
Actor
Abel Tesfaye
Born February 16, 1990 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada12 films
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is noted for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions, and his signature use of the falsetto register. His accolades include 4 Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
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Tesfaye earned critical and commercial success with his pop-leaning second album Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), which reached number one in the US, contained the US Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills", and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. His trap-infused third album Starboy (2016) saw similar commercial success and included the US number-one single of the same name and "Die for You", and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Tesfaye explored new wave and dream pop with his critically-acclaimed fourth studio album After Hours (2020), which featured the chart record-setting single "Blinding Lights" and the US number-one singles "Heartless" and "Save Your Tears". Dance-pop inspired his fifth album Dawn FM (2022), which included the US top-ten single "Take My Breath".
Tesfaye is a cinephile, and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers. On August 30, 2019, during the Telluride Film Festival, he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems. On March 7, 2020, during his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, he starred in the skit "On The Couch" with actors Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd. On May 4, he co-wrote and starred in an episode of American Dad!. In July, he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken. On June 29, 2021, Tesfaye announced that he would be co-creating, co-writing, executive producing and starring in the HBO television drama series The Idol, alongside his producing partner Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. On March 20, 2022, Tesfaye voiced two characters during an episode of The Simpsons. In 2023, it was announced that Tesfaye is co-writing a film with Trey Edward Shults, who is attached to direct; Tesfaye is also set to star in the film, alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan.
Description above from the Wikipedia article The Weeknd, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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The best way into Abel Tesfaye's work
First watchUncut Gems20197.2as The WeekndA charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime.View filmEssential films
Ranked by acclaim and reachFilmography
12 films as actor- 2025THE WEEKND: 2024 Spotify Billions ClubThe Weeknd
- 2025Hurry Up TomorrowThe Weeknd
- 2025Playboi Carti - Live at Rolling Loud California 2025
- 2025Remember To Enjoy The Light Before It’s GoneThe Weeknd (voice)
- 2025The Weeknd - Red Terror
- 2023The IdolTedros
- 2023The Weeknd - Double FantasyTedros
- 2021Echoes of SilenceSinger
- 2021The Weeknd Reads GQ Until The Lights Go OutThe Weeknd
- 2020iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2020
- 2019Uncut GemsThe Weeknd
- 2017The Weeknd - iHeartRadio Music FestivalSinger
