mike - Hollywood Authentic

February 23, 2026

BAFTA Awards 2026, EE, Hollywood Authentic, London

Photographs by Greg Williams
Words by Jane Crowther

Robert Aramayo’s shock at winning the Best Actor category at BAFTA last night over an impressive category including Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, Ethan Hawke and Jesse Plemons was amplified by the collective audience gasps in the room as Kerry Washington read out his name – and clear when he came off stage grasping two BAFTA masks (having previously won the EE Rising Star Award). ‘This is MAD!’ he exclaimed to Greg Williams as he sank into a stage-side chair, his win the biggest upset of the night for bookies, and a moment that galvanises a meteoric rise this year for the Hull native. Just weeks earlier, Greg had shot Aramayo in a London greasy-spoon cafe for Cartier while the actor was juggling a theatre run in Guess How Much I Love You and the very idea of being nominated for a BAFTA. ‘It’s really genuinely unexpected,’ he told us.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Aramayo quickly found the man he’d portrayed in I Swear (releasing in the US on 24 April) backstage, campaigner John Davidson. The focus of controversy during the awards show due to his involuntary outbursts caused by Tourette Syndrome, Davidson was emotional for Aramayo, clutching him in a huge hug, the real-life Dotty from the film wiping away proud tears next to him and rocking a ‘Spunk for Milk’ necklace (one of the lines from the film)…

The show had begun with puce carpet arrivals from 2pm – Teyana Taylor arriving in a regal custom Burberry trench coat, her train carried behind her, with Chase Infiniti and Erin Doherty both negotiating structured, space-taking Louis Vuitton silhouettes, Paul Mescal (in Prada with Cartier jewels) and Gracie Abrams enjoying a date night, and Sinners on-screen adversaries, Michael B. Jordan (in monochrome Prada) and Jack O’Connell, sharing a warm embrace. The rain held off for an unseasonably mild afternoon as guests crowded the Royal Festival Hall terrace to sip Taittinger Champagne in the sunshine.

Having walked the carpet alone, Timothée Chalamet hung out in the green room backstage with Kylie Jenner and the evening’s first presenters, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, before heading to the auditorium as guests found their seats for a show presented by Alan Cumming, with the Prince and Princess of Wales in attendance. After Jordan and Lindo had kicked off the night awarding Best Special Effects to the Avatar: Fire and Ash team, they lingered at backstage monitors to watch the Best Supporting Actress category, whooping and applauding in delight when Sinners colleague Wunmi Mosaku (in an electric blue custom gown by Priya Ahluwalia) won. ‘Get it in, let’s do it!’ Jordan encouraged her as she thanked her teachers before he and Lindo ensured the pregnant actress negotiated the stairs off-stage safely.

Supporting actor was won by Sean Penn for One Battle After Another, who was absent from the event, but presenter Maggie Gyllenhaal ensured she snapped a photo of his winning envelope as she left the stage, before the star to cause the biggest stir backstage arrived. ‘This is the highlight of my evening!’ gasped Erin Doherty when she was informed that Paddington Bear from the West End sellout musical would pass her in the wings. Performed physically by Arti Shah with James Hameed providing the voice and controlling the marmalade lover’s facial expressions, Paddington wowed the audience as he toddled on stage, hand in hand with a guide, to present Best Children’s and Family Film, won by Boong. He later got in the artists’ lift backstage, holding court while blinking and smiling under his felt hat.

The run of Frankenstein wins began with the film taking home Best Production Design for Tamara Deverell and Shane Viea, Best Hair And Make Up for Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey, Mike Hill and Megan Many and Best Costume Design for recent Hollywood Authentic profile, Kate Hawley before another act to prompt giddiness. The KPop Demon Hunters trio performed ‘Golden’ from the film; EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI harmonised backstage a cappella before blasting their song to a front-row Chase Infiniti (singing along to all the words) and Timothée Chalamet taking photos on his phone.

As Ethan Hawke strolled to the wings with a glass of red wine, Sinners grabbed another award for Ryan Coogler for Best Original Screenplay, as Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer went to Akinola Davies Jr for My Father’s Shadow starring recent Hollywood Authentic cover star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and I Swear won for Best Casting. One Battle After Another’s 6-gong haul continued with Best Cinematography for Michael Bauman (the film also bagged Best Editing for Andy Jurgensen as well as Director and Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson and Best Film).

The In Memoriam segment was accompanied by Jessie Ware singing ‘The Way We Were’ and as she stood backstage doing vocal warm-up she was greeted and encouraged by presenter Stormzy and Hannah Waddingham, who performed the role last year. With Best Film Not In The English Language going to the Sentimental Value team (who came off stage exclaiming in delighted Norwegian), Best British Film went to Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. Seventeen of the cast and crew took to the stage to celebrate, with Jessie Buckley arriving at Greg Williams’ stage-side ‘studio of spontaneity’ with her child costars wrapped around her. Chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, Dame Donna Langley was honoured with the BAFTA Fellowship awarded by the Prince of Wales. The first British woman to run a major studio, Langley said; ‘My hope is that those of us who help tell stories for a living continue to find inspiration to make popular art that carries over into people’s everyday lives and reminds us that decency is a superpower.’

The evening rounded out with announcements for Best Actress – and frontrunner Jessie Buckley collecting gold for Hamnet – and Best Actor. Acknowledging her fellow nominees, Buckley (in custom Chanel) congratulated Emma Stone, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Chase Infiniti and Renate Reinsve, saying; ‘You are all just radical and you are doing it for the naughty girls’. She dedicated the award to her baby daughter, promising ‘to continue to be disobedient so you can belong to a world in all your complete wildness as a young woman’.

As One Battle After Another was named Best Film by Glenn Close (with Paul Thomas Anderson wondering where the bar was as he cradled his award), the thrilled team decompressed backstage. ‘Why does nobody want to get near you?’ DiCaprio teased his on-screen daughter Infiniti about her huge skirt, and she leaned forward to straighten his bow tie.

