Margaret Qualley puts the moves on husband Jack Antonoff — literally — in the music video for his band Bleachers’ new single, “Tiny Moves.”
Qualley, 29, codirected, choreographed and starred in the visual, which Bleachers released on Wednesday, January 17. Dressed in a loose-fitting white dress, Qualley dances in a parking lot with Manhattan and the Hudson River behind her.
At the end of her performance, it becomes clear that Qualley has an audience. Antonoff himself is perched on the hood of a car, which sits parked with its high beams trained on Qualley like a spotlight.
As the sun comes up over the city, Qualley walks toward Antonoff, 39, with a calm, loving expression on her face. The pair embrace, and Antonoff leans his head against Qualley’s chest, hardly making eye contact with her.
“It’s so sweet and shy,” Qualley said of the intimate moment during an interview with Rolling Stone published on Wednesday. “In real life, there’s not as much nervous tension — we’re married — but in the context of the video, I think it’s nice because it feels like a meet-cute. And it’s great because he’s not an actor.”
The Poor Things actress, who has a background in dance, also opened up about the inspiration for the video.
“I just love dancing and wanted to make up a dance for one of Jack’s songs on his next album,” she said. “This song was just really poppy and fun, and it was so fun to dance to.”
Qualley noted that she wanted the piece to “feel like a love letter to Jack,” whom she married in August 2023. “Something that I’d want to show the kids one day,” she added of the pair’s future children.
As for Qualley’s choreography, her biggest inspiration was the late choreographer Bob Fosse, known for choreographing and directing stage musicals including Pippin and Chicago, and films including Cabaret and All That Jazz.
“He’s the ultimate reference, both for choreography and cinematic style,” she said of Fosse, who died at age 60 in 1987. Qualley portrayed Fosse’s former partner Ann Reinking in the 2019 miniseries Fosse/Verdon, which starred Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams in the titular roles.
Despite drawing from the Broadway titan, it was important to Qualley to create a “dance that anybody could do” for the “Tiny Moves” video.
“I wanted to make something that doesn’t look too performative,” she said. “It’s not like doing a big battement or pirouettes or something.”
While Qualley’s ballet training is evident in the video, she told Rolling Stone that her experience lies more in the world of competitive dance.
“I did a lot of PR for myself [early in my career] where I said I was a ballerina because I think it sounds so classy, but the reality is I’m more of a competition-style dancer,” she said. “I grew up in dance competitions, and I did do a lot of ballet, but I wasn’t trying to figure out how to make a career of it.”
The “Tiny Moves” video shoot took place a few weeks before Qualley and Antonoff tied the knot in Long Beach Island with stars like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Cara Delevingne, Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz and the bride’s mother, Andie MacDowell, in attendance.
Now that the duo are husband and wife, Qualley would like to collaborate on more videos with Antonoff if the right idea pops up.
“I like doing everything with Jack,” she said. “He’s my favorite person to do anything with.”
“Tiny Moves” is the third single from Bleachers’ upcoming self-titled album, which is due out on March 8. The song was preceded by the singles “Modern Girl” and “Alma Mater,” released in September 2023 and November 2023, respectively.
