OLIVIA WILLIAMS

November 18, 2024

An Education, Dune: Prophecy, Olivia Williams, The Father, The Sixth Sense

Photograph by CHARLIE CLIFT

The star of TV show Dune: Prophecy talks psychedelic bluebells, photographing rubbish and the impact of a cancer diagnosis when we catch up with her in London.

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
My favourite pedlar of nonsense was Spike Milligan, who had ‘I told you I was ill’ written on his gravestone. I quoted him to my oncologist when I was diagnosed with cancer. It was a little bit of nonsense then that is important to me now.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
I find things magical, but I don’t believe in magic. I love close-up magic. I think The Prestige is one of my favourite all-time movies. If we’re talking magical, a misty morning in the woods when the bluebells give off a psychedelic haze. The jacaranda in LA does it too. That’s magical. The teeterboard in Cirque du Soleil. That’s magical.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
Since being ill I’ve become rather disinhibited – I‘ve stopped being afraid of the situations that used to make me cowardly. I have undoubtedly been cowardly, but one advantage of being forgetful is you forget things.

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
Hugging my family. 

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I like to photograph dumped rubbish and report it to the council. 

What is your party trick?
Reciting ‘Matilda’ by Hilaire Belloc.

What is your mantra?
Read the question.

What is your favourite smell?
Penhaligon’s Bluebell.

What do you always carry with you?
My place card from the 1999 Oscars with a little hand-drawn picture by David Hockney.  

What is your guilty pleasure?
Brooklyn Nine-Nine. 

Who is the silliest person you know?
Doug Judy.

An Education, Dune: Prophecy, Olivia Williams, The Father, The Sixth Sense

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Royal Shakespeare Company alumni Olivia Williams made her film debut in The Postman before becoming an indelible screen presence in Rushmore and The Sixth Sense. Flashbacks of a Fool, An Education, The Ghost, Anna Karenina, Maps to the Stars and The Father are just some of the movies on her varied CV, and she’s also appeared on the small screen in Emma, Friends, Spaced and The Crown. Her latest role as Tula Harkonnen sees her explore the world of Dune 10,000 years before the events depicted in Denis Villeneuve’s recent movies. Premiering in the autumn on HBO, Dune: Prophecy explores the founding of the fabled matriarchal order, the Bene Gesserit, with Williams playing a Reverend Mother who is integral to its genesis – alongside fellow RSC grad Emily Watson. 

Photographs by CHARLIE CLIFT
Hair and make-up by Ciona Johnson King/Aartlondon
Dune: Prophecy is on HBO and Sky Atlantic now

*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.’

LENNIE JAMES

August 28, 2024

blade runner 2049, lennie james, mr loverman, mufasa: the lion king, snatch
blade runner 2049, lennie james, mr loverman, mufasa: the lion king, snatch

Photograph by CHARLIE CLIFT

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
I like nonsense. One of my favourite sounds is laughter. I can corpse [laugh during a scene] very, very easily. I’ve worked with a few actors who are very good at setting other people off, and then not doing it themselves. I find that very cheeky.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
I don’t believe in magic. One guy I know used to work out tricks for a very successful magician. So I’ve kind of seen behind the curtain. But I do believe that things are magical. Aretha Franklin or Otis Redding’s voice. The way Lionel Messi or Pelé played football. A work of art…

What was your last act of true cowardice?
I was sat on a table next to [Everton football manager] Sean Dyche the other day. I really wanted to talk to him but I didn’t. Afterwards, I was gutted about it. 

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
My bed, because I’ve worked hard to get that bed to fit me. I spend quite a lot of time – because of the job I do – sleeping in beds that aren’t my own. 

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I have to play two different forms of Patience – Simple Solitaire, and then Diplomat – until I win before I can start writing. 

What is your party trick?
I can do the Rubik’s Cube in under two minutes. It used to be under a minute.

What is your mantra?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

What is your favourite smell?
The top of a baby’s head.

What do you always carry with you?
Cash in my pocket. Just a little mad money.  

What is your guilty pleasure?
I don’t particularly think that any pleasure is guilty but I take a great amount of pleasure in a well-made Old Fashioned. 

Who is the silliest person you know?
My mate Mark, who I go to the football with along with my brother-in-law. He’s just one of those guys on the terrace who always says the funniest thing at the absolute right time.

What would be your least favourite way to die?
I’d quite like one where people go ‘He had a good innings, and went surrounded by the people he loved.’
I don’t want one where they go ‘…and it took them ages to get him out of the tree’.

Lennie James graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and went on to work on stage and screen in TV favourites such as Spooks, Line of Duty, The Walking Dead and Fear of the Walking Dead. He has also appeared in numerous zeitgeist movies including 24 Hour Party People, Snatch, Les Miserables and Blade Runner 2049. ‘I like characters who are having interesting conversations with themselves,’ he says of what draws him to a role. As a writer, the Nottingham-born actor has penned semi-autobiographical film Storm Damage and Royal Court play The Sons of Charlie Paora. Next up he’ll take the lead in an eight-part TV adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo’s novel, Mr Loverman, playing a man coming to terms with ‘his 60-year love affair with his best friend, Morris, and how they’ve kept it a secret through each of their marriages’. In December, he will also appear in Lion King prequel, Mufasa, and has just finished work on Joshua Oppenheimer’s post-apocalyptic musical, The End.

