Profiles - 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 Chloé 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’ (a pre-lit section of the wings to capture winners and presenters as they exited stage left) 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

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.

Alien: Romulus, BAFTA Rising Star award, Chaperones, The Long Walk, Wasteman

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

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.’

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

Profile

CHRIS HEMSWORTH

February 13, 2026

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interview by JANE CROWTHER

Greg Williams goes on set of heist movie, Crime 101, as lead, Chris Hemsworth, tells Hollywood Authentic about getting out of his comfort zone, how he stays sane and reteaming with The Hulk.

Barry Keoghan, Bart Layton, Chris Hemsworth, Crime 101, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Monica Barbaro

Chris Hemsworth is in London a month after teaser trailers have dropped for Marvel’s next Avengers get-together, Doomsday, featuring his much loved character, Thor. But the Australian actor’s next project is a world away from the superheroes and clearly delineated goodie/baddie morality of the comic book series that launched his career. In documentarian-turned-filmmaker Bart Layton’s first fully-fictional movie (after his based-on-true-events, American Animals), Crime 101, Hemsworth plays a lonely everyman with a complex family background who steals diamonds from couriers along LA’s famed freeway artery, the 101. As Davis, Hemsworth is watchful, tightly-wound, cautious – a man who disappears into crowds and whose apartment and social life is like a burner phone: impersonal, disposable, blank. It’s the opposite to gregarious Thor who wears his heart on his regal sleeve. And that’s exactly what Hemsworth was looking for.

Bart Layton, Chris Hemsworth, Crime 101,

What instantly struck a chord when I read this script. The character didn’t fall into an archetype or trope that felt familiar from something I had ever done, or something I had even seen before

‘It has changed throughout my career,’ he tells Hollywood Authentic of how he chooses projects the day after the London premiere for the film. Part of the filming took place in the UK, where Greg Williams captured the cast on-set. ‘Initially, it was about keeping some sort of continuity with the characters I was playing. That was also when I was being sent a lot of bigger action-type films. Then I was curious about doing comedy. But I guess now it’s just about it not feeling repetitive, and seeking something that is going to motivate you to dig as deep as possible because there’s a fascination or a curiosity or a world you haven’t inhabited before. That was what instantly struck a chord when I read this script. The character didn’t fall into an archetype or trope that felt familiar from something I had ever done, or something I had even seen before. This was an individual who was highly skilled in his line of work, and there was obviously a strength and a confidence there. But there was this fragility and vulnerability, which I thought humanised him in a great way, and allowed there to be layers of complexity that could be surprising for an audience.’

Talking to Layton about the grey areas of the character, Hemsworth admits to a certain nervousness in taking on the role. ‘Any time there is an element of trepidation or fear – it’s a really good thing. It forces you and motivates you to work harder and dig deeper. But the greater the challenge, I think the greater the outcome.’ Layton was also keen to tap into the actor’s more vulnerable side; ‘I had to find a way not to lose any of his incredible star power and magnetism, but to still find a way for him to be real,’ the director tells HA. Hemsworth chuckles at the recollection of Layton pointing out when some of Thor’s self confidence might be leaking into his performance. ‘Day to day on set, if there were default things I was slipping into, or moments where my physicality would shift into the familiar space of a more outwardly strong character I had played prior – he would say, “That’s not where we’re headed. Adjust the gait of the walk, or the vocal quality. Remember the tension in the chest…”. The voice was the big one for us, and it not having the same sort of register that I might have with Thor or the more outwardly projected strong characters I have played. It was more about the tension within the voice, and the cadence of how people spoke who are living on high alert, and in self-doubt.’

Of course the challenge was probably greater when working with another Avenger on-set. The Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, plays a crumpled LAPD cop who sees a pattern in the 101 heists and is determined to get his man. ‘That was interesting because Mark and I have done so much together, but in a heightened reality – mostly in a comedic improvisational way, especially with Thor: Ragnarok. And so we got on set, and immediately we’re like a couple of kids – old mates catching up – and having a laugh. But then as soon as the cameras rolled, it was quite uncomfortable. I was like, “Wow, this is very different. I can’t hide behind anything familiar here.”

It felt very exposed. And I think for both of us, it spurred on a real curiosity, and flights of hesitation, both of us trying to suss each other out, as the characters were. But having a shorthand with someone – a partner you trust who is a true team player – was just wonderful.’

Ruffalo is one of a stacked cast: with Halle Berry playing a high-net-worth Insurance broker who’s learning her own disposability as a woman, Barry Keoghan as a firebrand thief and antagonist, and Monica Barbaro as a woman who demands authenticity from Davis. ‘Working with Halle for the first time was absolutely amazing,’ Hemsworth enthuses. ‘I’m just the biggest fan of hers, and was quite intimidated. My character is performing with her character and I felt like that. I very much felt out of my comfort zone due to the admiration I have for her. It was like when I worked with Cate Blanchett. I would find myself just watching both of them as an audience member, and kind of going, “Oh, shit, I’ve got to respond. I’ve got to act here. I’ve got to do something.”’

