[
Taylor Swift has released the video for the first single from her new album, thrilling fans with a collection of familiar faces making cameo appearances.
Friday saw Swift release the cinematic black and white video for ‘Fortnight’, in which her character has scientists conducting experiments on her following a failed love affair.
Two scientists are played by Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, who appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Dead Poets Society 35 years ago. Her musical collaborator on the track Post Malone also appears.
Swift explained her casting decisions on Instagram, where she wrote:
“When I was writing the Fortnight music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music. Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another. For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it. @postmalone blew me away on set as our tortured tragic hero and I’m so grateful to him for everything he put into this collaboration. I’m still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets).”
In the nine hours since it appeared, the video has received almost 10million views on YouTube.
Charles wrote on Instagram: “I’ve admired Taylor for a long time, but meeting her in person took my fandom to a whole new level.
“Genuine, kind, approachable, and just an all around stellar human being – Not to mention a kick ass director to boot! #TSTTPD.”
Hawke and Charles played schoolboys in the 1989 film directed by Peter Weir, which starred Robin Williams as their unconventional but charismatic and inspiring English teacher, who urged them, “Carpe diem. Seize the day. Make your life extraordinary.”
The film received four Oscar nominations.
Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has set another Spotify record, becoming the most-streamed album in a single day, reportedly exceeding 200 million streams.
Swift now has the top three most-streamed albums in a single day, with previous records held by Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Swift also surprised fans with the release early Friday morning of The Anthology, featuring 15 additional tracks.
