuts to a sprinkler going off.

[Laughs] That’s their great editing!

I feel like there aren’t enough sexy-thriller movies. This film almost feels like a throwback to the ‘90s, in a refreshing way. And I know the younger generation is always complaining about how much sex there is in films, but I think they’re conflating TV and porn with Hollywood movies, because I think there’s a lot less sex in movies nowadays.

Well, art imitates life. We had to be honest. And we didn’t show any parts, so we wanted to make sure that it still gave that feeling of sexiness without showing anything, per se. That’s what I appreciated. What I love about shows and movies today is that it’s honest. Even if it’s not sexual, it’s becoming more honest, and you can create a scene like that without making it feel too vulgar.

Would a guy leaving you origami notes by the bed like Lucien’s character does be weird to you in real life?

Honestly, I am a sucker for corniness. I would have fallen for the origami. I would’ve thought that was super cute!

How was it to film that sequence where you’re slapped around by Lynn? I’m curious what it was like for you to get worked over by a screen legend like that.

Oh, absolutely it was fun. Are you kidding me? She is just legendary, and I’m so happy that I was able to work with her in that way and do our stunts together. I’m just very honored that I got to do that with the iconic Lynn Whitfield. I’m so grateful for her. She really cared about this movie and put her stamp on it, and I learned so much working with her.

I also found it refreshing that the film treats the hip-hop artist as the virtuous one looking out for his daughter and not some lazy stereotype.

Yeah. I’m happy we’re able to show Black people in places of power and don’t feed into the stereotypes. From the rich family I’m working for down to the business manager Lucien plays or the rap artist who’s Zuri’s father, and how he didn’t die due to the stereotypical ways you think a rap artist might have died. It was a tug of war between power and money.

And you and Coco are friends in real life, right? It made your playing friends on screen feel so authentic.

Yes, we actually are! And when I found out that they cast her as the best friend I was like, “Wow, we’re not even going to be acting!” We’ve known each other since I was 12 and my sister and I played choir girls behind her in “Let It Shine.” To see how we’re both growing in our careers and who we as women is pretty cool, and to join back together in this movie is pretty dope. She was just cracking me up! She’s always cracking jokes. She could recite the A-B-Cs and I would laugh.

One of my favorite lines you deliver in the film is, “How you like my Prius now?!” What was it like filming that fight sequence by the cliff, because it’s intense and super violent? You’re jabbing an EpiPen into someone’s eye and slamming their head with a car door.

It was freezing! We were by the beach, and it was so cold that in the car, I had heat warmers all over my body. I was pumped and ready to go! I love doing stunts; I love the adrenaline rush of it. When we got to it, it was so much fun and I had sand all over my hair. The moment where you see the close-up of me and there’s blood splattering, that was the first take of it. We could only do a one-and-done of that because we couldn’t really get all that blood off of me. It was funny because the first two takes, the fake blood wasn’t squirting out, but when it finally did it was so, so intense. I’m happy it got the job done!

Laila struggles to balance her musicianship with her social life. Did you feel that way growing up? You were thrust into the spotlight at such a young age.

Absolutely. I would be lying if I said it didn’t affect my childhood. I am proud of who I am, and I’m proud of the woman I’ve become, but of course you look back and think, “I wish I’d experienced that” or “I wish I’d experienced this.” Now that I’m 27 and going to be 28 in a couple of weeks, who’s to say that I can’t experience it now? I’m grateful for the sacrifices that I have made because I get to live my dreams and have a career of making my dreams come true. There are pros and cons to everything. I think that’s why I have such a childlike spirit and am such an adrenaline junkie and daredevil. I love exciting things that really get your blood pumping.

What are some adrenaline-junkie things that you like to do?

I love rollercoasters. I love boxing with my trainer. It’s very therapeutic but also builds up your stamina. And it’s really great when you have aggression built up because you get to take it out then. I’m not a violent person — I don’t really raise my voice or anything like that — so that’s the time when I can get any feelings close to that out. I love ATV-riding, and even though I’m a girl I’m always faster than the guys. I love ziplining upside down. Those types of things make me so happy. I think that’s why I love performing so much, too, because it gives you that same heart-out-of-your-chest feeling as when you’re going up on a rollercoaster and nowhere near the ground.

A lot of child stars don’t make it out alright, but you and your sister seem to have such good heads on your shoulders. How did you manage to get through it OK?

Well, we had each other. We were never going through anything alone. We would act together, sing together and were each other’s best friends. Knowing that you constantly had someone to lean on, who knew exactly what you were feeling and going through, that was a saving grace. Even though she’s my little sister, I looked at her like she was my child and I was mama bear, so I would always make sure nothing was ever going to happen to her. I’m grateful that we had each other growing up in this industry. You know how they say to never walk down the street by yourself and always have a friend with you? It was almost like that.

Was it tough for you as the mama bear to see what your little sister went through with “The Little Mermaid?” There was all this ridiculous — and racist — backlash to her casting.

Of course. Absolutely. It broke my heart. Seeing her put so much hard work and time into an iconic role, I just wanted people to see how incredible she was in it, because this was all happening before the movie even came out. But my sister is resilient and I’m happy she proved all the naysayers wrong.

It’s incredible to be discovered by Beyoncé. What kind of a mentor has she been for you, and what’s the best advice she ever gave you?

I have always been the biggest Beyoncé fan since I was a little girl. Meeting her when I was four, and how kind she was to me on the set of “The Fighting Temptations,” only sparked a greater love for her. She had such a pure spirit that my 4-year-old self clung to. Being able to study her performances and being a true BeyHive fan and then being able to be signed to her and actually have intellectual conversations with her about life, the industry and music is something I’ve never taken for granted. I really appreciate her ear.

One of the first pieces of advice she gave us was the “no scroll” rule: don’t read the comments, don’t read what people are saying and don’t even let it fill your head up.

What about her approach to the media? Beyoncé has had a unique approach where she doesn’t do much media. Did she give you guidance along those lines?

She’s mastered that and I love that about her. To get in her mind about it you’d have to ask her, but just from observing her as a fan, she has made it into her own lane. She’s the reason that music comes out on Fridays now. When you have talent like that, you can make whatever rules you want and break whatever rules you want. She’s earned it.

Do you and your sister have any plans to get the band back together, so to speak?

Yeah! Well, the band never broke up! We just had different endeavors happening at different times. I’m so proud of her and I know she’s proud of me. We’ve both been strengthening who we are as individuals, so when the music comes back as a duo it’ll be even better. We’ve strengthened the two halves of the heart.