Dinner kicked off downstairs with truffle chicken and popcorn ice cream before revellers headed to afterparties; Warner Bros at Kettners, Disney at Soho House and Netflix at Twenty Two. There Patrick and Jillian Dempsey, with their daughter Talula, sipped cocktails while Joseph Quinn got the dance party started doing an impeccable Electric Slide to the DJ’s beats. In another part of the multi-level venue Machine Gun Kelly and Pete Davidson hung out, Regé-Jean Page chatted with Malachi Kirby, while Kerry Washington, Alicia Vikander, Noomi Rapace, Riz Ahmed, Tom Blyth, Aimee Lou Wood, Mark Strong and Mia McKenna-Bruce enjoyed the cocktails and full caviar bar.

WINNERS:

Best Film: One Battle After Another

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Leading Actor: Robert Aramayo, I Swear

Leading Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Supporting Actress: Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners

Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

EE Rising Star Award: Robert Aramayo

Outstanding British Film: Hamnet

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: Akinola Davies Jr., My Father’s Shadow

Film Not in the English Language: Sentimental Value

Documentary: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Animated Film: Zootopia 2

Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Original Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Original Score: Ludwig Göransson, Sinners

Costume Design: Kate Hawley, Frankenstein

Production Design: Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau, Frankenstein

Special Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett and Eric Saindon, Avatar: Fire and Ash

Makeup & Hair: Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey, Mike Hill and Megan Many, Frankenstein

Editing: Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another

Cinematography: Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another

Sound: Steve Speed, Nick Fry, James Evans, and Hugh Wan, F1

Casting: Lauren Evans, I Swear

British Short Animation: Two Black Boys in Paradise

British Short Film: This is Endometriosis

Photographs by Greg Williams
Words by Jane Crowther

Greg’s Letter

SPECIAL EDITION: CARTIER CELEBRATES BAFTA

February 22, 2026

It was lovely to shoot David Jonsson for this hand-numbered limited special edition of Hollywood Authentic because kismet stuck during our time together. I rarely make a plan when I shoot a subject, and when David and I met in Mayfair we planned to hang out and chat. But, very unexpectedly, it turned out that the very bench he used to dream on as a kid was metres away from where we pulled over in Berkeley Square. That lovely, poetic discovery and full circle moment of achievement was echoed in his becoming a Cartier ambassador having seen, in his own family, the reverence for a Cartier ring that his mother bought his father.

Alien: Romulus, BAFTA Rising Star award, Chaperones, The Long Walk, Wasteman — Photograph by Lauren Carnell

David is last year’s BAFTA Rising Star recipient and he’s building a career with integrity and for longevity, qualities shared with Cartier craftsmanship. I got the same sense from shooting this year’s Rising Star nominees, Robert Aramayo and Posy Sterling, in a caff in Pimlico; two gifted actors who want to tell important, culturally relevant stories. And our A Little Nonsense subject is also a former Rising Star recipient – Mia McKenna Bruce has consolidated her promise since her 2024 win and is now filming one of the biggest cinematic projects on the slate, Sam Mendes’ four-film event Beatles biopic. Having been an official BAFTA photographer for 20 years and worked with Cartier for a decade, and been side-of-stage when both David and Mia won – I feel like I’ve had a front row seat to their success.

The Cartier pre-BAFTA dinner party at The Arlington in London was an opportunity to celebrate talent in an intimate venue and to have some fun in the kitchens. I’ve always enjoyed the dichotomy of glamour and the working, industrial environment of a kitchen – and it evokes memories of presidents arriving at venues or Scorsese’s steadicam shot following Henry Hill through the kitchens to the Copacobana in Goodfellas. I took an illustrious crowd including Tilda Swinton, Paul Mescal, Kate Hudson, Mark Strong, David Jonsson, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Robert Aramayo, Posy Sterling, Archie Medekwe and Spike Fearn to the prep kitchens below the dining room for some play amongst the pans and hobs.

Tilda Swinton, Paul Mescal, Kate Hudson, Mark Strong, David Jonsson, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Robert Aramayo, Posy Sterling, Archie Medekwe, Spike Fearn

Later, when guests left the event they were given a hand-numbered limited edition of our Cartier special collaboration magazine. It was the perfect end to the perfect night.

GREG WILLIAMS
Founder, Hollywood Authentic

hollywood authentic, greg williams, hollywood authentic magazine

Profile

DAVID JONSSON

February 20, 2026

Photographs & interview by GREG WILLIAMS
As told to JANE CROWTHER

Actor and producer David Jonsson reflects on his acting journey and the dreams made real in a career he’s building for the long run.

David Jonsson gazes out over Mayfair from the floor-to-ceiling windows of a top-floor suite at the Chancery Rosewood hotel, sipping his third cup of coffee. ‘I’ve moved all about different parts of London now,’ the British actor and producer says, ‘but East London is home.’ Last year’s recipient of BAFTA’s coveted Rising Star Award (which is where we first met) has been working all over different parts of the world as his career has taken off, but the UK’s capital is still where he lives, and the place that keeps him grounded. ‘My family are Creole. We have African and Caribbean influences that all feel very represented in East London and it’s one of those places that’s very community-based. Everyone knows your business. I guess the more work I’ve done, the more I want people not knowing my business,’ he laughs.

That work has become more and more high profile since David broke out as a posh boy in TV show Industry – moving quickly to film roles such as beloved romcom Rye Lane (‘We started at Sundance and finished at the BAFTAs – I feel so honoured that I got to be a part of that, and got to make it my own,’), sci-fi blockbuster Alien: Romulus, dystopian Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk and his current release, gritty prison drama, Wasteman (which he also produced). His next couple of projects are exciting: playing Sammy Davis Jr to Sydney Sweeney’s Kim Novak in Colman Domingo-directed biopic, Scandalous, a role in Frank Ocean’s top-secret move to film, and a road movie, Chaperones, reteaming him with his Long Walk co-star Cooper Hoffman as well as Paul Dano. As he looks across the high-end buildings of this part of town, David considers the progress he’s made from being a Canning Town kid who dreamt of acting, and used to sit on a park bench in Berkeley Square wondering if he’d ever move in such circles.

