VMAN55: FALL'S MOST WANTED

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FALL WINTER 2025

FALL’S MOST WANTED

LOUIS PARTRIDGE

INTERVIEWED BY KIT CONNOR PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS STYLED BY DAVEY SUTTON

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FALL WINTER 2025

FALL'S MOST WANTED DAVID CORENSWET INTERVIEWED BY BRADLEY COOPER PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS STYLED BY CHRISTIAN STROBLE

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FALL WINTER 2025

FALL'S MOST WANTED ROMEO BECKHAM

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS STYLED BY MARTI SERRA

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FALL WINTER 2025

FALL'S MOST WANTED $12.50 USD DISPLAY UNTIL FEBRUARY 24, 2023

MASON THAMES

INTERVIEWED BY MATHIAS ROSENZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS STYLED BY MARTI SERRA

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FALL WINTER 2025

FALL’S MOST WANTED ARCHIE MADEKWE

INTERVIEWED BY ZACK FOX PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS STYLED BY DAVEY SUTTON

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FALL WINTER 2025

FALL’S MOST WANTED FERNANDO LINDEZ

INTERVIEWED BY VALENTINA ZENERE PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS STYLED BY MARTI SERRA

omegawatches.com

THE RAILMASTER Minimalist design meets complex mechanics. This has been the story of the OMEGA Railmaster since 1957, when it was first designed as an anti-magnetic timepiece for workers on the railways. Those same enduring qualities are still evident today, yet the latest 38 mm model has taken its own unique direction with a new gradient dial in grey.

An easy-to-read display is achieved through large Super-LumiNova hour markers, while the essential magnetic resistance is maintained through a modern Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre.

Slug Masthead

READY

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief / Creative Director Stephen Gan GEN V Editor-in-Chief / Digital Director Mathias Rosenzweig VMAN Editor Charlie Kolbrener V Magazine Editor Kev Ponce Managing Director Jared Sinclair Feig Photography | Production | Distribution Director Jessica Hafford Associate Digital Editor Christian Rosa Entertainment Editor Greg Krelenstein Weibo and Chinese Editor Meng Ji Contributing Editor-at-Large Derek Blasberg FASHION Fashion Director-at-Large Nicola Formichetti Senior Fashion Editor Anna Trevelyan Contributing Fashion Editor (Europe) Jeanie Annan-Lewin Fashion Market Editor Liv Vitale Contributing Fashion Editors Patti Wilson Paul Sinclaire George Cortina Anastasia Barbieri Davey Sutton Genesis Webb Hunter Clem PHOTO/ART Junior Art Director Clément Condat Photo Director Sameet Sharma Bookings Locals Worldwide

Art Director-at-Large Tobias Holzmann

ADVERTISING & SPECIAL PROJECTS Eleni Gatsou Bureau (Advertising Office for France and America) Eleni Gatsou eleni@elenigatsou.com Marie-Loup Faggioli marie-loup@elenigatsou.com Mediaberna S.r.l. (Advertising Office for Italy and Switzerland) Luciano Bernardini de Pace luciano@bernardini.it Grazia Mortari mortari@bernardini.it Mariolina Siclari mariolina@bernardini.it Elia Perissinotto elia@bernardini.it PR & EVENTS Purple PR Andrew Lister andrew.lister@purplepr.com Jocelyn Cash jocelyn.cash@purplepr.com Remi Jiang remi.jiang@purplepr.com

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Editor’s Letter

CALL

TIME 1.

For the Fall/Winter season, VMAN orbits around a central nucleus: fame. In the digital age, it’s become a behemoth, mutating and receding faster than ever before. The men gracing our covers are each embarking on their own rock climb towards the lofty peak of capital F fame. David Corenswet recently debuted with a chiseled S adorned across his chest, taking up the mantle of one of the most iconic characters in history. The previously relatively unknown actor was bottle-rocketed to superstardom effectively overnight. Archie Madekwe has spent countless hours exploring the tribulations of fame within the narrative of his film Lurker. Louis Partridge describes social media prominence as “a good thing to have, if you can manage it—like a pitbull.” Mason Thames, only 18 years old, is just getting started with lofty ambitions. Romeo Beckham’s pedigree has seen him weaving in and out of the spotlight since birth. Fernando Lindez is no stranger to the camera—a case study in how fame can morph through the different mediums of modeling and acting. The actors featured in VMEN are propelling themselves towards renown. The singer Role Model will soon make a movie star turn, but not before diving into the sounds of fall. TikTok’s loverboy Bach dances through beauty and fashion. VMAN55, it’s an issue of alliteration and the F-words that keep our world spinning: Fame, Fashion, and Fall.