Layton’s film casts Los Angeles as a character in itself and takes a look at the City of Angels through the prism of haves and have-nots, showing Skid Row alongside the mansions of Bel Air, the wealth disparity and the status anxiety of a moviemaking epicentre. Hemsworth admits that he recognises that portrayal of a city he works in. ‘The expendable nature of people in that town is quite evident. When I first moved to LA, it felt pretty overwhelming. The more time I spent there, you see the glitz and glamour on one hand, and then you see behind the curtain, and the grit, and the homelessness, and the mental health problems, and the crime, and so on. But there’s incredible things about the place, too. There’s a huge amount of artistry there, and motivation to build and create and be creative. But what Bart did so well is, he pulled back with the camera, and he allowed you to take in the expanse of both of those worlds, the entire spectrum. We had discussed at one point: could we replicate LA somewhere else in the world, and seek different tax credits for production purposes? But thank God, we didn’t. Because I just don’t think you’d be able to replicate LA in the way it’s been displayed here with such authenticity. You get a sense, in the way he shoots this film, how isolating and lonely that place can be. Even through times where I was having success, and it felt like all my problems and issues were solved, I had made it and so on – I would be in a lonely hotel room somewhere, going, “What is this all about? What does it mean?” So the deeper questions start to arise…’

Working with Halle for the first time was absolutely amazing. I’m just the biggest fan of hers, and was quite intimidated. My character is performing with her character and I felt like that. I very much felt out of my comfort zone due to the admiration I have for her

Those deeper questions about integrity, drive, finding meaning in the work are sometimes difficult to answer in the noise of Hollywood. Especially if you’ve had the sort of meteoric rise Hemsworth has enjoyed. So how does he keep a sense of purpose? ‘It’s having good people around. The team of people I work with, I’ve worked with for 15 or 20 years. They make the biggest difference to me, because I know not everyone has that. I’ve worked with people where I see it’s a different team each time, or they’re not fortunate enough to be able to bring the same people with them. It’s like going to a new school every couple of months, and trying to make a new set of friends. So that certainly keeps me grounded, and helps keep me sane.’

And in terms of creativity, the Aussie has plenty of other projects coming up to keep him motivated and challenged. Avengers: Doomsday lands in December, he’s just finished filming submarine thriller, Subversion and is in pre-production of Extraction 3. ‘Inhabiting material where there is true curiosity and enthusiasm – there’s the artistic journey. You’re not just there checking in, like, “What time do we finish? OK.” Clock in tomorrow. Clock out now. The aim is for it not to feel like work at all. And that really depends on whether I’ve chosen the right project or not. You know that pretty quick. He laughs. ‘There’s films that fly by, and you wish you could repeat them over and over again. And then there’s films that feel like they take forever… you know, “This might not have been the best choice.” I think for me the decisions are trickier because if it’s going to take me away from my family and my kids at this point, it needs to be special. And this one felt incredibly special…’

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interview by JANE CROWTHER
Crime 101 is in cinemas now

hollywood authentic, greg williams, hollywood authentic magazine

Dispatches

PATRICK DEMPSEY

January 30, 2026

Photographs by MATT BARNES
Interviews by MATT MAYTUM

Patrick Dempsey is used to working at high speed, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his new TV show – Memory of a Killer – came together so fast. ‘It was very quick,’ he tells Hollywood Authentic from New York. ‘So I got a call – I think it was maybe on the Tuesday, and they were like, ‘You’ve got to read this real quick. You have this offer on this project, and they need to make an announcement right away.’ So I read the scripts, and I liked it. I found the world really intriguing – the character and the dynamic and certainly the action aspect of it – it was a much darker character than I’ve had the opportunity to play. I spoke with the writers. I spoke with the producer. And then I said, ‘Yeah, let’s go for it.’’

Memory of a Killer, Odeya Rush, Patrick Dempsey, Porsche, Tag Heuer

Based on a 2003 Belgian film (which was itself adapted from a novel), Memory of a Killer stars Dempsey as an unassuming suburban dad and widower, who leads a double life as a sharp-suited, sharp-shooting assassin in NYC. And while juggling two existences might’ve already been complex enough, Angelo Doyle/Flannery (depending on which life he’s living) is also suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, compromising his memory. ‘What I liked about it was certainly the character flaw – the aspect of dealing with someone who has early onset Alzheimer’s,’ considers Dempsey. ‘I thought it was really quite interesting. And then on top of that, this double life that he’s leading.’

The challenge of digging into those three facets of the character was a big part of the appeal for Dempsey. ‘You want to create a life in suburbia, and then you want to be able to play the vulnerability of losing your power and your faculties,’ he says. The hitman side of the character, in particular, offered the opportunity to flex a different muscle. ‘For me, what was appealing was to play the assassin, and to get an opportunity to do all the action,’ he smiles. ‘I don’t get that opportunity very often. So it was something different for me to go and do, and to show a different side of my nature.’

Though Angelo is a morally murky character, there’s a thrill to being able to play someone so slickly competent with such a dangerous skill-set. ‘You’re playing make-believe,’ he beams.

‘There’s nothing better than that. It goes back to when you were a kid, running around and doing all that stuff. Now you get to do it as an adult with all the great toys.’ Indeed, there’s almost a Batman element to the character as he leaves his home life, where he poses as a photocopier salesman, and drives off in his extremely practical, family-friendly vehicle, only to head to his hideout where there’s a Porsche, weaponry and hitman-appropriate attire waiting for him. ‘We start off in suburbia, and then we go into the Batcave, and we show the audience who he really is… That was fun for me to play, too.’