We’ll get to that bench later, but for now I suggest we head downstairs to grab some sushi in the hotel’s restaurant. As we get in the lift I ask what being a Cartier ambassador means to someone who grew up with limited means in Custom House. ‘My family didn’t have much growing up,’ he nods. ‘My mum got this one Cartier ring for my dad when he was doing kind of alright, and it’s in the family. I’ve also got a watch that I had that I just thought I’d never get something like that. So now I’m working with them, it’s bloody awesome. What I’m doing now, my friends are like, “We didn’t know that was possible.” Depending on where you grew up, it dictates what is possible, or what you think is possible. So I feel very, very lucky.’ Self-described as an introvert, David thinks his watchful nature – cultivated by having four older siblings and keeping his head down in East London – is what makes him the actor that he is. ‘Sometimes you’ve got to be on. If I can put it into a character, I’m winning. Someone asked Marlon Brando what he did and he said, “I’m a con artist.” I’m not, but maybe I am…’

My family are Creole. We have African and Caribbean influences that all feel very represented in East London and it’s one of those places that’s very community-based

He also admits to imposter syndrome, but there was no counterfeit when he won the EE BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2025. ‘That award meant more to me than anything, because it was BAFTA, but also it’s an award voted for by people. Now, listen, I love making movies, I love characters. But if people aren’t watching your stuff… So people getting behind me, and my work being received – it was proof. That meant everything.’ He’s told me previously about manifesting for his future as a younger man, so I suggest we head to where he used to dream. We jump in a cab and head to Berkeley Square.

‘I used to work at Abercrombie & Fitch. It was when I had nothing. It was in between me living in New York from 16 to 18 [he attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts on a scholarship]. I was skating, and just messing about – I came back, and I did anything I could. I worked in bars and pubs, anything. I was a model at Abercrombie & Fitch and I remember walking on my lunch breaks. So I came to this square. I used to sit on a bench and just look around me. I used to think, “How am I going to get here?”’ We arrive at the square and walk to a bench near a towering tree. ‘My mum and my dad were always like, “If you’re going to do it, throw yourself into it. Give it everything.” This was my bench. I was 18. It was just before I got into RADA.’ I asked what the 18-year-old might say to see him sitting here now. ‘I reckon he’d be like, “You’ve done well. Keep going. Keep going.” I’m just trying to keep going.’

He’s doing more than keeping going: his latest project Wasteman sees him play an inmate nearly at parole and coping with a drug-dealer new cellmate, while trying to get back home to his little boy. It’s a visceral, tense and authentic study of the dynamics of prison life. The road to playing the role has been long and winding. David first auditioned for it straight out of drama school, but funding for the film fell apart. He went on to a series of informative theatre roles, but still thought about the project. Six years later he met producer Sophia Gibber and together they produced the film. ‘We shot it for 18 days. I lost 25lb to play the role, I was eating 800 calories a day. It should have been the hardest thing I’ve done. But I loved it. Most of my co-stars were ex-prisoners. It felt like we were doing something that was beyond Hollywood. It’s fertile ground for starting a company – trying to make sure that these films that I think are brilliant, entertaining, but also culturally relevant, get made.’ David shared that he and Sophia founded their production company greyarea., because ‘the stories we love don’t live in black and white. They live in the contradictions, complexities, and all the emotional truths in between – that’s where the most compelling storytelling happens.’

I remember walking on my lunch breaks. So I came to this square. I used to sit on a bench and just look around me. I used to think, ‘How am I going to get here?

The project has inspired him, but also made him appreciate not producing on a story and being able to concentrate on acting. ‘I don’t remember takes, I don’t watch playback, so I don’t even know what I look like on screen,’ he admits of his approach. ‘Maybe I could learn more about what I’m doing, and how things are. But right now, if I look at playback, I feel like I’m doing the job that the audience is meant to do. It’s not my job. It’s a great director’s job.’ Scandalous and the untitled Frank Ocean film are thrilling and allow him to focus purely on his craft (though he’s not at liberty to talk about either yet) and he looks at Michael B Jordan’s career as one to admire. ‘I just want to have a sustained career, and do what the fuck I want,’ he says. ‘You know, the great thing about acting is that you get the chance to hold a mirror up to people. That mirror is me. I care a lot about this job. No-one in my family, or where I’ve come from, has been able to do this. Which puts a pressure on you. You see other people sometimes just wing it. I’m not one of those people. I just can’t. I get that probably from my mum. Growing up in a single-parent household wasn’t easy at all, especially in East London. My brother and my sister did a lot of raising me. Those tough times, you remember. But you use them for something better now. Escapism is for the audience. Immersing is for the actor.

‘We celebrate fast success sometimes, and it doesn’t always come that quick. I look at someone like Colman and see you’ve got to really build something to have something strong.’ I suggest that, at 32, he’s been acting for half his life, so he must be doing something right. ‘I’ve got to get over this, I think. I’m still really shocked that I’m here. I’m not motivated by needing to work and do different things. I say no more than I say yes. And not because I think I’m better than anyone, but just because it’s not for me. So it’s that feeling of doing it my way. It’s awesome. I just want to remain playful, and try not to think too much.’

That said, he is keen to flex in a different direction – away from the quietly-spoken, sweet guy he is in person. ‘People are like, “You’re so nice.” I’m like, “I’m not nice. I’m a good person, but I’m not nice.” I think there’s a darker side of me that I’d like to explore more, which is happening. You want to show a bit more spectrum. I don’t have a plan. I want to just be able to move a bit. I’m having too much fun right now…’

Photographs & interview by GREG WILLIAMS
As told to JANE CROWTHER
Wasteman is in cinemas now
Groomer: Isata Allen
Thanks to the Chancery Rosewood, Mayfair, London

David wears:
Santos de Cartier necklace (Medium model), 18ct white gold
Tank Louis Cartier watch (Small model), mechanical movement with manual winding, 18ct rose gold, leather strap
Panthère de Cartier ring, 18ct yellow gold, onyx, black lacquer, tsavorite garnets
Panthère de Cartier belt, black calfskin, golden-finish buckle

Cartier Tank Américaine watch (Small model), High-autonomy quartz movement, 18ct yellow gold
Clash de Cartier ring (Medium model), 18ct yellow gold

Cartier LOVE earrings (Small model), 18ct yellow gold
Tank Louis Cartier watch (Medium model), mechanical movement with manual winding, 18ct yellow gold, leather strap
Clash de Cartier ring (Medium model), 18ct yellow gold

Reel Life

CARTIER IN THE MOVIES

February 20, 2026

Words by EMILY ZEMLER

From diamond tears to royal engagement rings, bracelets ready for their close-up to bejewelled crucifixes, Cartier jewels have dazzled onscreen since cinema’s inception…

Cartier is one of cinema’s most enduring characters. Since 1926 – when Rudolph Valentino famously donned an iconic Cartier Tank watch – the luxury Maison has established itself as both a cultural icon and a memorable co-star. Its timeless jewellery has appeared in classic films like Sunset Boulevard and more contemporary works like Ocean’s 8 and The Phoenician Scheme.

