Millie Bobby Brown is setting the record straight on her interest in portraying Britney Spears in a future biopic. The 21-year-old actress addressed ongoing speculation at the premiere of her new Netflix film, The Electric State, in Los Angeles on February 24.
A Longstanding Interest in Britney’s Story
"She is an absolute icon," Brown said of Spears, 43, when asked about potentially taking on the role. "I would love nothing more than to be a part of her story." However, she quickly added, "That’s her story, and I am in full support of her bringing her story to life how she wants to."
This isn’t the first time Brown has expressed interest in playing Spears. In a 2022 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, she revealed her admiration for the pop star and how she connected with her experiences. "I want to play a real person, and for me, that would be Britney Spears. Her story resonates with me," she told Barrymore.
Brown explained that, as someone who also grew up in the public eye, she related to Spears’ past interviews and media presence.
"Watching her videos, watching interviews from when she was younger, I see the scramble for words. I don’t know her personally, but when I look at pictures of her, I feel like I could tell her story the right way," she said.
Britney’s Strong Reaction
Not long after Brown’s 2022 remarks, Spears responded in her own way. Without naming the actress directly, she took to Instagram with a blunt message: "I hear about people wanting to do movies about my life … dude, I’m not dead!!!"
Since then, the conversation about a Spears biopic has taken a different turn. In 2023, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to her bestselling memoir The Woman in Me following an intense bidding war. By August 2024, it was officially announced that a film adaptation was in development, with Wicked director Jon M. Chu at the helm and producer Marc Platt overseeing the project.
Spears herself later addressed the project on X (formerly Twitter), writing, "Excited to share with my fans that I’ve been working on a secret project with #MarcPlatt. He’s always made my favorite movies … stay tuned."
A Biopic on Spears’ Terms
Director Jon M. Chu, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in late 2024, emphasized the importance of telling Spears’ story the right way. "She represents a generation of people growing up in the 2000s and late ’90s. Her story deserves to be told properly. There’s a lot about us in it," he said.
As for Brown, it remains unclear whether she will have any involvement in the upcoming biopic. However, she has made it clear that she respects Spears’ autonomy in deciding how her life is portrayed on screen. In the meantime, Brown is busy promoting The Electric State, which is set to stream on Netflix starting March 14.