The role also allows Dempsey to tap into his own dual life – alongside his acting career, he’s been a successful racing driver, and brings some of those skills to Memory of a Killer’s car stunts. ‘The whole sequence with the Porsche going through the parking garage was something that I got to do, and it was really a lot of fun,’ he explains. ‘That’s really one of the reasons why I did it – to be able to, in my 60s, become an action actor… I love all of that.’ Dempsey may have turned 60 earlier this month, but he’s relaxed about strolling into this new decade. ‘I think going into my 50s was much harder than now going into my 60s,’ he considers. ‘I’ve come to terms with this next chapter… I hope I can just stay physically active, and be able to continue to work and enjoy life, and have a nice balance between the two. And you don’t take things as seriously.’

Talking of balance, Dempsey has managed to balance his passion for acting and racing, which he still participates in. After achieving key motorsports goals in 2015 like taking part in the World Endurance Championship, being on the podium at Le Mans, and winning in Japan and Fuji, Dempsey reached a turning point. ‘It was a tremendous sacrifice to my career and to my personal life,’ he says. ‘But then once I achieved those goals, there was a deep psychological turning point where I was like, ‘OK, now I can move on and do the next thing.’ The pressure was immense that year, and now I do it just for fun and the psychological, therapeutic benefits of it.’

Ongoing relationships with Porsche and Tag Heuer mean that he continues to have ‘these incredible adventures’. And, as he explains, it’s not like these twin passions don’t cross over. ‘There are amazing similarities,’ he says of acting and racing. ‘If you look at the car itself as sort of like the scripts – it’s what you drive – your engineer is the director. Your team principal is the producer. And the crews – the chemistry that you need to have, to have the right focus and the right energy, is very similar.’ The camaraderie and physicality also complement the two disciplines, as does the ‘meditative aspect’. ‘It’s the mind control… being present; being focused on what’s in front of you; being aware of what’s happening around you… it’s very much about being present.’

To return to a key theme of Memory of a Killer, Dempsey says while he hasn’t been directly impacted by Alzheimer’s in his own life, he could strongly relate to Angelo’s role as a caregiver (Angelo looks after his brother, who has a much further advanced condition than his own). Dempsey founded the Dempsey Center in 2008, which offers cancer patients treatment at no cost. ‘It’s very similar in that sense of, what does it mean to be a caregiver, and the pressures of that?’ he says. ‘I think it’s the most satisfying work in my life, outside of my family,’ he adds of the Center. ‘When you’re working with a group of people for the benefit of someone else, there is nothing better. And that’s really ultimately, I think, the meaning of life – it’s when you are here to serve.’

As for what’s around the next corner for his career, his future goals are clear and modest. ‘I think it’s just working with good material and really good directors,’ he says. ‘And just to continue to be a working actor…’

Memory of a Killer airs Mondays at 9/8c on FOX, next day on Hulu and is coming to Prime Video in the UK and Ireland in February
Dempsey wears: (black suit) Garrison Bespoke (suit), The Row (shoes), Eton (shirt); (corduroy suit) Garrison Bespoke (suit and shirt), Barrett (shoes). Styling is by Marc Andrew Smith

Dispatches

JAY KELLY PREMIERE

January 23, 2026

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interviews by JANE CROWTHER

The team behind Noah Bambach’s Hollywood comedy talk dessert, watching their own movies and the loneliness of a movie star.

When Hollywood Authentic sits down with the cast of Jay Kelly and their writer-director in a suite at the Excelsior on Venice’s Lido we wonder why there’s no cheesecake on the table. At the heart of their film, the titular movie star, played by George Clooney, has an existential crisis during a jaunt across Europe with his longtime manager (Adam Sandler), his publicist (Laura Dern) and his hair and MUA (Emily Mortimer). On his rider everywhere he goes: a slice of vanilla cheesecake.

Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer, George Clooney, Jay Kelly, Jim Broadbent, Laura Dern, Noah Baumbach

‘No cheesecake,’ Mortimer laughs. Also, no Clooney, who has excused himself from Venice Film Festival with illness after soldiering on to walk the premiere red carpet with Greg Williams. ‘It stinks,’ sighs Sandler of his buddy’s absence. Still, it’s clear the remaining team enjoy each other’s company and also the process of filming the movie across France and Italy as well as Hollywood. ‘I had the idea of a movie star going on a journey – going from Los Angeles into Europe, and specifically Italy, it was a compelling idea for me,’ Baumbach explains of the genesis of the project on which he partnered with Mortimer as co-writer after the two spent time together on White Noise. Mortimer was accompanying her kids, Sam and May Nivola, who were playing the on-screen children of Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig. ‘It wasn’t until Emily and I really got into it that I understood that making a movie about an actor is making a movie about performance and identity, and is a way to tell this story of how we’re all trying to meet ourselves as we go through life, and identify ourselves and who we are in all these different roles that we play in our lives.’

‘Noah came to me with a notion of this movie, but there was an awful lot of both of us that we shared,’ says Mortimer. ‘All the different ways in which living this pretend life can screw with your mind, and separate you from real life. And the kind of dedication and time that is required of you to do this job. Things like you see in the movie where you’re pretending to be in a family with a group of actors, and a fake kid, and a fake wife, and spending a lot of time getting to know each other in order to make the scene work and the film work. And, meanwhile, you’re leaving your real husband or wife or kids far, far away. So, yes, there was a lot that I could add, and also I spent a lot of time in Italy growing up. So I had lots of stories to tell about strange family holidays when I was a kid that tickled Noah.’