Cartier celebrates BAFTA, High Society, Ocean’s 8, Sunset Boulevard, The Phoenician Scheme — CARTIER ROSARY
From Wes Anderson’s 2025 film *The Phoenician Scheme*

The elegant craftsmanship of Cartier’s jewellery has augmented the magical worlds created by skilful filmmakers for generations, helping to bring the stories to life in ways that feel as real as they do transformative. Over the years, hundreds of films and series have featured Cartier pieces – an extraordinary filmography that outshines the careers of many human actors. But Cartier’s contribution to the landscape of cinema wasn’t inevitable. It took a legacy of craftsmanship, some particularly devoted famous fans and a dedication to storytelling that has spanned time and genre.

Perhaps the link between carats and celluloid was inevitable. Maison Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847, only a few decades before the invention of cinema by Auguste and Louis Lumière, who also first presented their work in the French capital. In 1895, the Lumière brothers began filming short scenes using their newly-created cinématographe, an early motion-picture camera. Later that year, they held the first commercial film screening at a café in Paris, an historic moment that for ever changed the landscape of arts and culture. It wasn’t long after that Cartier and cinema embarked on an undeniable relationship that has lasted for a century.

In 1926, Valentino, arguably one of silent film’s most iconic actors, played dual characters in George Fitzmaurice’s The Son of the Sheik – the final starring role of his career. Embodying both a sheik and his rakish son Ahmed, Valentino convinced the director to let him wear his Tank watch in his scenes, simply because he didn’t want to take his beloved timepiece off. Audiences were delighted by the unlikely detail and the Tank rapidly grew in popularity after its on-screen debut.

Cartier soon established itself as an indelible onscreen partner for the most popular performers of every era. In 1946, Jean Cocteau (who habitually wore two of Cartier’s trademark Trinity rings on his left pinkie finger) directed a reimagining of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, titled La Belle et La Bête. In the ethereal film, Belle wept Cartier diamonds instead of tears. ‘A fake diamond doesn’t throw fire,’ Cocteau explained of his artistic vision, ‘only a real diamond shimmers.’ The loaned diamonds underscored the emotional quality of the scene, creating a lasting, surrealist image that has since become interlinked with the history of cinema.

Gloria Swanson, too, couldn’t be parted from her Cartier. She was often photographed in her jewels, a signature of her glamorous image. The jewellery accompanied her onscreen Sunset Boulevard: ageing former starlet, Norma Desmond, still sparkled in her choice of jewels if not on the big screen. In the film, Swanson wore two of her own diamond and rock crystal bracelets created in 1930 as part of Desmond’s costume.

In High Society, released in 1956, Grace Kelly wore the jewellery house’s engagement ring, adorned with a 10.48-carat emerald-cut diamond and given to her by Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Like Valentino before her, the actor couldn’t bear to part with it while working, so added the famous ring to the film’s legacy instead. Tracy Lord’s classic platinum and diamond bauble boasted regal veracity for audiences.

More recently, Cartier collaborated on 2018’s Ocean’s 8. The plot centered on the theft of an ornate diamond necklace, made by Maison Cartier and based on a piece created by Cartier London in 1931. Named after Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier’s creative director from 1933 to 1970, the prop mimicked diamonds with zirconium oxides.

The Maison’s skills were again enlisted for Wes Anderson’s recent output, The Phoenician Scheme to recreate a Cartier rosary from the 1880s for the nun protagonist to clutch. ‘It was interesting and fun to do it that way, and I think they look better,’ Anderson said of using actual Cartier jewels in the film.

Cartier has expanded its cinematic presence by contributing new short films to the zeitgeist, and by frequently collaborating with filmmakers such as Johan Renck and Sofia Coppola. ‘Films are made up of many details, and jewellery plays a role in this by showing you the type of character you encounter,’ Coppola noted.

The Maison is also a main sponsor of the annual Venice International Film Festival, an opportunity that more deeply connects Cartier with new and important works from the global cinematic community. Over the years, the jewellery house has hosted Maison ambassadors like Monica Bellucci and Rami Malek, and bestowed the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award to legends like Wes Anderson. This year, Cartier celebrated BAFTA with a glamorous dinner held ahead of the annual EE BAFTA Film Awards, drawing a full-circle movie moment between Valentino’s watch obsession a hundred years ago.

Cinema and jewellery share a commonality in the often unseen craftsmanship that goes on behind the scenes to create the magic onscreen. Like movie productions, Cartier boasts many specialised metiers who craft their own sort of creative sorcery to produce a dazzling work of art. And BAFTA and Cartier share a similarly long history and legacy in showcasing quality and artistry. Though founded in Paris in 1847, a Cartier boutique has stood in London’s New Burlington Street since 1902 and held warrants from members of the British Royal family since 1904. Just steps away, BAFTA HQ resides with a similar dedication to creative excellence and links to the royals. Established in 1947 as the British Film Academy, the organisation became BAFTA eleven years later, with the opening of its Piccadilly home in 1976.

Together, both Cartier and BAFTA have left a lasting mark on our cultural consciousness that continues to sparkle.

Words by EMILY ZEMLER
Cartier Rosary (Credit: Nils Herrmann, Collection Cartier)
Jean Cocteau (Credit: ©️ Luc Fournol / Photo12). Thanks to the Comité Jean Cocteau
Grace Kelly (Credit: ©️ D. Stock / Magnum Photos). With the permission of The Princess Grace Foundation – USA
Gloria Swanson (Credit: Documentation Cartier Paris). Bracelet Cartier Paris, 1930 (Credit: Marian Gérard, Collection Cartier © Cartier)

A Little Nonsense*

MIA McKENNA-BRUCE

February 20, 2026

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, BAFTA Rising Star, Cartier celebrates BAFTA, How to Have Sex, The Lady

Photograph by GREG WILLIAMS

Former BAFTA Rising Star, Mia McKenna-Bruce, tells Hollywood Authentic about her German singing skills and her unconventional dinner choice.

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
The most important! I never take myself too seriously; if you’re not laughing 90% of the time, what’s the point?

