Evanna Lynch

Evanna Lynch became famous through the Harry Potter series where she played Luna Lovegood - the best character name since Honor Blackman played Pussy Galore in a James Bond film.  She fit her character in the Harry Potter films so well that even JK Rowling has named her as her favourite, or at least most accurately portrayed out of the film series.  Since then she has made noticeable performances on stage and on screen. As well as becoming a prominent activist for animal rights and veganism she has also been a very important figure in promoting healthy self-esteem and body image for young girls, due to her own struggle with Anorexia Nervosia.  The latter was also the subject of her memoir published last year, ‘The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and Glory of Growing Up’ - for which I was commissioned to take pictures of Evanna to be used on the book sleeve and to promote the book. 

Evanna was such a dream to work with.  She was modest and softly spoken, kind and fun.  Working with Evanna was like working with a good friend.  A steady but easy pace, filled with interesting conversations about her experiences, success and struggles.  Talking about such issues as eating disorder from the perspective of having experienced it yourself takes enormous courage - and Evanna does this with brutal honesty.  

Shot for Headline Publishing

Flashback

The Flashback series for the Guardian Saturday Magazine continues, and here are four of the latest shoots that have been published. My shoots replicate images of celebrities from their younger days.  

Here we have JLS, Sadie Frost with her mum Mary, AJ and Curtis Pritchard and Vick Hope with her mum Ade

Shot for Guardian Saturday Magazine

Stephen Graham and Jodie Comer

There are few actors I am more excited about at the moment than Stephen Graham and Jodie Comer.  Every role Stephen touches turns to gold.  He mostly plays serious roles, and the intensity and emotions he brings to the parts he plays, hit straight home.  The question with Stephen is; is it him that makes the roles he plays great? - or is he just great at sniffing out the great parts and can take them on with excellence?  Either one is a great talent, and either way still makes Stephen a great actor.  

And then Jodie - mostly known for playing Oksana Astankova in Killing Eve.  She’s still very young so there is no doubt that next time I photograph her, (and I do hope there will be a next time,) I will be able to reel off iconic films and series that she has played in like I am able to do with Stephen if I’m put on the spot.  One thing is for sure already, and that is that Jodi has a great ability to bring herself and character to her roles. 

They are now playing together in the Channel 4 drama ‘Help’, a series that deals with some of the issues that arose due to Covid.  Some may think that it’s too early to watch serious dramas about the social impact of Covid, but this is a gripping and touching drama that will appeal to many.  

At the end of this shoot I also managed to get a frame of 10X8 analogue portrait taken of Stephen and Jodie.  Unfortunately, (being the first time I have tried to do a shot of 10X8 with the time pressures that comes with editorial shoots, and only having two sheets ready to use,) the shot with Jodie had two misfires of the flash and didn’t come out.  However, the shot of Stephen was everything I had hoped for.  

Shot for Observer New Review

Tiffany

You do not have to be around in the 80’s to know Tiffany - but it helps.  I remember her biggest hit very well, as it was a big hitter just as I was in my most impressionable age.  Well - she’s back!  Or, has she always been back but just not on my radar?  

This shoot took place at a rehearsing studio in Brighton where she was rehearsing with her band prior to a UK tour.  

Shot for Observer New Review

Aisling Bea

I remember photographing Aisling Bea as a part of a bigger group of people just under a decade ago.  It was for a feature about people to look out for in different creative industries.  Aisling was the comedian to look out for.  Many years later, with a few comedy shows under her belt and having been an LOL creator on a few of Britain’s best panel shows, Aisling is now the supporting act in the new Netflix comedy drama “Living with Yourself”.  We met up at the Corinthia hotel where she was promoting her new show.  Admittedly, we didn’t have the most comfortable shoot planned for her.  The first section was to look casual in an empty bath.  Whilst the second involved her putting her head and arms through some pre-existing holes in my backdrop, all at slightly misjudged heights.  Aisling has either not got accustomed to the high life of celebrity to know she can complain about any discomfort she may experience, or she enjoyed the exercise that came with contorting herself into awkward positions.  In any case, she kept the mood up with good old Irish banter and an “anything goes” attitude.  One thing’s sure - Aisling totally rocks!   

Shot for Grazia Magazine

Joanne Froggatt

I photographed Joanne Froggatt at the National Theatre as a part of a series of Love Letters to the world, to celebrate 100 years of British Airways aviation.  The shoot was done in collaboration with the excellent team at Bridge Studio and was a part of a series of portraits of professionals and celebrities in the UK.  The shoot was a little rushed as I had to squeeze in between filming schedule, but Joanne came across as fun and easy going.  Admittedly, I have never watched an episode of “Downtown Alley” but she seems a mile away from how I imagine her to be featured there.  