MR. V

COVER 1: Louis wears knitwear, coat, trousers PRADA COVER 2: David wears Ottanio double breasted wool trench, cashmere crew neck knitwear, Ottanio double pence wool trouser CANALI COVER 3: Romeo wears shearling coat and jersey jogging pants DOLCE&GABBANA COVER 4: Mason wears 2 button yarn dyed blazer, waistcoat, trousers COACH COVER 5: Archie wears silk coat and wool pants DIOR MEN COVER 6: Fernando wears calf leather trench and trouser MONTBLANC Leather gloves CAUSSE GANTIER

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Table of Content

18 VMAN NEWS 20 VMEN 26 BOY BEAT 28 ROMEO BECKHAM 36 MASON THAMES 44 LOUIS PARTRIDGE 52 ARCHIE MADEKWE 60 FERNANDO LINDEZ 68 DAVID CORENSWET 76 MODEL BEHAVIOR 82 CITY SLICKER 88 WHEN IT ALL FALLS DOWN 96 WHAT VMEN WANT

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1: Louis wears blazer and trousers PRADA 2: Bach wears shetland wool crewneck sweater and wool pants CELINE Sedna gold De Ville Prestige 41mm watch OMEGA Chain necklaces stylist’s own 3: Louis wears coat, trousers, shoes PRADA 4: Romeo wears ripped tank top, large tracksuit pants, pendant necklace, boots BALENCIAGA Chain talent’s own 5: Mason wears leather ceremonial jacket with braided frogging details, Chantilly lace ruffle collar top and cuffs, houndstooth wool mohair Kickback trousers MCQUEEN 6: Fernando wears coat, leather blazer, silk shirt, pant VERSACE 7: Mason wears watch OMEGA Boxy shirt, tie, wide trousers AMI Bracelet DAVID YURMAN 8: Fernando wears wool jacket, wool shorts, smooth calf bay knee boot LOEWE Belt ISABEL MARANT Headpiece RUSLAN BAGINSKIY 9: Romeo wears beanie, blazer, pants LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S Serpenti Viper necklace BVLGARI Rings and earrings talent’s own 10: Bach wears cardigan, Croco large silver sparkle brooch, wool pant LACOSTE Necklace stylist’s own 17

News

LACRIMA UNRAVELS HAUTE COUTURE AT THE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC (BAM)) WHAT TO ATTEND

In LACRIMA, acclaimed theater director Caroline Guiela Nguyen stitches a story of obsession, loss, and beauty onto the hushed floor of a Parisian haute couture atelier. Tasked with designing a wedding dress for the Princess of England, the craftspeople of Maison Beliana embark on an eight-month odyssey, sworn to secrecy and consumed by the pursuit of perfection.

The play unfolds not on fashion’s glossy surface, but in its oft-unseen underbelly as viewers confront labor, fragility, and the quiet erosion of the self. Marion, the weary head seamstress, tries to hold her team together while master embroiderer Abdul sews 1,000 roses to duchesse satin, his vision rapidly dimming with each stitch.

Guiela Nguyen’s fascination with fabric began at home, watching Bollywood films with her mother, who adored the lush fabrics of the characters’ costumes.

In LACRIMA, that reverence becomes a meditation on making, more specifically, how a single dress might be dreamed in London, stitched in Alençon, finished in Mumbai, all the while at risk of being undone by time itself. “A fabric can suddenly be unobtainable, or the person who was supposed to wear a piece has changed sizes and alters the entire schedule,” Nguyen explains.

“The inconsistency and fragility of time is an extremely valuable narrative component.”

Photo credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez courtesy BAM

VMAN NEWS

LACRIMA will run October 22 & 24-26, 2025, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)

WHETHER YOU’RE LOOKING TO LAUGH, TO LEARN, OR TO LISTEN, EVERY VMAN SHOULD HAVE THESE SIX RELEASES ON THEIR RADAR AS WE HEAD INTO THE FALL SEASON TEXT PENNY SPILIOTOPOULOS

DAVID BYRNE BEGS THE QUESTION WHO IS THE SKY ? WITH FIRST ALBUM IN SEVEN YEARS WHAT TO LISTEN TO

In Who Is the Sky?, David Byrne’s first new studio album since American Utopia—now a Spike Leedirected HBO film—the longtime shape-shifter enlists Grammy-winning producer Kid Harpoon and the 15-piece Ghost Train Orchestra to ask a characteristically oblique question (“Does any of it matter?”) with a deceptively simple answer (you’ll have to listen to find out). The album, out this fall, is playful and luminous, grounded in orchestral eccentricity and a pop sentiment that Byrne has long made his own.

The songs are miniature parables and personal vignettes. He meets the Buddha at a party, finds comfort in the quiet presence of his apartment, and considers love as if filing a tax return.

Byrne’s wry humor and spiritual bemusement course through the album, with vocal cameos from St. Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, and The Smile’s Tom Skinner. “At my age, at least for me, there‘s a ‘don‘t give a shit about what people think’ attitude that kicks in,” Byrne says. “I can step outside my comfort zone with the knowledge that I sort of know what I‘m doing. That said, every new set of songs is a new adventure. There‘s always a bit of, ‘how do I work this?’ We‘re now joined together, heading to the same unknown place.”