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
My son.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
Oh, deep! I think I’m learning to be more honest with myself about my feelings, so maybe I’m a coward daily with not saying how I truly feel.

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I’ll always read the end of a book first. People think that’s quite odd. I like to know where it’s heading.

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
My family, we are very close.

What is your party trick?
Singing ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ in German. Also reciting random science facts – like the electromagnetic spectrum.

What is your mantra?
When nothing is certain, anything is possible.

What is your favourite smell?
This sounds crazy: bleach.

What do you always carry with you?
Snacks. Usually like a Trek bar or something.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Eating cereal for dinner.

Who is the silliest person you know?
Oh there’s lots! But probably my Nonna.

What would be your least favourite way to die?
Buried alive – ew!

What’s your idea of heaven?
Being surrounded by my family and friends, maybe round a campfire having a sing-song.

BAFTA Rising Star and BIFA-winning actor Mia McKenna-Bruce came to prominence in in CBBC revival Tracy Beaker Returns but her profile exploded with the success of How to Have Sex in 2023. She has since worked with Claire Denis on The Fence and will feature in Sam Mendes’ four-film cinematic event about the Beatles. McKenna-Bruce can currently be seen playing the lead in both Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials and The Lady.

Photograph by GREG WILLIAMS

*Arguably one of the most memorable (and quotable) scenes in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is when Mr Salt mumbles, ‘It’s a lot of nonsense,’ to which Wonka replies, in a sing-song voice, ‘A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.’

Blow-Up

PAUL MESCAL

February 20, 2026

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS

Greg Williams takes pause to consider the bigger picture of images seen small on his social media. This issue: Paul Mescal walking to the 2023 BAFTAs in London.

Most guests arrive at the BAFTAs in cars, but Paul likes to break the mould on things. He was staying at a hotel across the river and said, ‘Let’s walk’ – we just walked across Waterloo Bridge to the Royal Festival Hall. I divide photography into being an observer and being a participant – where you sense a connection between the subjects and me. It gives the audience a first-person experience: it feels like they’re fist-bumping Paul Mescal on a bridge, walking to the BAFTAs.

Structurally, it’s pretty close to the rule of thirds. This has the London Eye and Big Ben on the side – a real London image and a lucky accident. The picture has a nice line from my fist that goes straight through the vintage Cartier brooch and the middle of the London Eye. I took the picture for Cartier and also managed to get the Tank Louis in shot nicely. It was a fun and exhilarating shoot – and no-one really noticed us, despite him being nominated for Best Actor for Aftersun at the BAFTAs. When I shoot like this barely anyone notices, because they’re not expecting it. I don’t put up lights and tripods, I’m not holding up the traffic – we don’t look like a photoshoot and don’t attract any attention. You don’t look any different from a tourist taking a picture on a bridge.

Shot on a Leica Q2 with a 28mm lens

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS
Shot on Leica Q2

Reel Life

BAZ LUHRMANN/EPiC

February 20, 2026

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Words by MATT MAYTUM

Return of the king… The maestro of movie showmanship revives the king of rock ’n’ roll with unseen footage of Elvis in Vegas to create a unique cinematic experience. Baz Luhrmann tells Hollywood Authentic how he found treasure in salt mines and made a poem of EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert.

Is it ever possible to recapture the thrill of seeing one of the greatest ever music artists live in their prime? Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert answers that question with a resounding yes. The unearthing of new footage of a cultural touchstone is a gift for die-hard Elvis fans, and offers younger generations the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. Much more than a concert movie, EPiC sprang from Luhrmann and his team’s archival discoveries during the making of his blockbuster 2022 feature Elvis, starring Austin Butler.

Baz Luhrmann, Elvis Presley, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, EPiC

There’s not a frame of AI or visual effects in this – the only visual effect is the one Elvis has on his audience

Often thought to be apocryphal, lost footage from Elvis’ famous Vegas residency turned out to be more than mere rumour during the making of Elvis. ‘Ernst Jorgensen [author and Elvis expert] said, “You know there are these lost reels of the show?”’ Luhrmann recalls. ‘And I thought to myself, “Wow, maybe we could use that footage in the [Elvis] movie itself, rather than build a stage – because of budgets.”’ The footage – originally shot for doc Elvis: That’s the Way It Is – belonged to MGM and had been stored in salt mines in Kansas, to prevent water from damaging the negative. When Baz’s team went digging, ‘not only did they find the footage,’ he explains between sips of miso soup, ‘they actually found a kind of treasure trove of materials – 69 boxes, 59 hours of footage.’

That incredible haul not only contained footage of Elvis’ 1970 Vegas shows at the International Hotel, shot on anamorphic 35mm over six nights; there was also 16mm film of Elvis on tour, and some 8mm, too. But another unexpected find was the key to making EPiC the extraordinary proposition it is. ‘We also found never-before-heard audio of Elvis telling his story in his own words, which is really unusual,’ says Luhrmann, photographed here by Greg Williams when he was at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, while premiering Elvis there.

‘Jono [Jonathan] Redman, who’s a producer on this, and my editor, and really my co-creator of this whole venture, said, “We’ve got to make something really special. We can’t just heat up the old documentaries. Can we do something unique?”’ Beyond the technical challenge of restoring the negative to a quality that would hold up on IMAX and syncing the sound, there was the unique opportunity to let Elvis speak in his own words – something fans had never heard before. ‘What we decided on was, rather than reheat old documentaries… What if we were to take this audio that we’d found, and Elvis will sing and tell his story in his own words? There have been many good documentaries, but they were always about other people talking about Elvis. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes you’ll get a guy who knew him for 10 minutes, having an opinion.’ In part, the lack of Presley speaking his own truth was down to how protective manager Colonel Tom Parker (portrayed by Tom Hanks in Baz’s film) was of Elvis. But if 2022’s Elvis told Parker’s version of events, EPiC tells Elvis’ side of the story. ‘Elvis comes to you, almost like in a dream, and he sings, and he tells his story in a way in which he’s never had the platform [for] before.’

Some of the footage in EPiC may have been glimpsed before, in black-and-white and bootleg snippets or from different takes or angles, but much of the material in the film is totally unseen, and certainly never with such clarity, offering an unprecedentedly intimate audience with an icon. ‘You will have never seen all of it reproduced at the level it is,’ asserts Luhrmann. ‘I can categorically tell you: there’s not a frame of AI or visual effects in this, other than the titles. The only visual effect in this movie is the visual effect Elvis has on his audience.’