Mr Loverman is available from 14 October on BBC1 and iplayer. Mufasa: The Lion King is released in cinemas 20 December

Photographs by CHARLIE CLIFT

*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.’

STEPHEN MERCHANT

May 11, 2024

stephen merchant, the outlaws

Photograph by GREG WILLIAMS

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
It’s the most important thing. I once had a school report card that criticised me for ‘always finding the joke in everything’. I’ve tried my damnedest to do that ever since.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
Derren Brown, the mentalist and illusionist. I know everything he does is misdirection and stagecraft but his mind reading is mind-blowing – and he’s performed tricks on me that defy explanation. I’m angry that I’ll go to my grave not knowing how they’re done.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
I told a restaurant chef his food was ‘absolutely friggin’ incredible’ when it was really bland. 

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
The basement room I turned into a movie theatre. 

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
In my movie theatre, no one is allowed to talk. Or eat. And they have to drink from sippy cups. Not a joke.

What is your party trick?
I eat anything. Nowadays everyone has a lactose intolerance or wheat allergy, but you can serve me whatever and I’ll clear my plate.

What is your mantra?
‘Everyone’s guessing.’ No one has life figured out, despite what they may tell you. Everybody is just stumbling along, trying to make their way. Once I realised that, a great burden was lifted from
my shoulders.

What is your favourite smell?
Napalm in the morning.

What do you always carry with you?
The ability to laugh at myself. I don’t trust people who refuse to be the butt of the joke. 

What is your guilty pleasure?
I kind of enjoyed the lockdown. 

Who is the silliest person you know?
My partner, Mircea. She can make me laugh so hard with a silly dance.

What would be your least favourite way to die?
Without featuring in the Oscars’ ‘In Memoriam’ section.

Stephen Merchant transitioned from stand-up to the screen when he collaborated with Ricky Gervais on writing The Office. It became zeitgeist TV, spawning two series, a Christmas special and the US version. Merchant co-starred in his and Gervais’ follow-up show, Extras. While juggling award-winning stand-up, radio shows, podcasts, producing, directing and screenwriting, Merchant has also acted in numerous films including Hall Pass, Logan and JoJo Rabbit. He is the co-creator, executive producer and writer of The Outlaws, which he also stars in. The third season will be released this summer on BBC and Amazon Prime.

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.’

JACK HUSTON

December 6, 2023

jack huston, day of the fight, venice film festival

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
A life without nonsense is no life at all. It’s what keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously, one needs a daily dose to keep us sane.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
I think the profundity of our mere existence is magic, so therefore everything in our lives should be considered exactly that.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
Discovering a nest of brown widow spiders under a chair in our garden, and having my wife dispose of them as I ran away shrieking.

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
My children, without question. It’s one of the hardest things about having to travel so often. Whenever I’m away from them, it feels like a piece of me is missing.

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I find it very difficult to function if I can’t submerge myself in water at least once a day. Be it a bath, pool, ocean, lake, anything really, as long as I can hold my head underwater for a moment. There’s something incredibly levelling about being in and under the water.

What is your party trick?
Nowadays, just showing up counts as a party trick. I find it gets harder and harder to leave the house with each passing year.

What is your mantra?
To be grateful. Every day, no matter what, there are countless things in our life to be grateful for. In the same way, I often lean on the old adage “sleep on it”, a mantra in itself.

What is your favourite smell?
The smell of flowering jasmine is pretty extraordinary, but a Christmas tree would be my absolute favourite, not only for its smell but for all the feelings and memories it helps to conjure.

What do you always carry with you?
A healthy dose of scepticism, optimism and gut instinct.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Far too many of them to feel guilty anymore.

Who is the silliest person you know?
My Uncle Danny, and he’d probably say the same for me. Our time spent together is always filled with laughter and silliness. It’s why we are so close.

What would be your least favourite way to die?
Young (if I’m still allowed to call myself that). I want to spend as much time as humanly possible with the ones I love. I want to see my kids grow up, meet my grandkids and even great-grandkids, if I were to be so lucky.

Day of the Fight, which Jack Huston directed, wrote and produced, is a black-and-white feature in part inspired by Kubrick’s first short film of the same name. With a stellar cast – Michael Pitt, Joe Pesci, Steve Buscemi and Ron Perlman – there’s even a small part for Jack’s young son, continuing the family tradition as the fifth generation of Hustons in cinema.

*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.’