Shot for Bridge Studios and BA

Nicole Kidman

Hollywood don’t have many queens, and achieving a ‘Queen of Hollywood’ status involves having plenty of accolades, longevity and maintaining an aura of unknown about them. Nicole Kidman ticks all the boxes. With Nicole the shoot was originally planned to be a 10 minute one. However, as the day evolved and we were told of Nicole both being struck by the flue and suffering from bad jet lag, the shoot was shortened to a manageable 5 minutes.

The first thing that struck me when she walked into the room was how tall she was, the second was how amazing she looked despite the condition her condition was in, and the third was that it was simply put harder to take a bad picture of her than a good one.

3 films being released in just a few months, one being an Oscar contender, Nicole will comfortable maintain her seat on the throne as one of Hollywood’s Queens as well as perhaps Australia’s most famous person. All titles she’s earned from hard work and nothing passed on through bloodline or money. But she was born in Honolulu and was given the native name Hōkūlani - which in Hawaiian means ‘Heavenly Star’ - so maybe she has had more help getting to where she is today than what we know about?

Shot for The Observer New Review

Keeley Hawes

I have worked with Keeley Hawes once before and I remember at that time too, her smile and eyes were captivating. She’s just nice to be around and to work with, and has a contagious smile that glows.

The shoot took place at a great and historical venue in Twickenham. In the Octagon Room at Orleans House Gallery we found ourselves surrounded by 10ft windows with shutters all the way to the top with decorative gold edged pillars and walls, an ornate and grand chandelier, statues, fireplace and more. However, the location was one of those where the ornate, grand and beautiful was all placed above the 8ft high and above. It is a location that on paper looks great, but when you get there you soon realise that unless you are looking up someone’s nose, it is hard to get the impression of the location’s grandeur. As well as this, (and I am painfully aware that it may sound like I am a grumpy old man) being surrounded by big glass windows on one of the summer’s hottest days, meant that we were slowly reaching uncomfortably high temperatures. Had it not been for the one small fan we had then I would have melted away and Keeley would have looked like she’d just stepped out of a shower (That is presuming that she perspires like any other human being).

We were both looking forward to our imminent Summer holidays; maybe the heat of the room made us both crave for the ocean with fresh, salty water to cool off in. But also both having a break from busy schedules, although I think Keeley trumps mine with the series Bodyguard only just in the bag and three more series in the making. Amongst acting all of these different roles, it is in fact a miracle that she has any time at all to be herself.

She’s starring in the recent TV drama Bodyguard which you can still catch on BBC catch up. The high suspense drama sees Keeley as the Home Secretary. (Spoiler alert!) A few scenes sees her passionately involved with her bodyguard. The scenes work well, Keeley is an attractive Home Secretary, but imagining the home secretaries of the passed, I find it the idea hard to swallow.

It’s an other quality collaboration, a political thriller between the creator Jed Mercurio and Keeley Hawes. Well worth a watch.

Shot for Sunday Times Culture

Toni Collette

Toni Collette is the lead in the newest must see horror film Hereditary. If you want to wind down off the coffee and still not sleep for a few days, then this is the film you should see. I am not big on horror films because I often find them to be a little too far fetched, tacky and often bad acting. They don’t tend to trigger into my own fear. However, this sounds like a film that will scare the living ‘bejesus’ out of me. The kind of film that plays with your psyche, the unknown, the things we don’t see. This is the film I’d bring a spare pair of pants to see. It’s the kind of film where I’d check the seat before I sit if it’s the second screening of the day.

The shoot with Toni was down in a basement room at Covent Garden Hotel. A room with a little too much character to carry off a whole shoot, so a backdrop was brought out. It was the last thing on Toni’s schedule of the day before being rushed off to the Graham Norton show. It was evident that she’d had a full day already, mixed with a heavy jet lag, so I tried to keep the conversation to trivial non-sense that demanded little in return. First an acknowledgement of her being only 8 days older than me, followed by my amusement that we were both able to mimic a horse trotting by clapping and snapping our fingers. The amazement on both our parts of how similar we therefor must be was undisputed and agreed to - over a laugh…

Often when people suffer from such a schedule and jet lag it is hard to hit the note. However, between the occasional yawn, her Australian, chilled and fun way of being, came shining through… I can only hope that I will one day work with Toni when she is full of energy and fully rested - if I can keep up?

Alicia Vikander

I don’t know which is most impressive; to be a successful Oscar nominated actress or to learn how to speak Danish. Yes, Danish!!! (I am Norwegian and my language is supposed to be similar, yet my face still looks like George Bush at a Science meeting when I hear Danish.) Alicia is the supporting actress in the hugely successful film ‘The Danish Girl’. She was relaxed, energetic and fun to work with, not fazed by the imminent success. She is definitely one to look out for and will with no doubt be a house hold name, if she is not already. There is definitely a Scandinavian wave sweeping over Britain and now the big screen has got its Scandinavian queen.

Penelope Cruz

“Hi Pal, are you free to do a shoot with Penelope Cruz tomorrow?”

“What!?”

“Are you free to shoot Penelope Cruz tomorrow?”

“You’re joking right?!”