With the images polished at Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production – where the Kiwi director memorably brought The Beatles: Get Back and Beatles ’64 to vibrant life – a huge challenge involved syncing the sound with the recovered film. ‘While we found all the pictures, it didn’t come with mag tape, which is how they used to record sound, right next to it,’ says Luhrmann. ‘What we were able to do, though, through meticulous research was to get second-generation audio sound. The audio isn’t different. While the picture is different when they strike a print – a work print, to cut and edit – the sound isn’t. So we were able to claw back the original vocal of Elvis and the band.’

It’s actually an expression, I hope, of the essence, the spirit, and the character of Elvis through song and his words. It’s like a poem more than it is a linear expression of Elvis

Luhrmann has always been a pioneer when it comes to melding movies and music, and EPiC sees him push those instincts to new levels. Where the recording of the orchestra was inconsistent, he and his team rebuilt some of the backing music via scoring sessions. The film also moves between the actual sound you would’ve heard had you been in the room to remixes Luhrmann refers to as ‘DNA’, adding his trademark sparkle and oomph to the raw material. ‘It’s more than a documentary, and it’s not a concert film,’ he muses. ‘It’s actually an expression, I hope, of the essence, the spirit, and the character of Elvis through song and his words. It’s like a poem more than it is a linear expression of Elvis.’

And while Luhrmann refuses to speak on behalf of the King of Rock and Roll, he does say that he thinks he would appreciate ‘that he’s being heard and being presented visually and sonically in the best possible quality for the audience and the fans who he dearly loved’. Having worked to craft a big-screen, big-sound cinematic experience that makes viewers feel as though they’ve time-travelled to the International Hotel ballroom with Elvis, Luhrmann intends to get viewers moving, dancing as they did in 1970 and at TIFF when the film premiered. ‘What I hope is that we’ve created a truly theatrical experience, as close to being in the audience as possible.’

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert images © Neon/Universal Pictures
Words by MATT MAYTUM
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is released exclusively in IMAX and is in theatres everywhere now

The New Wave

RISING STARS

February 20, 2026

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interviews by JANE CROWTHER

As they get ready to enjoy their Rising Star nominations at the BAFTAs, Greg Williams takes Robert Aramayo and Posy Sterling out for a post-party bite in London…

Robert Aramayo, Posy Sterling, BAFTA Rising Star, Cartier celebrates BAFTA

Robert Aramayo takes a huge bite of a doorstop crisp sandwich in the Regency Café in Pimlico. It’s the first time he’s ever had potato crisps as a sandwich filler before – a British student snack and hangover staple – despite hailing from Hull in the North of England. The last couple of years have been a series of firsts for the actor, who began his thespian training at the Hull Truck Youth Theatre before winning a place at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. Since graduating, he’s worked on two ‘big machines’ in terms of project: playing Eddard Stark in Game of Thrones (where he learnt sword fighting) and Elrond in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. He’s also played real-life historical figure Orde Wingate in Palestine 36 and Tourette’s sufferer and campaigner, John Davidson, in hit dramedy biopic, I Swear. That role, expertly crafted to show the physical and verbal ‘tics’ for the syndrome as well as the humanity, warmth and hope of Davidson, is what has put him on the shortlist this year for BAFTA’s Rising Star Award and also seen him nominated for Best Leading Actor. ‘It’s really genuinely unexpected,’ he smiles of the nomination as he loosens his bow tie.

‘I feel genuinely lucky to be a part of I Swear, and a part of a film that’s really trying to do something. It’s trying to be accessible, so that people can watch it and not get hit over the head with an issue. But, at the same time, it’s really trying to say something about the way that we look at Tourette’s.’ To prepare for the part and to do justice to Davidson, Aramayo immersed himself in the Tourette’s community. ‘I worked with Tourette’s Scotland, but the key was John himself. I spent a lot of time with him really trying to drill into his psychology, and how he feels.’ The work paid off, with Aramayo’s performance astonishing audiences and helping to educate as well as entertain. He’s been touched by the response he’s received, and by the gifts. ‘Someone made me a jug that says “spunk for milk” on it!’ he laughs about one of his more memorable lines from the film getting a life beyond the screen and hitting a nerve with viewers.

I feel genuinely lucky to be a part of I Swear, and a part of a film that’s really trying to do something. It’s trying to be accessible, so that people can watch it and not get hit over the head with an issue

Posy Sterling’s recent work has made a similar impression. The Leicester native stunned audiences with her towering performance of a single mother newly released from prison and struggling to find a way to regain custody of her children in Lollipop. Sterling won the Breakthrough Performance BIFA for her work, and the connections she made while filming have taken her to the Houses of Parliament the week we meet, to discuss the issues raised in the movie with MPs. She tears up as she talks about the role and the project, the themes clearly close to her heart after immersing herself in the community she was portraying, as Aramayo did. ‘I think that the world, in a way, needed to get ready to listen and to hear the message of this film,’ she says, explaining that her interest in women falling through the cracks of the UK’s penal system was something she’d become interested in on a previous project. ‘I wanted to learn more about it. I wanted to do something about it. So when this script fell in my lap I really felt I needed to do this. I knew how special it was, but seeing it now in the real world and a conversation that’s happening without much finger pointing or blame… I’m getting so many messages. It’s the gift that keeps on giving where I’m invested in this movement. I knew this need in me to do it wasn’t just to play the part. I’m not going to have the privilege of being able to do that with every job that I do.’

Though she has another project incoming that explores real-world issues in Dirty Business (Channel 4’s upcoming factual drama about whistleblowers in polluting UK water companies), she is now looking for different performances and perspectives. ‘There was a need in me to tell a story like this and that’s been birthed out of me now, if you know what I mean? Now I’m picking up inspirations from other things, other genres. There’s been beautiful jobs I’ve done in different ways, and they’ve been a gift that’s been a bit of a revelation at times, and you learn different things about yourself as an artist or things about the world. There are these pillar moments along the timeline I can feel that are happening.’

