Riley Keough at the premiere of “Daisy Jones and the Six”.
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Riley Keough showed up in Hollywood on Thursday night to attend the world premiere of her new Prime Video television series Daisy Jones & the Six, which marked her first red carpet appearance since the sudden death of her mother Lisa Marie Presley on January 12, which was also quite a scene as the TCL Chinese Theater was packed with guests dressed in glamorous ’70s dress codes, while Keough and her co-stars were supported by a producing team that included Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.
Keough, who wears Schiaparelli Couture and is accompanied by husband Ben Smith-Petersen, leads the series as Daisy Jones, the co-lead singer of a ’70s rock band. Based on the best-selling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six chronicles the rise and steep decline of this band, from the early days struggling with small gigs to a meteoric rise culminating in a sell-out crowd Show culminates at the Soldier field in Chicago. After this performance, the band shocked the fans by quitting. Keough stars alongside Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone, Will Harrison, Suki Waterhouse, Josh Whitehouse, Sebastian Chacon, Nabiyah Be, Tom Wright and Timothy Olyphant, among others.
In a brief interview with , Keough expressed optimism and excitement at being part of the Amazon Studios music series, even saying she knew she would play Daisy Jones before she read a single page .
“It’s really weird,” Keough explained, flanked by a personal publicist and her stylist, Jamie Mizrahi. “I knew I wanted to play her before I knew what the book was about or even read the script or anything. I just heard the title and I thought, ‘I’m going to play her.’ I just knew that I would play her. It was the same feeling I had when I knew I was going to marry my husband.”
Daisy Jones demands a lot from Keough as a performer, as she has to act everything from dramatic moments opposite band members and record executives to epic scenes in which she struts her stuff across a stadium stage while smashing into a microphone. As for how she was able to pull that off, Keough was quick to give “all the credits” to the show’s “wonderful music team,” which includes Tony Berg and Blake Mills.
“They taught us our songs and we went to band camp,” explained Keough, whose pedigree includes Elvis Presley, one of America’s greatest rock stars of all time. “They practically turned us into rock stars.”
Keough’s Daisy Jones & the Six staffers said they had a similar feeling about her when they cast the show – they just knew she was the one. Prior to Daisy Jones, Keough worked on Zola, The Terminal List, American Honey, The Girlfriend Experience, Mad Max: Fury Road, It Comes at Night, and Logan Lucky, among others.
“I can’t praise Riley Keogh more highly,” praised Circle of Confusion executive producer Brad Mendelsohn. “She is transformative on this show. When she auditioned for us, we looked no further. She was our Daisy Jones. Her reps called us and said she had read the book and that she was Daisy Jones. We all said, ‘Yes, of course, let’s meet her.’ And we literally didn’t audition anyone else.”
Reid said Keough was a perfect fit for the character she was creating. “What’s really gratifying is that she made everything look so effortless, and I know it’s not easy. She carries so many of these scenes with her and yet makes it seem like it doesn’t cost her anything at all. She is just like that. I’m so serious, I think she’s one of the most talented actresses of this generation,” gushed the best-selling author. “I know some of the actors had to learn how to show off, and it feels like it’s in Riley’s DNA. What Riley can’t be taught is that she’s cool. That’s just not something anyone can ever fake. She’s just cool.”
James Ponsoldt, who directed and executive produced the first five episodes, said the series doesn’t function without the most talented actors, and that’s exactly what they had with Keough and Claflin.
“The show doesn’t work if you don’t have someone who is dynamic, charismatic and soulful, and someone who can also be so vulnerable in front of so many people. That’s what we look for in rock stars. We want someone who can be an ecstatic preacher, a shaman, a televangelist, someone who can endure his heart. Those are the people we connect with, and Riley gets it — she really gets it. She and Sam fight each other and it’s really electrifying because they’re both lead singers. Lead singers are used to being the center of every conversation and so much of it is about two people learning to swallow their egos, listen to the person next to them and try to harmonize to create something better than they could do it alone. You did it.”
Daisy Jones & the Six launches on Prime Video on March 3rd, with new episodes releasing every Friday through March 24th.
Cast of Daisy Jones & the Six, left to right: Sebastian Chacon, Josh Whitehouse, Camila Morrone, Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Suki Waterhouse, Nabiyah Be (with PatBO), Timothy Olyphant and Tom Wright. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber created the series based on the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Scott Neustadter is executive producer and co-showrunner with Will Graham, who also serves as executive producer. Hello Sunshine’s Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter also serve as executive producers. The series features all original songs written and produced by Grammy-nominated producer Blake Mills and others. Frazer Harrison/Getty