Dakota Johnson has opened up about working with her “very close” friend Taylor Swift on the video for her new song Patient Zero – revealing she loved having the pop star tell her “what to do” on set.
Dakota Johnson loved being told “what to do” by Taylor Swift on the set of the Patient Zero music video.
The pop star recruited her “very close friend” Dakota and Hollywood actor Colin Farrell to appear in the new promo, which shows the trio wandering around a mysterious modern house, and the actress has now lifted the lid on what it was like being directed by her pal.
During an interview with Fan Girl Nation, she said: “Taylor and I have been friends for a really long time, and we’re very close. Normally, I would say don’t work with your friends. But we work really well together.”
At the London premiere of her new movie Verity in London on Thursday (24.09.26), Dakota expanded on her project with Taylor, telling MTV: “[Making the Patient Zero video] was just the best. Working with your friends is the most fun thing on the planet.
“Because we’ve known each other for so long, we really respect each other’s creative minds, and to be able to, you know, work alongside her and support and assist and be a person that she tells what to do is wonderful.”
Teaser clips from the video have already been released and one scene shows the Fate of Ophelia hitmaker comforting Dakota at a graveside as she mourned a daughter who, according to a headstone, lived from 1989 until 2022.
The full video will premiere during the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Sunday (27.09.26). At the VMAs, Taylor has 11 nominations and will also receive the first-ever Artist Director prize.
After confirming Patient Zero was on the way on Tuesday (22.09.26), Taylor revealed shortly afterwards that the track will feature on an edition of her 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl.
The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore is hitting streaming platforms on Friday (25.09.26) and will feature four new tracks, Patient Zero, Cleveland!, Pink Clouding, and Babylon.
In a post on Instagram alongside the artwork, Taylor wrote: “About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind …
“You gave The Life of a Showgirl the biggest first week for an album in history. I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album.
“Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs. I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made. The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore including four new songs is out on Friday and available to pre-order and save now.”
Dakota Johnson opens up about working with Taylor Swift