Who Is the Sky? drops on September 5, 2025 via Matador Records

Photo credit: Ahmed Klink 18

News

PAOLO ROVERSI EXHIBITS HIS GREATEST HITS AT PACE NEW YORK

Before the Instagram age flattened fashion into ubiquity, Yves Saint Laurent understood the value of an image. Across four decades, until his maison’s closing in 2002, he cultivated a visual mythology through fabric, silhouette, and an extraordinary constellation of collaborators behind the lens. Yves Saint Laurent and Photography, a luxe new tome by Phaidon featuring never-before-seen archival documents, maps the interplay between couture and camera.

The publication is a luminous parade of icons—Naomi Campbell in mid-stride, Audrey Hepburn cast in soft shadow, Kate Moss doing what she so flawlessly does—lensed by photography’s greats—Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, Paolo Roversi, Juergen Teller.

In essence, Saint Laurent lent fashion its rigor and sensuality, and photography returned the favor by making it eternal. The book also offers quieter glimpses. Archival ephemera, candid portraits, and notes in Saint Laurent’s looping hand complicate the spectacle with something discernibly more intimate.

Slated to open alongside New York Fashion Week this September, a focused retrospective traces the luminous arc of Paolo Roversi’s career, from his early ’90s portraits to his most recent, enigmatic dreamscapes. Known for his diffused lighting, intimate compositions, unwavering devotion to film, and frequent flirtations with the Deardorff 8x10 camera (that clunky, archetypal field camera native to the ‘50s), Roversi has long blurred the line between fashion photography and fine art.

Less about image than encounter—“Every portrait is a meeting, an exchange, a mutual intimate confession,” he once said—his work is infused with an ethos of long-standing collaboration and unadulterated intimacy. Inspired by industry giants August Sander, Robert Frank, and Diane Arbus, Roversi began as a photojournalist for the Associated Press in 1970, before receiving an invitation to Paris from ELLE’s Peter Knapp, at which point his lens turned toward fashion, eventually shaping the visual language of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, and more.

Roversi’s hauntingly soft portraits are steeped in classical beauty and the architectural rigor of his native Ravenna, Italy, and a variety of his work can be found in museum collections around the world.

WHAT TO PORE OVER

WHAT TO EXPLORE

YSL AND PHOTOGRAPHY GIVES A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Yves Saint Laurent and Photography is available beginning September 10, 2025, on Phaidon.com

Paolo Roversi: Along the way will run September 12 to October 25, 2025, at Pace Gallery New York

Photo credit: Sela Shiloni

COMEDIAN CALEB HEARON DEBUTS STANDUP SPECIAL WITH HBO WHAT TO LAUGH ALONG TO

This fall, Caleb Hearon makes his stand-up debut with his first HBO comedy special, a nervy, autobiographical hour that borders on a lucratively amusing dare. Best known as the host of So True with Caleb Hearon, the breakout podcast that has hovered atop the charts since its February launch and recently garnered a 2025 iHeartPodcast nomination, Hearon has become a kind of accidental star. “I just wanted somewhere to put the material,” he says, referring to the jokes, some nearly a decade old, that now find a home onstage.

Fresh off a sold-out 20-city So True LIVE tour, Hearon brings that momentum to his yet-tobe-named show, a frank, funny reckoning with the forces that shaped him. A mix of long-simmering material and brand-new bits touch on his childhood, the loss of his father, a passing fascination with right-wing media, and a solo trip through Europe, all filtered through a sardonic sensitivity.

Hearon cites influences with a kind of Midwestern bluntness—“a lot of women, and especially fat women”— naming Roseanne, Mo’Nique, and Bernie Mac as north stars. Their confidence shaped his own brand of emotionally edged, unapologetic comedy, and, like them, he’s drawn to the charge of not asking permission. “The most powerful thing in the room is standing up and saying, ‘I do not care what you think’,” he proclaims. “Here’s some jokes.”

Photo credit: ELLE, September 1965. © Yves Saint Laurent © Jeanne Lanvin-Castillo © Peter Knapp

ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU REVISITS AMORES PERROS WITH AN EXPERIENTIAL INSTALLATION AT FONDAZIONE PRADA

Hearon’s special will premiere on HBO Max in the fall.

Photo credit: Paolo Roversi courtesy Pace Gallery

WHAT TO EXPERIENCE

A quarter century after the debut feature Amores Perros (2000) first tore through the global festival circuit, Alejandro G. Iñárritu returns to the chaos that made it. Premiering this fall at Fondazione Prada in Milan, Iñárritu’s “Sueño Perro” is a film installation that resists nostalgia, turning toward what was left unsaid, unseen, or unsalvageable in the original film. Projected inside a dark, analog labyrinth, the installation is composed of a mosaic of 35mm fragments, unearthed from the archives of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and reassembled into something jagged and new.

Footage flickers across walls in uneven loops, as celluloid scratches and reel slates interrupt the flow, but beneath its sensuous texture, “Sueño Perro” is anchored in something far more volatile.

