Idris Elba & Taylor Swift Had An ‘Amazing’ Experience Working On ‘Cats’ Movie Set

Actor and musician Idris Elba says that working with co-star Taylor Swift on the set of Cats was great, saying that their characters, Macavity and Bombalurina, have many scenes together.

Page Six says that Elba enjoyed working on the movie musical about T.S. Eliot’s gang of cats, saying that he had fun and enjoyed working with the pop singer.

“Taylor was great. Her and I had a lot of work to do together, and she was amazing. She worked hard and was just happy to be there.”

Elba admits that playing a giant cat was “liberating” and says that working on this type of film was a new experience.

“It was all really new to me, but I know the songs, of course, so I was sort of in new territory, but it was really liberating. It was so much fun playing that big Macavity character.”

In addition to Elba and Swift, the cast will feature Jennifer Hudson, Dame Judi Dench, James Corden, and Ian McKellan. At the helm, of course, is the creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is making some interesting casting choices, according to The Inquisitr. Many fans thought Swift was a shoo-in for the role of Victoria, the beautiful white ballerina cat, but in a rare comment on casting, Webber says that’s not so.

Webber shared that Taylor Swift would play either Demeter or Bombalurina, and ultimately chose Bombalurina, the “red, adult, flirtatious female cat.” As anticipated, Swift’s role has several songs and solos in many of the group songs. But Webber says that he can’t take credit for making the pop singer one of the other “Macavity girls,” as it was director Tom Hooper’s idea.

“Well, basically, Tom Hooper thought it was a really good idea, and of course, she loves cats. We’ll see. I mean, I haven’t met her, so I’m looking forward to meeting her and seeing her [at work].”

And if you check out Swift’s Instagram account, it’s clear she’s a cat lover with two Scottish Folds who make frequent appearances on her social media accounts. And the kitties have some famous names, too, as one is called Meredith Grey (after the lead character on Grey’s Anatomy), and Olivia Benson (named for the top detective on Law & Order: SVU), says Wide Open Pets. Swift’s fur babies are certainly the co-stars of her page, often posing with other celebs like Ed Sheeran, and otherwise living the sweet life.

The Cats movie is scheduled for a Christmas release in the U.S. and the U.K.