Sky Ferreira, the singer and occasional actress, has quietly turned up in a small cameo role in comedian John Early's film Maddie's Secret, appearing as herself in a scene outside a nightclub. The appearance is easy to miss, as she has no lines, only a few seconds of screen time and no on-screen credit, but writer-director Early has revealed she was given a full character backstory despite the brevity of her role. It matters as another curious addition to Ferreira's sparse but notable acting history, and comes amid a busier-than-usual period of film-related activity for the famously elusive musician.

Early, who wrote, directed and stars in the film as a food influencer named Maddie, explained in a June interview with Decider that he avoided using a background casting agency in favour of casting friends, and simply invited Ferreira to stand in a queue scene as an extra. Once she arrived, he decided to expand her involvement, casting her as the secret girlfriend of Maddie's best friend Deena, played by Kate Berlant. Ferreira, whose last new song appeared on 2024's Babygirl soundtrack, has previously acted for directors including David Lynch, Edgar Wright and Eli Roth, and most recently appeared in Netflix's Reptile in 2023; Maddie's Secret, out in theatres this summer and on digital since 31 July, marks her first screen appearance since then.