The work paints a portrait of Mexico City at the edge of collapse. “Stripped of all narrative, this installation is not a tribute, but a resurrection,” says Iñárritu, “an invitation to feel what never was. Like meeting an old friend we have never seen before.” The images, violent, intimate, and unresolved, speak to the fragility of institutions, the spectacle of inequality, and the precariousness of everyday life, displaying the lived realities that shaped Amores Perros as they continue to reverberate today.

Sueño Perro will premiere at Fondazione Prada in Milan from September 18, 2025 to February 26, 2026

Photo credit: Still from Amores Perros (2000) by Alejandro G. Iñárritu courtesy Rodrigo Prieto. © Alta Vista Films.

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FROM EYE-POPPING HORROR TO SIDE-BUSTING COMEDY, THESE SIX ACTORS ARE POISED TO MAKE THEIR NAMES THIS YEAR ON THE BIG— —AND SMALL— —SCREEN 20

VMEN

D’PHARAOH WOON A TAI WANTS TO DO EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN For D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, film was an escape.

Now it’s a career. The 23-year-old—best known for his critically-acclaimed role as Bear Smallhill in Reservation Dogs and set to appear in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing in the fall—admits that “just being a little troublemaker led me to acting.”

Growing up in Toronto, Woon-A-Tai was consuming film and history books in equal parts in pursuit of becoming a history teacher: “What I love about movies is being lost in them.

That’s when it makes me feel like I’m just disappearing, getting away from a lot of the craziness that was in my life. And that’s kind of what history felt like, too.” At 19, he was cast in Reservation Dogs, a show that altered much more than just Woon-A-Tai’s personal world.

“Reservation Dogs changed everything for me.

Both how I approached roles and auditions in general, but also how I approached Native content,” he explains. The show—the first American TV series to feature exclusively

Shearling aviator rave jacket and cotton skater jeans COACH

Indigenous writers and directors—was a watershed moment for the industry more generally. “Basically, after that show, I realized that we could do this. We could be the directors, we could be the writers. We’ve proven to, not just ourselves, but to the Hollywood industry.”

Earlier this year, Warfare granted a unique opportunity to embody a strikingly different role than his Rez Dogs’ charmingly fake-toughguy, which earned him an Emmy nomination in its final season. “That’s what my goal is in this industry—I want to do everything different.

I don’t want to be typecast for a certain type of role. I just want to do everything in between.”

The relative serendipity that saw Woon-A-Tai fall into acting has evolved into a razor-sharp clarity around the purpose of his career. If Reservation Dogs carved out a room for Native representation, Woon-A-Tai wants to blow the door off its hinges. “Now we are getting to tell our own stories, and we made that happen for ourselves. I’m just excited that

it’s going to be normalized, for the fact that you’re going to have filmmakers who are just labeled as filmmakers, and not Native filmmakers, not Native actors, and not Native writers,” he says. “That’s what gives me goosebumps, and that’s what keeps me up.

When I started off Reservation Dogs, the first thing I would hear a lot was, ‘What a moment it is for Native storytelling.’ And honestly, I disliked that phrase so much, because it implied that what’s happening right now is just a moment.

It’s just brief. Next week is going to be something else that’s important. And I don’t think that it’s a moment for us. We finally shoved our foot in the door before it got closed, and we barged in, and we’re staying.”

CHARLIE KOLBRENER HEAD TO VMAN.COM TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW

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VMEN

TYRIQ WITHERS IS JUGGLING HORROR AND ROMANCE, AND FINDING HIMSELF ALONG THE WAY For someone making a name in scary movies, Tyriq Withers doesn’t sound afraid of much. At least, not anymore. “Growing up, I was always afraid of horror movies,” he laughs, recalling how Jeepers Creepers left him shampooing with one eye open. “Now that I get to make them, I absolutely love it.” This summer, Withers stars in two upcoming slashers—I Know What You Did Last Summer and Him—both of which trade in suspense, but also offer something deeper: “We’re all just tapping into our little kid imagination,” he says. “You really need to unlock that part of your brain to work in this genre.”

Fear, as it turns out, is fertile ground.

Withers, whose background includes football and YouTube sketch comedy, is now navigating the sharp tonal turns of a career in ascension. In Him, a campy horror flick produced by Jordan Peele, he plays a gifted but haunted quarterback alongside comedian Marlon Wayans, a role that required weeks of intensive emotional and physical training, six days a week, twice a day. That hunger plays against a softer, riskier register in Reminders of Him (releasing next year, and not to be confused with Him), a romantic drama that, for Withers, proved more unsettling than any slasher. “I felt at my most vulnerable,” he says.

“There’s nothing to hide behind but the performance.” Ironically, he adds, “It was scarier to make than the horror films.”

He’s thoughtful about what these roles have unlocked, emotionally, psychologically, and even spiritually. “I always say that my whole life has been an identity crisis,” Withers reflects, not with self-pity but with the clarity of someone who has started to enjoy the search.