Both actors feel they have learnt a great deal on navigating the business and the artistry of their world from fellow actors. For Aramayo it was working with Peter Mullan on both Rings of Power and I Swear. ‘Pete’s not going to turn up and start telling you about his experience, and all the things he’s learned, and overtly pass on things to you. However, the way that he works is really healthy work. He leads by example, brings an ease to the set, and is really open to talking about things, changing things, and he just has an ultimate respect for the people that he’s working with. He’s such an amazing collaborator.’

For Sterling her ‘North Star for a career’ was Saoirse Ronan when she worked with her on The Outrun, a film Ronan led onscreen and off as star and producer. ‘The Outrun was a training ground. And can you imagine Saoirse Ronan literally being your teacher? I asked her so many questions. She was so generous with her time. I was watching and just observing how she was on set. I love that she’d chosen this project, was producing this project, and cared so deeply about this subject matter. I would love to make work like that, and to have the privilege of getting to choose like that.’

I’ll always go back to the theatre. I think it’s essential, like an athlete, to be a theatre actor. It’s a completely different ball game in a very different way. But film storytelling is so exciting, in how it comes together in preproduction and post

For now Sterling is writing her own material and will next appear in detective show, Trigger Point, something she describes as a ‘completely different pair of shoes’. ‘Trigger Point really gave me that grounding in many ways. I realised how at home I felt working on set and making something, all these really talented people coming together and creating make-believe. There’s a different weight and energy to that.’ Having starred in Benedict Andrews’ The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar with a transfer to St Ann’s Warehouse in New York last year, Sterling loves the live experience and connecting with an audience in real time. But right now she admits she has ‘fallen in love with the format of film’. ‘I’ll always go back to the theatre. I think it’s essential, like an athlete, to be a theatre actor. It’s a completely different ball game in a very different way. But film storytelling is so exciting, in how it comes together in preproduction and post. And then that’s on the planet for ever. It’s a very different thing that I want to be a part of for as long as I live.’

Aramayo is currently treading the West End boards in Guess How Much I Love You?, a two-hander with Rosie Sheehy at the Royal Court. ‘It’s going to make me a better actor,’ he nods, taking his dinner jacket off in preparation to run to the stage door for a show this evening. ‘I hope every experience helps move me forward. I want to work on things for the right reasons, and to keep pushing myself. The scary thing about being an actor is, you don’t know when your next job is coming. And the great thing about being an actor is that you don’t know what your next job will be. I think both of those can be exciting and intimidating.’

Sterling agrees. ‘I’m open to the universe,’ she says of her next job. ‘I love comedy. I love vampires. I would love to explore otherworldly things. I don’t think I would ever turn down an action… I want to explore all different formats of film genres, because up until now, I’ve learned by doing. And I think in the creative world, that’s what you have to do, and you have to be curious. All the greatest actors have that in common – remaining curious.’

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interviews by JANE CROWTHER

Posy wears:
Cartier High Jewellery necklace and earrings, 18ct white gold, Rubies and diamonds

Robert wears:
Panthère de Cartier brooch, 18ct white gold, Sapphires, emeralds, onyx and diamonds
Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch 36mm, Mechanical movement with automatic winding, 18ct white gold, Diamonds and blue leather strap

Posy
Stylist: Aimée Croysdill
Hair Artist: Louis Byrne
Make-up Artist: Craig Hamilton

Robert
Stylist: Michael Miller
Styling Assistant: My Olsson
Groomer: Nadia Altinbas

Gongs/Premieres

CARTIER AT THE BAFTAs

February 20, 2026

Photographs & words by GREG WILLIAMS
As told to MATT MAYTUM

Greg Williams looks back on two decades of capturing the BAFTAs, and the Cartier gems that shone on the biggest night in British film…

I’ve been an official photo-grapher of BAFTA since 2005. Due to my longstanding relationships with the British Academy and many of the talent honoured, I’ve been lucky enough to have the privilege of being the first person that the winners see when they come offstage with their award. What you get are those wonderful, honest reactions before their guard is up. I like to think it gives you authentic Hollywood, seeing how someone reacts in that moment, and the emotions of it. If you’re lucky you tend to see the inner child more than the personality. Some people come offstage stunned. They’re a rabbit in the headlights. You have to say, ‘You just won a BAFTA. Wahey!’ Over the years I’ve shot the BAFTAs when it was at the Odeon Leicester Square, the Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall, and now at the Royal Festival Hall. And each one brought something unique.

When I started my career as a photojournalist, you never got a second crack at taking a picture. You were literally capturing a moment. That has come in very useful in these situations where it is often organised madness, and you’ve only got one opportunity to get that first impression. And my pictures are often of that first impression, so my photojournalism background has definitely helped in capturing the moments. For the last decade, I’ve also had a really meaningful relationship with Cartier, often photographing actors in the moments before they head to the red carpet in their hotel suites. Bringing these two institutions together in one spread was just a lovely opportunity to show those spontaneous moments as well as the more still, posed images when you really want to put a spotlight on these beautiful Cartier creations.

I’m very inspired by the old glamour of 50s’ Hollywood. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the book Magnum at the Movies, and the work of those legendary photojournalists. I put it all in the same bracket of reportage, whether you’re in a war zone or on a red carpet. It’s still reportage, telling stories. In both cases, it’s looking at something that’s reasonably extraordinary to people. It could be extraordinary beauty or extraordinary savagery.

RACHEL WEISZ (Above)
Rachel Weisz leaves the stage at the Royal Albert Hall after winning the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA in 2019 for her role in The Favourite. The amount of space I had backstage was lovely, it gave me room to set up lights including the backlight shaping her hair, and there were no other people backstage.

Rachel wears:
Cartier High Jewellery earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds
Cartier High Jewellery ring, 18ct white gold, emerald, black, lacquer, diamonds

TEO YOO
Teo Yoo captured in his suite before the 2024 BAFTAs, where he was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Past Lives.

Teo wears:
Santos de Cartier cufflinks, Sterling silver
Cartier Santos watch (Large model), mechanical movement, leather strap 18ct rose gold
Cartier LOVE ring, 18ct white gold
Clash de Cartier ring (Medium model), 18ct white gold

VANESSA KIRBY
You’re always looking for ways to bring the joy close to the face. There was something about covering her eye that I liked. I liked the shape of the picture, and there’s a bit of intrigue to it.

