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THE OSCARS 2024

February 26, 2026

Brendan Fraser, Cillian Murphy, Forest Whitaker, Matthew McConaughey, Nicholas Cage, Sir Ben Kingsley
Brendan Fraser, Cillian Murphy, Forest Whitaker, Matthew McConaughey, Nicholas Cage, Sir Ben Kingsley

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS

Greg Williams takes pause to consider the bigger picture on images seen small on his social media. This issue: The Best Actor winners at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony.

I was shooting stage-side at the Academy Awards and Cillian Murphy had just won Best Actor for Oppenheimer – and he’d been awarded by former winners of the category Nic Cage, Matthew McConaughey, Sir Ben Kingsley, Brendan Fraser and Forest Whitaker. They had come off stage together and, soon after, the show moved onto the Best Director category, which Christopher Nolan was nominated in. Cillian had first come over to see who was winning Best Director, and then all the other actors lined up alongside him to observe the announcement from the wings. It wasn’t set up in any way, this was just how they landed. It’s one of those very rare circumstances where everything is just given to you – you’ve just got to put yourself in the right place. There was nothing set up about it; it’s absolutely an observed picture and I’m in no way participating in it. I love it because they’re almost standing like Academy Awards in this very straight up position, their hands clasped in front of them, unconsciously uniform. It was one of the big pics I got of the night and I think really speaks to the reverence that is reserved for winning an Oscar.

Leica Q3 1/125 sec, f/5.6, 3200 ISO, 28mm

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS
Image © AMPAS 
Shot on Leica Q3

PAUL MESCAL

February 20, 2026

Aftersun, Cartier celebrates BAFTA, Hamnet, Paul Mescal
Aftersun, Cartier celebrates BAFTA, Hamnet, Paul Mescal

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

Cartier, Cartier celebrates BAFTA

JACOB ELORDI

December 15, 2025

78th Cannes Film Festival, Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac
78th Cannes Film Festival, Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac

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: Jacob Elordi at the Venice Film Festival in August.

I took this picture of Jacob just before the premiere of Frankenstein at the Venice Film Festival, my favourite festival without any doubt. To have actors all dressed up in such a beautiful city, the boats, the water and of course the rich history of cinema makes it an incredible canvas to work on. Within that history is a set of photos taken of Paul Newman by Graziano Arici in 1963. They are my favourite Venice pictures ever. So for the 10 years I’ve been covering the Venice Film Festival I have carried those images in my head.

I’ve met Jacob a number of times in recent years and so when I was at a dinner with him I asked him if he’d be happy for me to do a picture. ‘Ah, you want to do the Paul Newman?’ he said. I couldn’t believe my ears as that was exactly what I was about to say to him. ‘Yeah, meet me at 6.30pm downstairs from my hotel tomorrow night…’ I ended up getting closer to ‘the Paul Newman’ than I ever have before in what must be close to 200 shoots I’ve done at Venice over the years.

Jacob’s great look and authentic style worked perfectly for the picture. He is up at the front of the boat in a not dissimilar pose to Newman. The image has an authenticity that I love. Seeing Jacob’s eye behind his glasses, the angle of his hand. The picture has a timeless quality that is made modern by Jacob’s slight mullet haircut, which makes it a little more punk rock. And then the Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses make it still feel vintage.

Leica SL2, 1/2000 sec, f/4.0, 1600 ISO, 75mm 

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS
Shot on Leica SL2
Read our review of Frankenstein here

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TOM CRUISE

August 22, 2025

78th Cannes Film Festival, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise
78th Cannes Film Festival, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS

Greg Williams takes pause to consider the bigger picture on images seen small on his social media. This issue: Tom Cruise at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in May.

I arrived to shoot Tom Cruise in his hotel room just before he premiered Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning at the Palais as part of the festival. I was looking for something in the room to light a fuse and there was a chair I thought we could do something with. Tom immediately stood on it and put his foot on the back of it, tipping it very slightly – about an inch. I said, ‘It’d be great if you could do just that, but lift it a tiny bit more.’ Being Tom Cruise, he doesn’t do things by halves. Instead of balancing on the chair so it lifted just an inch and a half, he tipped it to the maximum he could, balancing for a moment at the tipping point before it clattered to the ground and he jumped away. He did four takes. It ended up being a picture that in its simplicity gave a taste of the incredibly complex stunts he does and collaborative spirit in which he undertakes them. 

I had turned all the lights off in the room so this was only lit by the late afternoon light coming from the window and reflecting off the walls. I exposed for my shadows so the background windows are entirely blown out – there’s no information there whatsoever. When I posted this picture, a few photographers complained about this exposure and this reminded me of how my ethos differs from a lot of other photographers. How a photograph makes you feel is far more important than its technicalities. This picture tells you about the physicality, passion and fun Tom Cruise puts into his films.

Leica Q3, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, 1600 ISO, 28mm 

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS
Shot on Leica Q3
Read our review of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning here

hollywood authentic, greg williams, hollywood authentic magazine

EMMA STONE

May 1, 2025

2025 Academy Awards, Emma Stone, Greg Williams, Leica Q3, Louis Vuitton

Photograph and words by GREG WILLIAMS

Greg Williams takes pause to consider the bigger picture on images seen small on his social media. This issue: Emma Stone on her way to present best actress at the 2025 Academy Awards. 

This picture works for me on several levels. Firstly, its imperfections add to its authenticity. I love the grit of the dimly lit passage. The picture has motion blur and technically it is under-exposed. However, that only adds to its authenticity and drama – pin sharp and bright, I don’t think I’d like it as much.

Then we have the centre point perspective. It’s shot on a wide lens. Emma’s husband, Dave McCary, is walking in front and having him slap bang in the middle of frame creates the perfect centre focus point for the image. The walls to the left and the fence to the right create that vanishing point ‘zoom’ perspective around Dave.

I didn’t do any retouching on the image. Even the traffic cone to the left adds to the authenticity – if I was retouching, I’d have painted it out. Instead it gives a balance to the picture.

Lastly, and most importantly, we have Emma. It was a bit of a hurry to get her from her hotel suite, through a maze of corridors, lifts and kitchens to a back door where she was walking to eventually arrive at the Oscars red carpet. I simply called out for her to look back and I pulled a silly face and got this reaction. I just shot this one frame; I wasn’t even looking through the camera, I just got lucky.  

Photographs and words by GREG WILLIAMS
Shot on Leica Q3
Emma wears Louis Vuitton

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