“I think each character and story that I’m able to be a part of helps me discover a little bit more about who Tyriq really is.”

PENNY SPILIOTOPOULOS HEAD TO VMAN.COM TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW 22

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Pen (in pocket) MONTBLANC Santos de Cartier bracelet CARTIER Denim jacket, shirt, jeans GUESS

VMEN

OWEN PAINTER PROMISES MORE HORROR THAN EVER IN THE NEW SEASON OF WEDNESDAY

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Nappa Caban and smooth calf bay knee boot LOEWE

Owen Painter is the kind of actor who apologizes for things he absolutely doesn’t need to—background noise, his thoughtful answers, or the fact that his upcoming role in Wednesday Season 2 is so top secret he can barely say anything about it. What he can say?

“It’s a creature part. There’s a lot of prosthetics involved,” he teases. “I think it took 10 hours to get into makeup before we started shooting.”

Classic old Hollywood horror—the time when actors like Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) and Lon Chaney (The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame) rose to fame through eerie performances in silent and early sound classics—are exactly the films Painter watched to get inspired. It makes sense, given Jenna Ortega’s promise that season 2 is ditching teen love triangles in favor of horror.

Before leaving to Dublin for filming, Painter was driving trucks for commercial shoots and delivering Uber Eats to make ends meet.

Somewhere between doing self-tapes from his parents’ house and rogue road trips, Painter got an email that would change everything: a selftape audition prompt with no dialogue. You’ve been asleep for a thousand years, you can’t speak, and there’s a glass of water across the room that can restore your voice—just a few obstacles in the way. “I spent a couple of hours flopping around on the ground, doing Charlie Chaplin jokes and having as much fun as I possibly could for my own sake,” he laughs.

“It was weeks until I heard anything back. I kept thinking about it because it reignited a playfulness and a joy that is easy to lose.”

That tape landed him a three-minute Zoom callback with Wednesday producers, including Tim Burton and Jenna Ortega. He was convinced it went horribly. It did not. “I was in this cafe, actually, when I got the call. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was in the rain, making a scene, yelling. All these people were looking at me through the glass. Then I got in my car and drove in circles around LA for hours and didn’t tell a soul.” What’s next for the creature of Netflix’s most haunted campus?

“I don’t know yet,” he says with a grin. “Probably going home to Connecticut for a while. Taking it easy and spending some time with my family.”

Whatever comes next, one thing’s clear: this is only the beginning for Painter.

CHRISTIAN ROSA HEAD TO VMAN.COM TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW

VMEN

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RISH SHAH IS STEALING HEARTS AND SCENES AS THE SEASONS COME A new British invasion has begun. Our music playlists are going full Brit rock for the recently reunited Oasis; it was Brat green all summer with Charli XCX’s explosive era; TikTok feeds are fueled by the laughs of “Chicken Shop Date”; streaming screens are debuting the newest leading men from across the pond. Enter Rish Shah: one of the many English actors that has been popping up in back-to-back hit releases— from his breakout role in Marvel Studios miniseries Ms. Marvel to the Netflix black comedy Do Revenge and the Prime Video hit Overcompensating (also starring Owen Thiele, across this page).

The world first got to know Shah through his role as Kamran in 2022’s Ms. Marvel, a part that opened the door for more opportunities and more representation than he could imagine.

“It was one of the most meaningful projects I could have done. It’s something I carry with great pride,” he explains. “It meant so much to 24

people who look like me. I think it started to solidify the space I’ve begun my career in.” Cut to present day, where the British Indian actor joined the lively cast of the ever-viral Overcompensating series. “I just remember seeing the script and immediately knowing that I was obsessed with the cadence of the show.

It was so different from anything I’ve done.” Led by comedian and TikTok sensation Benito Skinner, the show’s focus on finding oneself during those painfully awkward college years (the ones Shah likely knows all about) brought about a wave of inspiring determination.

“I instantly clicked with Benny from our first call. I was [already] telling friends that I was going to be doing the show before it was all really [confirmed], which is crazy. But it felt so right to me. And that’s rare.”

With fans clamoring for season two of the show, anyone itching to get more glimpses of Shah on their screen won’t have to wait too

long, thankfully. Later this fall, the actor is set to star in a new film by photographer-turnedfilmmaker Aidan Zamiri. Entitled The Moment, the mockumentary film follows a pop star right before she hits the stage of her debut headlining tour—starring Mrs. XCX, Alexander Skarsgård, and Isaac Cole Powell—and has remained hush-hush since its announcement.

Shah’s excitement is enough to keep us on our toes. “I was brought on by Aiden and Charli,” he explains. “Aiden is so talented. He’s just got the most open, friendly approach, yet he’s still so calculated. He brings out the best in people. We just wrapped up, not too long ago, around Coachella. It’s something that I wanted to show up and do justice as they put their faith in me.

It’s going to be super exciting.”

