Rihanna
“Bates Motel” executive producer Kerry Ehrin talked about Rihanna’s performance as Marion Crane and how her Season 5 casting came together. Pictured: Rihanna poses at the First Annual Diamond Ball fundraising event at The Vineyard in Beverly Hills, California on Dec. 11, 2014. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

“Bates Motel” executive producer Kerry Ehrin was pleased by Rihanna’s performance as Marion Crane in Season 5 of the A&E series.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ehrin said that they were aware of Rihanna’s previous acting roles prior to casting her as Marion Crane, so they weren’t really shocked by the amazing things she brought to role. “I wouldn’t say we were surprised [by her performance, because] we’ve seen her perform before,” the exec producer said. “But what she brought that was so beautiful was just a real presence, a reality, a depth, and a humanity to the character.”

Although Rihanna has already appeared in a number of movies — including “Battleship,” “This is the End” and “Annie” — “Bates Motel” is her first TV acting gig.

When asked how Rihanna’s casting came together, Ehrin told Entertainment Weekly that they thought of reaching out to the “Work” hitmaker when they found out that the songstress is a fan of the show.

“An article came out, an interview, I think it was in Vanity Fair, with Rihanna, who [executive producer] Carlton [Cuse] and I are both huge fans of. In the interview, she said ‘Bates Motel’ was one of her favorite shows,” Ehrin said. “Carlton had the idea of reaching out to her to do a cameo to play Marion Crane. Then, as we developed the story, it needed to be a larger part and we were like, ‘Rihanna’s not going to be able to have time to do that.’ We reached out to her anyway and got on the phone with her and she was actually incredibly excited about it and wanted to do it and that’s how it started.”

Marion Crane is a character that was originally played by Janet Leigh in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller “Psycho.” But because Rihanna’s version is a contemporary take on the role, Ehrin previously teased that the character may meet a different fate on “Bates Motel.”

“Bates Motel” Season 5 premieres on Monday, Feb. 20 at 10 p.m. EST on A&E. Aside from her multiple-episode appearance on the series, Rihanna will also be seen next in this year’s sci-fi film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” and in 2018’s heist comedy flick “Ocean’s Eight.”

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