Taylor Swift opens up about her directing ambitions: 'I always wanted to tell stories'

By Megan Stone

Video by Brittany Berkowitz

Taylor Swift is set to direct her first feature-length film, and now she is opening up about her longtime directorial ambitions.

Swift chatted recently with "The Banshees of Inisherin" director Martin McDonagh as part of Variety's Directors on Directors interview series. During their conversation, McDonagh asked the pop star if directing had always been one of her goals.

"No, I always wanted to tell stories," Swift said. "I have always written stories, poetry, songs. And I think this just grew out of that storytelling. And the more I did it, the more I loved it."

She also revealed that her directing "came out of necessity" after she specifically hoped to find a woman to direct her 2019 music video "The Man."

"The few that I reached out to were fortunately booked ... So I was like, 'I could do it, maybe,' " she explained. "And when I did direct, I just thought, 'This is actually more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.' "

Although her start in directing was accidental, Swift revealed she now has 10 music videos and one short under her belt. "I'm just inching my way along toward taking on more responsibility," she said.

"Every aspect of my job as a singer has affected the way that I am as a director," Swift continued. "I definitely feel more free to create now. And I'm making more albums at a more rapid pace than I ever did before, because I think the more art you create, hopefully the less pressure you put on yourself."

She added, "I'm happier when I'm making things more often ... The more that I'm writing, the more those ideas come. I'm just going with it."

It was revealed last week that Swift had partnered with Searchlight Pictures to make her directorial debut with an original script that she's written. No other details about the film have yet been released.