KEV PONCE HEAD TO VMAN.COM TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW

Grooming Peter Gray (Home Agency) using Oway USA Location WSA Studios Photo Assistants Isaac Schell, Anthony Lorelli Fashion Assistants Abel Martirosyan, Erika Bennett, Adlet Bermukhamedov

Rish wears pinstripes fitted peak lapel jacket, poplin shirt, Jacquard detail tie, twisted couture seam pants GIVENCHY by Sarah Burton

VMEN

OWEN THIELE IS BUZZY, BUSY, AND WIDE AWAKE If you ask Owen Thiele where he’s at right now, he’ll probably grin and say, “I feel really lucky to be a part of this new period—I never thought it could happen, but here I am.” Fresh off a flight to Paris (literally—he landed thirty minutes before strolling through the city with his luggage, on the hunt for white gloves for his boyfriend, stylist Jared Ellner), Thiele is riding a very real wave of momentum.

The actor-writer, who you might recognize from Prime Video’s Overcompensating or the HBO Max series Adults, is currently at work on a comedy with Ilana Glazer and Susie Essman, inspired by none other than Broad City. “How can I recreate Broad City? That was the question,” he says. “I wrote the pilot with Susie as my mom, and Ilana and I just sold it.” The project marks a full-circle moment for Thiele, who cut his teeth as many students do, making “pilots at NYU based on ‘90s and 2000s sitcoms”—a rite of passage for a wide slew of today’s comedic stars.

Beyond the screen, you might find the actor at 5:03 a.m., 10:37 p.m., or 11:58 p.m. (as the podcast note’s real timestamps showcase) on a passion project that happens at an hour when most people are fast asleep. Thiele, a publicly (or “admirably” per his podcast’s bio) bad sleeper, has channeled his late-night restlessness into In Your Dreams with Owen Thiele, a podcast recorded in the wee hours of the night or morning, equal parts confessional, comedic monologue, and pop-culture therapy session, perfect fodder for story ideas, new inspiration, and the late-night revelations that can nurture long-term projects.

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The show purports to chronicle his obsessive quest for notoriety satirically, but feels more warmly authentic to his bubbly, bright character.

Julianne Hough, co-star Jack Innanen, and a slew of peers dip in and out of episodes to laugh, reminisce, and dish with Thiele using the same animated, biting humor that defines his onscreen work.

“We talk about everything and nothing,” he explains of the podcast’s freewheeling format.

No topic is off-limits, after all.

Thiele’s rising star (across the airwaves and streaming screens) certainly isn’t a solo turn.

“I’m so excited for my friends right now,” he says, mentioning Benito Skinner and apologizing (again) to Molly Gordon for missing dinner due to a series of engagements and a locked-in schedule. He talks fast, often overflowing with affection or joy. A prime example is the clever boundary his boyfriend sets between work and play: “My boyfriend won’t share the look with me because he knows I’ll just share it,” he jokes, referencing the latest outfit for Ellner’s star client, “but it’s only because I’m so excited!”

In person, Thiele is exactly who you hope he’d be: funny, articulate, and radiating warmth.

Whether he’s talking about pilots, Paris, or friendship, the throughline is clear: he’s all in, and he’s just getting started.

SAM FALB

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FROM RUNWAYS TO BILLBOARDS, FASHION’S NEXT IT-BOY HAS ARRIVED

PHOTOGRAPHY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS FASHION MARTI SERRA TEXT KEV PONCE

ROMEO BECKHAM

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n our bubbly globe of pop culture and high fashion, natural selection finds its way through the velvet-roped door to anoint a select few with the gift of talent, mixed with the will to survive in a fickle business and a sprinkle of luck. It only makes sense that once the children of those gifted individuals peek their head out for a glimpse at what this world has to offer, following in the footsteps of their creators isn’t out of the realm of possibility. In fact, it might be expected that the continuation of greatness finds form in the shape of the genetically blessed offspring. When it comes to Romeo Beckham, the soon-to-be 23-yearold has been tiptoeing the line between sports star (much like his father, soccer legend David Beckham) and fashion icon (like his mother, girl group pop sensation turned revered fashion designer Victoria Beckham) for years.

Between kicking around a ball with his father and three siblings (Brooklyn, Cruz, and Harper) during his adolescence, to joining Arsenal’s Academy at age 12, then furthering his soccer club career as part of Inter Miami II in more recent years, Romeo was simultaneously getting glimpses of the frenzied fashion world. Donning colorful cleats to cap-toe oxfords, the second-oldest Beckham boy was well-styled and well-adjusted to the bright lights of studio spaces, fronting Burberry campaigns in his spare time since 2013. Although it wasn’t until 2021, on his first solo cover for L’Uomo Vogue, that Romeo embraced a side that beckoned his name. From Saint Laurent campaigns to Balenciaga catwalks, the budding model has been on a steady path to grow his modeling book with each new gig.

One look at his Instagram—aka the new modeling book, sans laminated pages of digitals and measurements—will tell you all you need to know about Beckham at face value. He’s got the chiseled meets boy next door look, the overly stamped passport from his globe-trotting adventures, and an enviable street style look. With his tenacity to explore his place in male modeldom as a brighteyed young adult, choosing what to do with both his privilege and possibilities at hand will only further propel him to the next level of his game.