LUCY BOYNTON

March 13, 2023

lucy boynton, the pale blue eye, the ipcress file, chevalier, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
A daily necessity for the sake of sanity.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
Every show at The Magic Castle in LA – especially the magician with the lemons. You’re dressed to the nines yet feeling like a total kid, watching wide-eyed in giddy wonder. It’s pure joy.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
Every time that someone rings me unexpectedly and I have to psych myself up to call back.

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
British cynicism.

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I don’t think I do. Or, if I do, I’m not aware that they’re odd.

What is your party trick?
I’m always disappointed to say I don’t have one… I used to showcase how I can turn my thumbs back to front, but then decided to stop advertising that.

What is your mantra?
‘Feel the fear and do it anyway.’

What is your favourite smell?
Those caramelised nut carts on New York City street corners.

What do you always carry with you?
A book, mints and a miniature perfume bottle.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Gogglebox. Though I barely feel guilty about it, it’s a great show.

Who is the silliest person you know?
Our mutual friend Raymond Root. They don’t make ’em much sillier.

What would be your least favourite way to die?
Naked.

From silver screen to TV hits, Lucy Boynton has crafted a CV that’s anything but obvious. She can currently be seen in Netflix’s well-received gothic mystery The Pale Blue Eye (based on the book by Louis Bayard), where an 1830s detective crosses paths with Edgar Allan Poe. Her co-stars include Christian Bale and Gillian Anderson. Recent turns in The Ipcress File, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? and soon Chevalier (as Marie Antoinette) speak to her hectic schedule.

*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.’

NOAH JUPE

October 13, 2022

noah jupe, hollywood authentic, a little nonsense, greg williams, greg williams photography

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
As important as sex.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
The band Pilot.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
I’m afraid to say it was when I bottled singing Backstreet Boys at karaoke.

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
Heinz baked beans.

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
None that I would tell you about.

What is your party trick?
I can do the three-pronged tongue thing.

What is your mantra?
Arrive late, leave late.

What is your favourite smell?
Anything burning.

What do you always carry with you?
A sense of humour.

What is your guilty pleasure?
The Tiny Meat Gang podcast.

Who is the silliest person you know?
Jack Dylan Grazer [who plays his brother in 2022’s Dreamin’ Wild]. 

What would be your least favourite way to die?
Of old age. Not any fun…

Seventeen-year-old Noah Jupe has had quite a career for one so young. But then you could say he was born into the business: his dad is Chris Jupe, filmmaker and producer, and his mum, actor and writer Katy Cavanagh-Jupe. With roles in the TV series The Night Manager and films Suburbicon, A Quiet Place (and its sequel) and Ford v Ferrari, he also starred in director Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy, an American coming-of-age film, for which he received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. Jupe says he wants to pursue a career making movies like The Deer Hunter, Fargo and Magnolia. That sounds like a fine ambition.

*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.’

SOFIA BOUTELLA

April 9, 2022

sophia boutella, hollywood authentic, cover story, greg williams, greg williams photography

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
Nonsense to me is, among many other things, at the very core of being human – it’s essential to keeping me sane.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
Nature makes me believe in magic. I am in awe and intimidated in the face of the force of nature – the vastness of it and its power. It makes me feel that anything is possible – like a drop of water in the middle of the Sahara desert… magic.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
I just saw a cockroach which sent me into an emotional spiral. I felt like it was crawling on me and I screamed my lungs out!

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
I think of the whole world as my home. But I have also not lived in my family home [Algeria] for my whole career. I always miss my family – I miss my family all the time as they are not where my current home is either – they are in France and I am in America. My work takes a lot of space in my life and I grew up being encouraged by my artistic family to follow my dreams; but by doing so I am away from them – so yeah, I just miss them. At this point I haven’t seen them in a year, but I hold them in mind and they are in my heart always.

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I still suck my middle two fingers like when I was a child from time to time… Whenever I do, my brain releases serotonin and I feel comforted.

What is your party trick?
I play the ukulele bent over backwards while doing the splits… LOL!

What is your mantra?
I am good enough.

What is your favourite smell?
The grass in a field after the rain.

What do you always carry with you?
Love to give to others. 

What is your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in cheap cones!

Who is the silliest person you know?
I’m honestly right up there… I am goofy and I am clumsy. Dancers can be incredibly clumsy, which I know sounds odd. 

What would be your least favourite way to die?
Drowning. Or worse: drowning and being liquefied in a pool of sulphuric acid…

Sofia Boutella, actor, dancer and model, left her home country of Algeria in 1992 during the civil war there. She was 10, and journeyed to France with her mother, an architect, and father, a composer, and they settled there. She had studied classical dance since she was five, and at 18 made the French national rhythmic gymnastics team. But while dance has always been a passion (she names Bob Fosse and Fred Astaire as inspirations), and her career as a professional dancer has seen her perform alongside Rihanna and Madonna, lately, acting has taken precedence. You will no doubt remember her break-out role as the lethal, high-kicking blade-shod double-amputee Gazelle in Kingsman: The Secret Service. Since then, there have been many more roles and she is currently filming the lead in Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon.   

*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.’

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All photographs by Greg Williams

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