Vanessa wears:
Cartier Juste un Clou earrings (Small model), 18ct yellow gold
Cartier Love ring (Small model), 18ct yellow gold

LILY COLLINS
Lily Collins captured in her suite at the Savoy Hotel ahead of the 2024 ceremony. I’m often trying to come up with little things that will light a fuse. It wasn’t planned – and there’s a room service trolley, and I suggested, ‘Eat a chip.’ These things are very fast. I try not to give them much thought. The less thought I give them, the more authentic they are.

Lily wears:
Cartier Diamond earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds
Cartier Diamond ring, 18ct white gold, diamonds

AUSTIN BUTLER
It’s lovely when the person coming offstage is someone who is really comfortable with me, which was the case with Austin Butler. We have a pre-existing friendship, so there’s a real warmth to the shot. Austin was captured embracing Cate Blanchett after he was awarded the Best Actor BAFTA for his role in Elvis at the 2023 ceremony (Blanchett also won that year for her role in Tár).

Austin wears:
Cartier Juste un Clou bracelet, 18ct white gold
Cartier Love Ring, 18ct white gold, ceramic, diamonds
Panthère de Cartier cufflinks, 18ct white gold, diamonds, emeralds, onyx

Cartier celebrates BAFTA, Tom Hiddleston

DAVID OYELOWO / TOM HIDDLESTON
David Oyelowo and Tom Hiddleston both presented an award at the 2021 ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, which took place during lockdown. These were both shot during rehearsals; there was no audience for the show due to Covid restrictions, so I had the time and space to be able to give them some decent portraits.

David wears:
Pasha de Cartier watch, 41mm, automatic movement,18ct yellow gold, leather
Engraved Sodalite Double C Logo cufflinks, Sterling silver, palladium finish, sodalite

Tom wears:
Cartier Santos-Dumont watch (Extra large model), Hand-wound mechanical movement, 18ct rose gold, steel, leather
Santos de Cartier cufflinks, Sterling silver, palladium finish

SOPHIE WILDE
Sophie Wilde pictured at her first BAFTA ceremony in 2024, where she was nominated for the Rising Star Award.

Sophie wears:
Pluie de Cartier earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds
Cartier Diamond Collection bracelet, 18ct white gold, diamonds
Cartier Juste un Clou ring, 18ct white gold, diamonds
Cartier Juste un Clou ring (Small model), 18ct white gold

RAMI MALEK
Rami Malek at his suite at the Ritz Hotel in 2023. Rami has a real, old-school Hollywood look. Because the Ritz is so timeless, apart from a digital dial on the telephone and the fact that Rami is obviously of today, there’s nothing in that photo that you couldn’t have shot in the ’60s, and I love that.

Rami wears:
C de Cartier sunglasses, Combined black and gold, matte ruthenium-finish frame, smooth golden-finish bridge, dark grey lenses
Reflection de Cartier brooch/earrings, 18ct white gold, diamonds
Tank Française watch (Large model), Automatic mechanical movement, steel
Trinity ring (Small model), 18ct white gold, 18ct yellow gold, 18ct rose gold
Pasha de Cartier cufflinks, Sterling silver, palladium finish, synthetic spinel

Photographs & words by GREG WILLIAMS
As told to MATT MAYTUM

Screening Room

COLD STORAGE

February 20, 2026

Words by MATT MAYTUM

You’ll get a good idea of the tone to expect from sci-fi comedy-horror Cold Storage from its opening info dump. Title cards give a reminder of the (real-life) 1979 incident in which NASA’s Skylab space station fell into the Earth’s atmosphere, with debris scattering over Western Australia. So far, so ominous, until it concludes, ‘Pay attention – this shit is real.’

Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, Sosie Bacon — Reiner Bajo/StudioCanal

From there we have another scene-setting prologue, which takes place in Australia in the 90s. Military types Robert Quinn and Trinny Romano (Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville, delightful together in the polar opposite of their last collab, weepie terminal-illness drama Ordinary Love) are called in to help Dr. Hero Martins (Sosie Bacon) investigate an incident relating to a debris site. Strap on your hazmat suit… The film quickly sets out its splattery B-movie stall, before the problematic fungus that’s causing the body horror is secured in an underground facility. Cue a timelapse to the present day where the facility is now a self-storage business, and on shift are former prison inmate Teacake (Joe Keery of Stranger Things and Djo fame) and single mum Naomi (Georgina Campbell).

The amiable, flirty co-workers go exploring and accidentally disrupt the extraterrestrially-infused sample (you’d think Campbell would know better than to go exploring creepy basements after starring in Barbarian), and this knowing genre piece conspires to bring some of the worst people in their lives – their boss, her ex – to the facility for one gross night. Contact with the fungus will turn a human (or animal, for that matter) into a bloated zombie that will spew infectious vomit before their body bursts. Director Jonny Campbell (best known for TV work such as Westworld) keeps things moving at a clip, with a sure command of tone. Not only do the jokes keep flying amid set-pieces delivered with no small amount of tension, but he understands first and foremost that this kind of high-concept throwback depends on likeable characters, and Keery and Campbell are immensely easy to root for. Neeson further explores his straight-man comedy chops after The Naked Gun, and he sparks winningly with Manville, who also got the memo (and seems to genuinely welcome) the assignment.

Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp (who adapts his own 2019 novel here) is within his comfort zone, delivering a smartly-paced 99 minutes populated with characters who are either appealing or expendable as appropriate, science that’s just about on the right side of believable, and stakes that actually feel perilous. A horror geared towards cheers and laughs over anything more genuinely unsettling, Cold Storage does a neat job of putting the fun into parasitic fungus.

Words by MATT MAYTUM
Pictures courtesy of StudioCanal
Cold Storage is in cinemas now

Dispatches

BAFTA 2026

February 23, 2026

Greg’s Letter

SPECIAL EDITION: CARTIER CELEBRATES BAFTA

February 22, 2026

Profile

DAVID JONSSON

February 20, 2026

Reel Life

CARTIER IN THE MOVIES

February 20, 2026

A Little Nonsense*

MIA McKENNA-BRUCE

February 20, 2026

Blow-Up

PAUL MESCAL

February 20, 2026

Reel Life

BAZ LUHRMANN/EPiC

February 20, 2026

The New Wave

RISING STARS

February 20, 2026

Gongs/Premieres

CARTIER AT THE BAFTAs

February 20, 2026

Screening Room

COLD STORAGE

February 20, 2026

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