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WHEN HE’S NOT TRAINING DRAGONS OR ESCAPING FROM THE CRIMINALLY DERANGED ON THE BIG SCREEN, MASON THAMES IS JUST A SALT OF THE EARTH TEXAN BOY

PHOTOGRAPHY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS FASHION MARTÍ SERRA TEXT KEV PONCE

MASON THAMES

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"I’ve always had a vivid imagination. I can come up with these worlds, and I really want to give myself an outlet with storytelling."

Just 18 years old, Mason Thames is already proving he’s more than a breakout star—he’s becoming one of the most exciting young actors of his generation. After his chilling turn as Finney Blake in 2021’s The Black Phone, as well as starring as Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon, Thames is returning to the big screen for Black Phone 2 on October 17th, a sequel that promises even more tension, terror, and emotional depth. But this time around, Thames isn’t just the wide-eyed newcomer navigating his first major role—he’s a confident, seasoned performer. “Mason is a naturally gifted actor—he was born to do this,” says director Scott Derrickson. “But the difference between working with him at [18] instead of 12 is how little direction he requires. He instinctively understands the scenes as written and brings incredibly interesting acting choices to them. In Black Phone 2, I mostly just stayed out of his way.”

Thames spoke with VMAN about stepping back into Finney’s world, a background in ballet, and balancing the big screen with the small slices of life he enjoys back home in Dallas, Texas.

VMAN: So this is the sequel to the first Black Phone film. How have you changed as an actor, in tandem with your character?

MASON THAMES: I mean, it’s been such a fun journey starting out with Black Phone and working with Ethan [Hawke], and seeing how he works, and learning from that and so many other people on the set. That’s what I love about acting. I feel like I’ll continue to learn for the rest of my life, just working on new jobs and playing different characters. The journey that Finney goes on since the first one, he starts off kind of shy, kind of awkward, kind of to himself and all the trauma he went through. Then we flash forward four years, and he’s almost a completely different character.

He has so much rage and anger and PTSD, coming off of what happened to him, and how he deals with that is a lot of fun. But yeah, Finney as a character, I think a lot of people are going to be very surprised and find it cool, the journey he’s taken. And I feel like, in very different ways— because, I mean, Finney and I are very different people—I’ve just matured a lot from that time, and I’ve learned a lot.

VM: Let’s go back to the start. How did you get into acting?

MT: So my sister—she’s a ballerina, and she was so fantastic. She’s done it for many, many years, and she used to go to class. I was always the little kid in the backseat with the iPad, and I remember one of the teachers came out. He probably just felt bad for me, but he was like, “Hey, do you want to take some classes?” Maybe I was seven or so, and I was like, “Yeah, sure, let’s do it.” So I took some classes, and I ended up

performing and touring around Texas, doing The Nutcracker as Fritz, which was a lot of fun. And I think that kind of lit the spark for performing.

You know, the ballet aspect was always kind of my sister’s thing, but I really liked performing. So I got into that, and I told my mom, “I don’t really like ballet, but I still want to perform.”

Ballet has given me a lot of things, especially for this industry—like physicality and taking direction—I feel like it’s helped a lot. And not taking things personally, because ballet teachers can be very scary sometimes.

So it doesn’t matter what kind of environment I’m in; it’s a fun challenge.

Especially for Black Phone, which is so scary and so serious. For me, that challenge is fun.

VM: I can see how ballet would be good training for acting because you have to make something that is so hard look easy and natural.

MT: Right. Like in How to Train Your Dragon, I fall a lot. I had to learn how to fall correctly and not hurt myself. And I learned from professionals, but also once I learned that, I have to unlearn it, and make it look like a kid just falling.

VM: You’re still so young, and it’s still so early on in your career, despite all the success already. But do you ever think about getting into writing or directing?

MT: Yeah, 100%. I’ve always wanted to become a director. Even years ago, I never thought I was going to be able to be in this industry or be an actor, but I always used to watch behind-the-scenes stuff and watch how the directors work, you know, watch their wheels turn. It’s insane—they have this imagination and this vision for the world they’ve created. I’ve always had a vivid imagination. I can come up with these worlds, and I really want to give myself an outlet with storytelling, which would be really cool.

VM: Who are some of your favorite TV or film characters of all time? Tony Soprano, Homer Simpson…

MT: Honestly, Homer Simpson. [Laughs] But really, I’m gonna go with Spider-Man. I grew up with Spider-Man. He was everything to me, and he taught me so much. And Batman, as well.

Superman, all the superheroes that gave me hope as a kid. And playing Hiccup (in How To Train Your Dragon), out of all the people, definitely put that hope in me. And I hope that kids can go to the theater with their parents and see a hero like that, and have them be as inspired as I was.

VM: Lastly, what are you doing when not working?

MT: I’m hibernating in my bed with my dog. That is what I’m doing.

