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

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

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

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