Of course, while Baumbach and Mortimer could pour their own experiences in their screenplay, it would only truly sing with the right person in the role of Jay, a charming, handsome movie star who has been famous and liked for decades. ‘It was clear that it should be somebody that the audience has a history with,’ says Baumbach. ‘Early on I felt it should be George. I’ve known him over the years a little bit, and always wanted to find something for him, and with him. I gave it to him, and the first thing he said after he read it, ‘You really wrote yourself into a corner with this, because there’s not many people who could play this part’. But George has that timeless quality, he feels like a movie star from any era. It was exciting doing it with him, because you’re asking the actor to reveal more and more of himself in the performance, while playing someone trying to hide.’

As Jay tries to hide, his erstwhile manager, Ron, tries to protect, juggling life with his wife (Greta Gerwig) and kids. Baumbach cast Adam Sandler, who has known Clooney for years in real life. ‘We played a few [basketball games] – we shot around a lot,’ says Sandler. ‘He’s a funny, decent person. But I never got to spend as much time as I did on the movie set, and being part of George’s family. You wish he was your concierge in real life. ‘What do I do today, George?’’ While the friendship with Clooney is replicated in real life, Sandler also recognises the movie star world of Jay Kelly from his own experiences.

‘When I see some movie star stuff that goes on in there, I’ve seen it in people I’ve worked with, or I’ve done it myself. In real life, I try to include my family and friends with what I do. But I will tell my family, ‘I’ve got a big day coming up, or a big couple of days in a row. I might not be as available to you’. And they’re cool with that. There was also a scene in the movie where I had to be very emotional, and Noah was cool enough to let my wife do the off-camera for me – a phone call – because I really had to feel things, and my wife and I have a nice closeness that it was allowing me to feel what I needed.’

Jay’s perfect life unravels after a meeting with an old friend, played by Billy Crudup. Having been mates as struggling actors, the two men have not seen each other for decades. They go for a drink and their lives are now starkly different, the emotions that are brought up by the reunion, charged. ‘There are so many features about [the film] that are about our lives, and about a very human expression of what it’s like to try to do this,’ says Crudup. ‘It’s probably a great analogue to everybody’s lives, you know? We make sacrifices in our work lives. Some of them are small, and some of them are catastrophic. You never know what’s going to come next, and how you’re going to manage your family in a certain period, or in a new portion of your life where you’re a parent, or you’ve lost a parent. All these different things were very relatable to me in the script. The first movie that I was in – as soon as the movie came out, I was hearing from people that I hadn’t heard from in a very long time. I can remember them not being very nice and that creates a kind of loneliness.’

Laura Dern as Jay’s exasperated publicist agrees; ‘The movie star is such a perfect choice of Emily and Noah, but it can be any career path. But simultaneously, this is not a drive of ego, but a shared drive that all of us here share, which is a deep love of cinema – it’s also this constant current in the film, with every choice, with every frame, with Noah’s work as well as Linus, our amazing cinematographer. You know, you’re falling in love with movies as you’re watching this cautionary tale about living the life of being in the movies.’

‘It’s not just a cautionary tale of how destructive pretending to be other people can be,’ Mortimer adds. ‘It’s also just innate to who we are as people – play-acting and pretending to be other people. And the fun of that, and the joy of that, and how much it can give to everybody.’ The film also shows a moment when Jay watches clips of his own films with an audience, seeing how his work affects other people. What is the experience for Mortimer when watching her own movies back?

‘I guess it’s just the same as looking at old photographs or something. You’re just like, ‘Oh my God, I looked so nice, and I was so young. What was I worrying about!’ For me, looking at old movies, I can’t really look at it in a way where I’m analysing my work as a professional – it does feel like a scrapbook or a photo album of your life somehow. And you mark your life through the movies that you make. You remember scenes from your own life through seeing the film and it gives me the sense of time passing in the blink of an eye.’

‘I certainly enjoyed being a lot skinnier back then,’ Sandler admits of watching his back catalogue. ‘My family will watch an old movie of mine, and I’ll walk in. I never sit and watch it for too long, but I do remember what happened, and what was going on – maybe even that day.’ He keenly remembers a specific day when asked what’s on his own rider (not cheesecake). ‘One movie I walked onto maybe 20 years ago, and it was too hot on the stage. And I said, ‘Where the hell is the air conditioning?’ I was yelling about it being too hot, and I’m sweating, and I can’t think straight. And now every time one of my productions is going, I step on the set, and it’s like 62 degrees, and everyone’s shivering. And I say, ‘What’s going on in here?’ And they’re like, ‘You said…’’ He chuckles. ‘That’s my cheesecake.’

Jay Kelly is in cinemas, and streaming on Netflix now

Profile

LILY JAMES

December 15, 2025

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interview by JANE CROWTHER

The British actor has been working ferociously since her Cinderella breakout. Now, as she adds ‘producer’ to her resume, Lily James invites Greg Williams to the premiere of her first produced feature, Swiped, and considers what the experience has taught her as an actor and a person.

