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Nicholas Hoult TF I do, but it’s sporadic. I haven’t looked at anything from this season because I’ve been busy promoting this film. But before Christmas, I’ll sit down and look at everything on Style.com. DB Any favorites? TF Nicolas Ghesquière was always my favorite. I think Stella [McCartney] has really come into her own—I don’t think she’s ever looked better in her life, and she’s in an absolutely good place with her brand. I’ve always been a fan of Alexander McQueen, and Tomas Maier. I love Karl [Lagerfeld]. There’s a lot of people I love. I mean, Miuccia [Prada]? C’mon! I’m not talking about specific collections, but in terms of what they stand for. I think fashion has a lot of great people. DB Didn’t you once say that making this film was, in a way, like collaborating on a womenswear collection? TF Yes, you have to have a vision, and you have to be able to communicate it to others and encourage them in a way that you get the very best. For me, at least, what I do in fashion is very true and honest, but it’s only part of me. It is more superficial. I put a large part of myself on the runway, but I’m not putting my soul on the runway. Some fashion designers do, some are artists; I am a commercial fashion designer, who is artistic and participating in an artistic endeavor. But it has never been art for me. DB Is this film? TF I’m not trying to say that my movie is art, but it was the most purely expressive thing I’ve ever done. DB So how did it feel to come out of that lacquer box?
TF It felt wonderful to do, but it scared me. Now I’d like to close that box again. DB What were your concerns? TF There is a lot of my own life in the film. People say that when you start to write something you should always write what you know, so I had to ask myself, I know what I am as a fashion designer, but what am I about as a filmmaker? What do I believe in? Why should anyone see a Tom Ford film? DB Were you worried about reviews? TF When you put that much of yourself out there, of course you’re terrified. Terrified! But I’ve never let potential terror or fear stop me. In my adult life I’ve understood that if I put an enormous amount of love and honesty into something, usually that shows in the end. DB How was your first stab at directing? TF I read somewhere that a good director does his directing when he casts his film. DB You just give them the intention. TF One of the greatest moments I’ve ever seen on film was Bill Clinton being questioned about Monica Lewinsky. It’s breathtaking. Someone asks, “Did you sleep with Monica Lewinsky?” And Bill says very calmly that he hadn’t. Then he’s asked, “Did you insert a cigar in Ms. Lewinsky’s vagina?” There’s this wave that just moves over his face and you can just feel Clinton thinking, “How do they know that? FUCK!” He says he didn’t, but his face says everything. Nothing moves: it’s just this wave that washes over him. One of the things I told to Colin when we shot
the scene where he hears the news about his lover’s death was that it was all about his face, that it was all about that contained anger. And then all I had to do was keep the camera there and watch him do that. DB Was it intimidating on your first day of shooting? TF I was very conscious of making it look like I knew exactly what the fuck I was doing. But, sure, I didn’t sleep the night before because I was terrified of having to say “Cut!” in front of a bunch of people. DB When you were filming, were you soaking in the moment? TF I loved every single moment of the process. DB And was the film’s release and the accolades the glorious moment you’d been waiting for? TF No, it’s my least favorite part. Promotion? It’s the least enjoyable. Same with fashion: I like designing, I like making the garments. But I hate doing interviews, I hate being photographed. No one believes that, but it’s true. I hate having my picture taken. DB Really, Tom? TF Yes! Look at the movie. It says everything you want to know about me. Now I’m going back in my lacquered box.
The cast of Tom Ford’s A Single Man in Los Angeles, November–December 2008 A Single Man is out now from The Weinstein Company