Playing Daisy, the singer-songwriter who joins the band that skyrockets to fame in Amazon’s Daisy Jones & the Six, might not seem like much of a stretch for Riley Keough. She is, after all, the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of Elvis, with the strongest imaginable musical pedigree. But as it turns out, singing didn’t come naturally to her. “I’d sang a little bit here and there with my husband because he plays guitar, and I know that I have a sort of musical ear,” she says. “But in terms of actually using my voice, I’d never done that before.”

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After some time with a vocal coach and months preparing to play the role of Daisy, Keough felt she finally had the musical chops to pull off the performance. Speaking from home with her eight-month-old daughter, Keough spoke with Little Gold Men about how she got into singing shape for the role despite intense challenges in her personal life, and how she approaches fame as someone who’s never known a life without it.

Vanity Fair: Tell me about your first impressions of Daisy when you first read the script.

Riley Keough: In the pilot, she’s very young, she’s meant to be a teenager and she’s still living at home. She just felt so complicated and spoke her mind and was liberated and free in this way that I just felt really inspired by. And then I read a few more episodes, and as she gets older, she really develops as a character in this way that was just really exciting to me. You’re kind of taking her from this kid to this woman who is unapologetically herself and really felt like, especially for the time, very ahead of her time as a female in the ’70s in music.

You had to audition for this. At that point, how badly did you want this role?

I think I wanted it really badly because I wanted the opportunity to try something that I’d never tried before, which was singing and playing music, and just being able to do it in a way that felt like she’d been doing it for years. They were rock stars. It wasn’t an amateur thing. For me, I had never sang before. I’d sang a little bit here and there with my husband because he plays guitar, and I know that I have a sort of musical ear, but in terms of actually using my voice, I’d never done that before. 

What was that audition process like?

I had to act first. Well, I think I simultaneously had to send in an acting audition and also something of me singing. I sent like a little voice note, I think of me and my husband singing together. And my voice was very soft. It was by no means like a powerful singing video. And they kind of said, “This is great, but Daisy needs to be able to really sing.” I think at the time they were looking at professional singers. So I sent another video in, but I was kind of hitting this wall where I was thinking that I wasn’t capable of doing what they needed in terms of vocal performance. They said she needs to belt. I didn’t know, literally, how to do that with my voice. So, I was sitting in the car and my agent was like, “just try and sing the Lady Gaga song ‘Shallow.’” And I was like, “you don’t just, like, bust out Lady Gaga.” So I was sitting in the car and I pulled over and just tried, and it just sounded so bad. It just sounded so horrible. And I sat there and I started crying because I was just so frustrated. It wasn’t even just about getting the role. It was that I’m not gonna be able to do something that I had an idea that maybe I could do, if I put work in. 

I sat there and I was just kind of feeling sorry for myself, and then I said I’m going to get a vocal coach and really give it a chance. So I went to a coach and I worked with him over the weekend. And then I went home and all of a sudden, “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd came into my head. I think in hindsight it was just in my key. So I went back again and I was able to belt for the first time. 

Because of your performance in the show, I assumed that you had a long history with singing, obviously with your family legacy and music. Would you say that it’s because of your family’s legacy that music is something you shied away from on purpose, or was it just because acting was more of your interest?

I don’t think I shied away from it on purpose. From as far back as I can remember, I was just obsessed with movies and acting, and writing and I wanted to direct. I don’t think I really thought about it. I loved music, but it wasn’t something that I felt drawn to in the same way that I did with film.

You talked to my colleague about how when you were actually in production, it was sort of a really tough time for you personally and dealing with some autoimmune stuff. Did you ever think about backing out of the project?

I had lost my brother while we were sort of on pandemic hiatus. We were supposed to film a few months later, and at the time I was like, “I don't think I’m able to perform well or give anything.” But then it pushed again, it pushed like six months. I kind of went, “Okay, well maybe this happened for a reason.” And that push also really helped us with our music and our instruments and our singing because we ended up having a year to rehearse. So in many ways it felt like it came exactly when it was supposed to. I also have some autoimmune issues, so I was really struggling. But I just decided to do it. And I think there was something about this project that was really joyous and different. Typically, I've done darker, more serious work and, and I really felt like I needed to do something that felt like I needed to do something that felt like a fun experience at this point in my life.

A big part of the story is how these characters deal with the fame and that level of attention. I have to assume as someone whose family has had to deal with that since you were born, you might have a different perspective on that.

That’s an interesting point because for me, that’s all I know. So I think it’s actually about trying to understand what that would be like had you had no experience with it, which I can imagine would be a really intense experience to be a normal person on the street and then overnight have this success. That can really affect people deeply because it's very intense. It’s a very different kind of energy you’re living with and coming at you from the world. 

It’s been cool to see the way this show has gotten such a fan following. I imagine there will be Daisy costumes when we hit Halloween.

I know that’s always the exciting part for me when there’s costumes. I love that. I remember the year Zola came out, I was getting tagged in like Zola Halloween costumes. 

How would you describe what you’re saying yes to these days? I know you’re a new mom and I’m sure that affects your time and schedule, but in general what guides you when you want to say yes to something?

Most of the time I’ll read something and I just get this feeling. I’ve heard a lot of actors say this, but it feels like a sort of spiritual connection to the character. I read so many wonderful scripts all the time, and I also consider if I can do it as well. Will I do a good job? Will somebody else do it better than me? Sometimes I’ll read something and go, “Oh, I think there’s somebody else out there who would be better for this than I would.” And I won’t do it.