Lily James, Dan Stevens, Myha’la, Jackson White, Swiped, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Swiped

For Lily James’ next evolution she’s planning on becoming a sea siren. When Hollywood Authentic catches up with her she’s prepping for her role in submarine thriller Subversion on the Australian Gold Coast, getting ready for upcoming underwater stunts by learning breath- holding techniques. ‘So I can officially become a mermaid!’ she laughs. She may be joking, but the British actor has had a busy couple of years of transformation – from essaying Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy to a wrestling wife in The Iron Claw and dangling off mountains for the upcoming gender-flip reboot of Cliffhanger. And not just on screen, either: having established her production company, Parodos Productions, with partner Gala Gordon, James made the leap to producing her first feature film (as well as headlining) with Whitney Wolfe Herd biopic, Swiped. As she told Greg Williams when he captured her on the way to the film’s London premiere in September, the experience had truly changed her. ‘I’ve learnt so much through producing Swiped. I was building my production company at the same time, so from playing Whitney I was learning that entrepreneurial spirit, ambition, hustle and having a real mission.’

James is probably being modest. It’s clear she’s always had ambition and a mission since her days breaking through on Downton Abbey and Cinderella, which catapulted her to a prolific work output. Stepping up to produce seemed like the next logical step. ‘My partner, Gala, and I were so ferocious in our desire to explore every part of [Wolfe Herd’s] story. But one of the things I learned about producing is to accept the compromises. It’s such a collaboration, which is very powerful, and there are so many wins, but there are inevitably losses too, and everything feels so precious to me. There’s no way I could have done this film and not had at least the agency to be in those discussions, and involved in the edit bringing the story to life. It was very profound for me.

I’m going to love continuing to produce and growing in that – and I think I’ll love it even more when I’m not in it!’

Her bursting upcoming slate is full of both experiences. She recently executive-produced Cliffhanger, a remake of the 1993 Stallone actioner in which she plays a mountain climber alongside Pierce Brosnan as her father. For the shoot, she learnt to rock climb in Ibiza before hanging off precipices in the Dolomites during filming. ‘There’s a spiritual, meditative, slowing down of your mind while climbing,’ she enthuses. ‘I’m working in the edit now with [director] Jaume Collet-Serra, and I was very much involved in the script, the forming of my character, and the family dynamic in Cliffhanger. So it has been a big year of producing.’

Also in the pipeline: Angry Birds 3; playing a cult leader in Harmonia; a thriller with Riz Ahmed, Relay; and Takashi Miike’s Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, a sequel to Abel Ferrera’s classic. It was one of James’ favourite experiences on a film set and one that she nearly didn’t take. ‘I’d been in Costa Rica for six weeks – learning to surf and editing Swiped from the jungle. I didn’t want to come home. And then this job came along, and it was so far out, so wild and explicit and dangerous. I didn’t know if I was ready but I just threw myself into it and I loved losing myself. Takashi Miike works a bit like Clint Eastwood, in that you get one take, and then he moves on. I like multiple takes, exploring and trying different things and being sure we’ve got it. And I had to let go of all of that and lean in. It was magic and invigorating. I felt like every nerve ending was on fire. I was so present.’ She pauses and thinks for a moment. ‘When I was at drama school, there’s a beautiful naivety to the work, and you’re taught to fail. Be bold, be brave, be courageous. And if you fail, it’s probably going to be even more interesting. I think I’d lost that. I was reminded of how much better it is if you let go of the reins.’

I have a great clarity in what I believe in, how I show up at work, what I know I can contribute. But I’m still after the same thing, which is to lose yourself to a moment of work, opposite amazing actors, telling a story that triggers something inside you. Now I have such a heightened sense of time passing, and I just want to make sure that I’m showing up for something that is really meaningful

When she looks back at the young woman in Downton Abbey, what changes can she see now in approach and decision-making? ‘I have a great clarity in what I believe in, how I show up at work, what I know I can contribute. But I’m still after the same thing, which is to lose yourself to a moment of work, opposite amazing actors, telling a story that triggers something inside you. Now I have such a heightened sense of time passing, and I just want to make sure that I’m showing up for something that is really meaningful. The production company is a part of trying to find that agency and clarity. But I’m also trying to find a better work-life balance in terms of feeding all the parts of me – not just the actor.’

As an actor, James also understood the special scorn reserved for Wolfe Herd on social media and via the press. ‘I’m very sensitive,’ she admits. ‘Being an actor, being out there, you can’t help but absorb all these different energies and ideas, and what people project onto you. Having a way of disassociating from that is very important.’ To that end, she plans to spend more time singing/focusing on music (she’s been working with musician Ben Abraham), possibly directing and giving herself time away to creatively recharge. ‘At the moment, I’ve been waking up at 5am and watching the sunrise. I feel much more connected to who I am when I’m living in that rhythm. So I plan on exploring, travelling and seeing the world.’

Before she can exhale, though, she needs to master the breath-holding. ‘I love anything that stretches me and pushes me beyond my limits,’ she smiles. ‘But I’ve really begun to acknowledge how important it is to create better boundaries between yourself and the character. You have to let it go, and come back to yourself…’

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interview by JANE CROWTHER
Swiped is available on Disney+ and Hulu now

Profile

LAURA DERN

December 15, 2025

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interview by JANE CROWTHER

The prolific actor tells Hollywood Authentic about being a muse to David Lynch, the family she finds at work and learning to say it as it is.

In Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach’s bittersweet love letter to moviemaking, the titular Hollywood star (George Clooney) attends an Italian film festival – staying in luxurious accommodation with gorgeous views and encountering people with European sensibilities. So it’s fitting that the film premiered in the land of la dolce vita, bowing at the Venice Film Festival with the cast including Emily Mortimer, Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup and Laura Dern bobbing to their red carpet via water taxi from the Cipriani Hotel, where Greg Williams captured their pre-prem prep and post-event wind-down. ‘It was amazing,’ says Dern of the experience when Hollywood Authentic catches up with her back in LA a few weeks later as she prepares to premiere her next movie, Is This Thing On? ‘The embedded Italian film festival storyline made it particularly delicious!’

Equally delicious, she says, was the experience of making a movie with a company she calls her family. ‘You know, as an only child my best friends have come from every movie that I’ve made, and the filmmakers that found me at a very young age were my best friends. They are as much a part of my life, deeply, as my own family that I was given in this life.’ Key to this particular family is Noah Baumbach, who wrote and directed a story Dern knows well as the child of movie stars – of an actor at the top of his game struggling to balance work and life, trying to navigate fame.

‘I love Noah Baumbach so much. I feel so privileged to have him literally as a family member now. I just feel so safe in our work, in our collaborative discoveries together. I’m like, “Wherever you want me, I’m showing up.” I’ve only had that with a few directors where you feel so blessed to be with them over years. It’s like any relationship – you see so much in each other, and you get to explore and try new things, and you get to know the language of the filmmaker.’

Dern has certainly had her pick of incredible filmmakers in her illustrious, award-winning career, including her long collaborative relationship with David Lynch – more of which later. As the daughter of actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, she has been surrounded by the business from birth and made her film debut in White Lightning and Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (opposite her mother), before going on to work with a who’s who of auteurs. Adrian Lyne, Peter Bogdanovich, Martha Coolidge, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Alexander Payne, Robert Altman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jean-Marc Vallée… the list goes on. But while working on Jay Kelly reminded her on all the sublime filmmaking experiences that have brought her to this point, it also marked a reunion of the stars of Grizzly II: Revenge, a 1983 schlock horror that remained unreleased until 2021, featuring Charlie Sheen, Dern and a newbie actor, George Clooney. ‘The ever-famous Grizzly II – we’re giving it so much press!’ she laughs. ‘I’m like, “George, should we be talking about Grizzly II in every interview? The 40-minute, unfinished horror film that we made?” But, you know, what a gorgeous gift that movie was for me, because I got George. And then, on this movie, I got Adam Sandler and his amazing family, who I really call my family now.’

‘Gift’ is a word Dern is fond of using; she projects enthusiasm and gratitude about the opportunities she’s had, and seems invigorated about those that may be on the horizon. The way she talks about her career highlights certainly feel like cherished prizes as she recalls her ‘myriad experiences’. ‘You see a clip of something, or a moment in time – my first movie, I was 11. My whole life is captured from sixth grade on… At 17, I met David Lynch. At 15, I met Peter Bogdanovich on the film Mask. Peter’s way of working was: it’s family. The minute we started, we were in his kitchen cooking or rehearsing. He was introducing me and Eric Stoltz to Renoir and Buñuel movies. He was like, “If I’m going to reference cinema, all of us need to know the language of it.” What an education. It’s a very different way of working. And then meeting David was such an incredible, extraordinary gift that lasted as long as I had him. So I’m very blessed. I’m so grateful that I have those memories, especially as we lose people that we love, that we have all those stories that we experience together. It’s really a great privilege.’

Her experience working with Baumbach on Marriage Story netted her a Best Actress Academy Award after nominations for Rambling Rose and Wild at Heart, as well as BAFTA and Golden Globe wins. She also won an Emmy for her role in Big Little Lies – another ensemble cast where she made friends and learned new tricks, working with Jean-Marc Vallée. So is that feeling of creative fellowship something she actively seeks having experienced it with some of the greatest artists? ‘I think it’s a continual theme for me,’ she considers. ‘I don’t know if it would have had the same value had I not seen it from my parents’ relationships. Yes, my parents were actors who had very close friendships with filmmakers. But more specifically, it was the ’70s. So I got to be privy to ’70s cinema through my parents’ experiences with those filmmakers who made so much impact on film. And the directors that I’m finding now that are becoming my family, have the same language as those people, and the same priorities. So I think that education, if you will, made me long for something very specific.’

You know, as an only child my best friends have come from every movie that I’ve made, and the filmmakers that found me at a very young age were my best friends. They are as much a part of my life, deeply, as my own family

That specificity was perhaps never more in evidence than her long and fruitful relationship with Lynch, with whom she made Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and Inland Empire. The duo met on a casting call for Blue Velvet and, as she wrote in a tribute in the LA Times on his death, bonded over ‘The Wizard of Oz, Bob’s Big Boy turkey sandwiches on white bread, transcendental meditation… and our shared love of Los Angeles’. Lynch cast her and Dern wrote that she ‘quickly traded college for following you to the ends of the Earth. I never looked back’.

‘After David, I was like, “Oh, am I never going to have that with someone else?” I assumed I wouldn’t,’ she says now. ‘But, you know, I did meet Jean-Marc Vallée, and we did get to work more than once together in such beautiful ways [on Wild and Big Little Lies]. And then the family that is Noah and Greta [Gerwig] – I made films with both of them over the course of a year [Little Women and Marriage Story]. That was such an incredible, rare beginning. And we were dear friends before we started the movies. It’s an incredible gift.’

For Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, Dern plays an exasperated publicist trying to harness an unspooling Jay as his career, family life and public persona come into uncomfortable focus after a run-in with a former friend (Crudup). Constantly surrounded by staff, Kelly is nevertheless lonely, and disconnected from his daughters (Grace Edwards and Riley Keough). Though there’s amusement to be had in poking fun at the pomp of Hollywood (private jets, trailers, lifetime achievement awards), the themes of isolation and self-doubt are something Dern perhaps relates to more. ‘All of the chapters of Jay’s life give us room to consider whichever player we’ve been in any of those moments,’ she says. ‘Longing for having done it differently; not wanting to miss our lives when we’re focused on the big picture of being at an Italian film festival or wherever it is for any of us, for any vocation. I was feeling the gift of the moment, remorse in my own life, question marks; all of it…’

The solitude of Jay in a crowded room isn’t something Dern particularly recognises though. ‘I’ve never felt loneliness because I’m an actor. But I felt loneliness as the child of an actor. I know what that cost feels like by the nature of anyone who’s raised by parents who are taken away to go do their work – you do have a loneliness, because inevitably you’re being left for this other thing, whatever that profession is: travelling salesman or an actor or filmmaker. It’s hard to understand in childhood why your parent is not making you the priority, even if it’s impossible in that profession to do so.’

A mother of two herself, Dern considers how things have changed since her mom and dad were trying to juggle acting and parenthood. How her own experience of motherhood was deliberately, and fortunately, different. ‘You know, when my first child was born, I just didn’t work for almost two years, because I wanted to be there because of what I had been through, I’m sure. But I’m lucky. I have had producers or companies with agents and managers being very protective of [parental needs], figuring out ways to let me take my kids with me or getting me home, and giving me several plane tickets. My parents were in indie cinema. They weren’t being paid enough to fly home, you know? So when my parents went to do a movie, and there was nowhere to put a kid, and they didn’t want a kid on the set – I was blessed to have a grandma to be home with. But my parents left for a movie for three months, and I didn’t see them – we would talk on Sundays on a hotel phone which was very expensive. You had to save up your money for the Sunday call. You didn’t have FaceTime and texting your kids. So the heartbreak that I did sometimes experience was, I believe, matched by my mother’s heartbreak of having to work and leave me. So I am blessed to get to do it differently, and still, I’m sure, mess up all the time! I’m just trying my best.’

The actor’s mothering instinct has extended to Hollywood Authentic cover star Austin Butler, playing his parent onscreen in an uncredited cameo in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, as well as helping him navigate his sudden fame off-screen in the wake of 2022’s Elvis. Butler’s late mother was often likened to Dern and their friendship blossomed after he told her about this. ‘I feel like I’m learning every day. I don’t know if I’m imparting any wisdom. But I did find a beautiful and particular bond with Austin. I appreciate that he’s asking the questions deeply, and I was really happy to be there for that process.’

She’s playing another mom in her next film, Bradley Cooper’s awards-buzzy Is This Thing On? based on the real-life experience of British stand-up comedian John Bishop. She plays Tess, a former Olympic volleyball champ whose marriage to Will Arnett’s Alex disintegrates, sending him to stand-up sessions at New York’s Comedy Cellar, and the couple on a voyage of emotional discovery. It’s messy, brutally honest and gives Dern the juicy opportunity to play a complex, relatable mid-life woman. ‘I was so excited Bradley wanted to explore a real relationship, and then also a real couple in their 50s. And to really question in a deep and true way how we lose our way to who we are – which we all do, because we have to continue to redefine ourselves. We’re not who we were at 20. As we go on that discovery and adventure, then we get to redefine the partnership. And if we aren’t looking at ourselves, everything’s going to be lost. So that idea as a premise was really moving to me.’

Every experience I have is teaching me more, especially with these filmmakers who have invited me into their writing process, prep process, editing process. I want to keep learning. I’m definitely open to all the ways that I can be part of storytelling

Written by Arnett and Mark Chappell, Cooper made space for his cast to investigate and contribute to the honing of the characters. ‘He didn’t say, “Here’s the script. Do you want to play the part?” But: “Here’s the invitation. Who is this woman? Let’s find her together.” The process was beautiful. I would share thoughts and ideas, and he would just be like, “Tell me what she’s feeling, what she’s longing for?” These are not therapy-ised people. These are not affluent people. These are all of us trying to figure our shit out.’

Though Dern doesn’t think Tess is like her, there are elements of the character that she’s cleaved to since playing her. ‘I think this is the first character I’ve played where I would say there are parts of me that Bradley knows that I don’t stay true to, that I hope I become when I grow up,’ she smiles. ‘Having that direct “saying it as it is” energy. This is the most honest thing I can say to you… In the last two days even, I’ve found myself – because I’m tired from life and press and whatever – I’ve been saying stuff like Tess would. I think I’m still caught between growing into these qualities, and feeling comfortable with them.’ At this point Dern’s Husky, Baby, begins howling in the house. ‘Sorry, my Husky is very opinionated about this. She is like, “You are not Tess at all. You haven’t told me the truth yet. You haven’t even fed me!”