“No, we have a shoot lined up at L’Agent Provocateur tomorrow.”

“You’re taking the piss?!”

“No!”

“She’s my favourite actress, and you want me to shoot her at L’Agent Provocateur?”

…

That was pretty much how the conversation went as I got the commission to shoot Penelope Cruz. It is of course never as good as it sounds as the shoot was only 20 minutes and shooting her at L’Agent Provocateur really only meant that we have very little space to work in. Never the less, I was about to meet my all time favourite actress, (apart from maybe Audrey Hepburn, but I hear she’s a little cold now a days.) It was a shoot that could have been so much more, with a more spacious venue and a little more time perhaps. But still I feel I managed to capture a Penelope Cruz that has not been overly stylised, a Penelope that holds the beauty as a person as well as a model and actress. I am of course very objective! They say ‘never meet your idols’ - and although the word idol is one I should use with more care, I did find that meeting Penelope was something I walked away from smiling. But don’t get me wrong, these ‘idols’ belong to a fantasy, and I have to admit, coming home to my wife later that day made me smile that little bit more.

Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer is the hottest comedy act on the circuit at the moment. Her 10 minute acceptance speech at the Glamour awards caused belly aches from laughter and even saw Jennifer Saunders in the background cracking up. She sure doesn’t pull any punches as far as graphic content is concerned and sees no need to hold anything back or polish the truth in any way.  She comes across as completely genuine, as if it’s her uncensored mind that rambles on without quite knowing that her mouth is vocalising her thoughts. 

My shoot was a part of a press junket in Soho Hotel. She had back to back interviews and shoots for 2 days, promoting her new film Trainwreck. And that was only the UK part of the junket. I was looking forward to an uncensored Amy, giving me poses that would probably not be fit for publication. Any other day I am sure that would have been the case, but as she was in the middle of a row of shoots and interviews I had the feeling that she had had enough of striking poses or retorting with hard hitting comments during interviews.  I did however feel that her poses were struck in the same way as much of her humour. Her moves were somewhat unconscious and automatic, as if it was a move she had thought of but she was not quite aware of doing.  A few face expressions before gravity got hold of her and she again found herself lying the floor, (something she became known for having done on the red carpet in front of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian). She continued by crawling out of the room which left the whole room silent, but not shocked. With Amy we just have to expect the unexpected.

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan is a girl that comes with a few warning signs. She has a reputation and has made a few mistakes through her time. I suppose this will always be a problem for a child star, there really is no place to hide as you are growing up, and therefore everything you do will become public knowledge. Unfortunate for Lindsay a few of her mistakes became world news and she developed a bit of a reputation due to this. I made plenty of mistakes growing up but fortunate for me I didn’t have the world press camped outside my house in Norway.

Helen McRory

The shoot with Helen McCrory was to take place at the end of a press day, after other shoots and interviews.  Never ideal as the sitter is usually late and exhausted.  This was no exception as far as timings were concerned, and as it was on my son’s birthday I was getting fidgety.  But, this was an exception as far as energy levels were concerned.  Helen turned up, apologetic for being late, polite, full of smiles and a bundle of energy. She had thrown a curve ball and won me over again within seconds of meeting her.
Helen is about my age, a mother of two and it is hard to imagine that she has ever been sexier.  She has that sexy attitude that only comes with confidence due to experience and a classic beauty to back it all up. 
Helen is an award winning actress and has played in films such as James Bond Skyfall, Harry Potter, Hugo and many more films and theatre productions.  She is married to Damien Lewis, which gives her some kind unspoken respect and acceptance amongst us gingers.  She is after all now a part of the ginger revolution.
It is nice when you leave a shoot and feel a lot has been contributed to it from all parties.  This was one of those shoots – Helen came, gave all she could to the shoot, was friendly and modest and we all left feeling good at the end.

Olivia Coleman

A well-known face and a genuinely lovely person.  Olivia Colman is making all the right moves at the moment. She got mentioned in Meryl Streep's Oscar's speech, which is surely almost the same as winning the award!  She also co stars in a very sweet comedy series called Rev, where she is the wife of the Reverend.

Tilda Swinton

I have now had the true pleasure of photographing Tilda Swinton twice.  I remember my first reaction when I was told I had a shoot with her; I was excited and a thousand ideas instantly came to mind.
Not only am I a fan of her acting but I find her looks fascinating and beautiful. Although I have had the pleasure to work with Tilda twice I would love to photograph her again but with my own choice of location and styling. My first shoot with Tilda had little art direction but was restricted by location.  I managed to get Tilda to agree to go outside for the last 5 minutes... but the first 15 minutes were in a boring meeting room. Location was tricky but I still took one of my favourite shots of her. The second shoot was just recently. In the run up to the film "We need to talk about Kevin".  The idea was to shoot Tilda for a cover for Time Out which came out in connection with London Film Festival on the 5.Oct.11.  

Thanks again Tilda - I hope we meet again...