One thing Baby can agree on, breakfast or not, is the success of Dern as a producer. Having previously produced shorts and docs, she read the novel Mr & Mrs American Pie by Juliet McDaniel, and along with her producing partner, Jayme Lemons, developed the project, shepherding it to TV in the shape of Apple+’s hit limited series, Palm Royale. Originally she planned to play the lead, Maxine, but scheduling meant she offered it to Kristen Wiig with a new role written for Dern as castmate and exec-producer. The show is now rolling out a second season of period adventures among a fierce female cast including Carol Burnett, Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb and Kaia Gerber.

‘As an actor, and a daughter of actors, to see this incredible cast having fun, and loving each other, and doing stuff that nobody gives them a chance to do…’ she marvels. ‘Kristen called me yesterday, and she said, “Did you actually develop a show where you’re letting me basically have musical numbers and dancing, and we’re working with Carol Burnett, and we’re all together producing this?” It’s just amazing. And seeing that, and the attention to detail, thanks to Abe Sylvia, our showrunner, and making sure in the second season that each character has their own arc, and even acting journey – those things are a blessing. Also creating, hopefully, a really lovely fun environment – it’s beautiful that I can do that. And to have that going, and also be exploring, as I love to do as an actor, with these amazing filmmakers that I get to work with.’

She has numerous projects lined up with Lemons under their shingle, Jaywalker Pictures, but perhaps her next progression is direction – especially given that she’s coming into her ‘saying it like it is’ era? ‘I definitely have thought about it. I made a short when I was in my mid-20s, and I loved the experience of that. I love acting – that’s my happy place. But I loved working with actors, and I also was fascinated by the framing as truth, that was so interesting to me. I just didn’t know enough for me to feel confident. But every experience I have is teaching me more, especially with these filmmakers who have invited me into their writing process, prep process, editing process. I want to keep learning. I’m definitely open to all the ways that I can be part of storytelling.’

For now though, there’s breakfast to get for Baby, the press tour for Is This Thing On? and awards season… ‘Last night I was with Adam Sandler and George Clooney. And I was like, “How did I get here, that everyone around me is one of my favourite people?” It’s not just the luck of timing and getting to do these things that I love. But in all three of these projects, I deeply love these people, and admire them so much. You feel like you’re giving a journalist a line when you’re saying that, but I actually am working with my family members. So I’m really grateful.’

Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Interview by JANE CROWTHER
Jay Kelly is on Netflix now
Palm Royale S2 is on Apple+ TV
Is This Thing On? is in cinemas 30 January
Laura wears Saint Laurent, Armani Privé and jewellery by Pasquale Bruni

A Little Nonsense*

ADEEL AKHTAR

December 15, 2025

Photographs by SARAH CRESSWELL

Down Cemetery Road star Adeel Akhtar tells Hollywood Authentic about his evening chocolate fix, clapping with one hand and being buried alive in a coffin.

How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
Very important. It allows you to not take things, yourself or other people too seriously. It’s important to take things a little bit seriously, though.

What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
The goodness in people. Especially from people who have gone through a lot and you wouldn’t expect them to be able to have the breadth of emotion to afford to be kind to people, and they are… that makes me believe in magic.

What was your last act of true cowardice?
I’m filming at the moment in Greece, and I had to go to the edge of this mountain. I was harnessed and I was clipped in and I did it – but I was terrified.

What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
My family and my children. I’m in a beautiful place right now, but it would be even more beautiful with my wife and my kids.

Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
It’s not an odd habit, but it is a bit of a ritual. On the first day of filming, I have to pack my bag and leave it all by the door the night before. Everything has to be ready by the door for me to go. And the times I haven’t done that, it hasn’t been a very good day.

What is your party trick?
You know that Zen quote? What’s the sound of one hand clapping? You’re supposed to say it doesn’t sound like anything, because how can you clap with one hand? I can clap with one hand because I’ve got a really floppy wrist, and that’s my party trick.

What is your mantra?
I don’t have one, but if I were to make one up it would be ‘keep going’.

What is your favourite smell?
I suppose the distinct smell of home when I get back after being away for a long time. You know your house always has a particular type of smell? That’s the smell of home.

What do you always carry with you?
Headphones. If I’m going on set they’ll be small ones, and if I’m walking around, big ones. But I have to have my headphones because I listen to music all the time.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate with milk in an evening. Or a chocolate chip cookie with milk. But a big glass of cold milk. At the end of the day, that makes me quite happy.

Who is the silliest person you know?
My two boys. Both of them are equally as silly as each other. Some of the silly chats that we get into start in English and then end in gibberish.

What would be your least favourite way to die?
In a coffin, buried alive.

What’s your idea of heaven?
I had it a little bit this summer. Me, my wife and the kids went to the south of France and we hired a little house there with a swimming pool. The weather was lovely, and we drank loads of rosé and ate really well. That was heaven to me.

BAFTA-winning actor Adeel Akhtar studied law at university but found his calling in drama, training at the Actors Studio Drama School and The New School, New York. He made his name in Four Lions and has appeared in diverse projects ranging from Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava, Sherwood and The Night Manager to Back to Life, Capital, River and Murdered by My Father (for which he won the BAFTA) as well as numerous theatre productions. He is currently starring in thriller series Down Cemetery Road, based on the novel by Mick Herron.

Photographs by SARAH CRESSWELL
Down Cemetery Road is out now on Apple+

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