Maybe some fishing with my dad, swimming, and making bonfires. But that’s about it.

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EVERYONE’S FAVORITE BOY NEXT DOOR SITS DOWN WITH FRIEND AND FELLOW ACTOR KIT CONNOR TO CHAT PRECOCIOUS FAME, HOUSE OF GUINNESS, AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

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LOUIS PARTRIDGE

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“He loves me. He loves me not.” A 10-year-old Louis Partridge delivering these lines as a gender-swapped Maid Marian first catalyzed a nascent fascination with performance, “throwing petals at the audience, getting some laughs, and just loving it.” Even before taking to the stage for Robin Hood, he recalls playing dress up for friends and family, and the feeling it incited: “I used to try on these ridiculous white leather boots that a friend’s mum had. I used to love trying them on for the laughs that it would get—purely that.”

In the decade since, the now 22-year-old actor has become well-known for Enola Holmes, the miniseries Disclaimer, his portrayal of Sid Vicious in Pistol, and Netflix’s soon-to-be-released House of Guinness. For an emerging actor, the proliferation of social media has turned fame into more of a behemoth than ever before, as each moment can draw millions more eyes than the previous. Partridge became familiar with this dynamic at the ripe old age of 17, when his pivotal role as Tewkesbury in Enola Holmes effectively plugged his name into the algorithms of millions of fans globally. Perhaps there would be no one better to speak to about this dynamic than someone who has experienced it themself. Thus, VMAN invited Kit Connor—the heartthrob of Heartstopper and one of the stars of Alex Garland’s Civil War—to chat with Partridge for a candid conversation ahead of the reveal of Partridge’s next starring role.

KIT CONNOR: It’s nice to have a chat. Enola was obviously your massive breakout.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say overnight fame and exposure, and just kind of craziness. I was wondering how you—especially with some hindsight now, because it’s been a few years—how it sits with you now?

LOUIS PARTRIDGE: That’s a good question, and I’m sure we both have our own stories, because we are in a similar position in that it was quite fast. I feel like in any other profession, you work 10, 15, 20, however many years for a shot at that feeling of congratulation and renown. And so there was I, age 16, thinking, ‘Wow, I’ve completed it, essentially.’ Which is completely not the way to think about it, and that’s not the job at all. But it really gives you this sort of false bravado, and I’m glad that I have nice parents and a good group of people around me that didn’t send me off in a weird direction, and that the work has always been the most important thing. You need to keep that stuff at arm’s length, because it can eat you up. It’s a good thing to have, if you can manage it. Like a pit bull or something. Did you have a similar experience, Kit? KC: I did. Heartstopper, the first season, came out in my last year of school. It was strange, the kind of place that I had known for a while suddenly felt a bit different and responded to me a little bit differently. It is a strange sensation. I do think I have a similar understanding of it to you. Like you get there and you think, ‘Whoa.

This is what feels like a great success.’ I think you go into your next job, and the minute you spend another day on a set, you sort of go, ‘Oh, right, nothing’s changed.’

LP: Exactly. ‘I don’t know a thing.’ I think for a while, it definitely gave me an overly acute awareness of people and my perception. And so I just found myself thinking a lot about what other people thought about me, because it was just apparent that I had 5 million people all of a sudden looking at what I was doing. And so I guess you kind of develop a bit of a shell or an armor that feels comfortable. But I don’t think that’s helpful for one’s self-expression and for one’s growth and discovery of identity. So I’ve tried to sort of filter out the noise and realize that it actually has no importance.

KC: I’ve seen the first two episodes of [House of] Guinness. Mate, honestly, I think it’s my favorite performance of yours.

LP: What did you make of the Irish accent?

KC: I thought it was great. And I’m normally a bit of a stickler for accents in general.

I was waiting for you to slip up. Brilliant. It was brilliant. It really felt like a wealthy man from Dublin.

LP: It’s an interesting story. My character goes through some real turmoil. He changes, let’s just say. Sometimes I do [the accent] now when I’m ordering a Guinness just to sound a bit more like I know what I’m talking about.

KC: I mean, you and I have shared a couple of Guinnesses in our time. That was the only disappointment in the first two episodes was that I didn’t get to see you drink a Guinness.

LP: That’s episode three, I think. [Laughs] KC: How are you feeling about the future and the next couple of years? Do you have a sort of idea in your head about what you want that to look like, or are you just sort of going where the wind blows?

LP: I’ve always thought, ever since the second job after Enola—which was Pistol: Just stretch yourself. And if somebody believes you can do a part, do it. Even if you don’t think you can. I’m hoping that there are more accents and more weird characters that I get to play and have fun with.When I get back from Malta, we’ll have a catch-up? A proper one.

KC: We will. I’ll buy you a Guinness.

LP: Can’t wait.

HEAD TO VMAN.COM TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW

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“Just stretch yourself. If somebody believes you can do a part, do it.”

Hair Stylist Brady Lea (A-frame Agency) using Sam McKnight Makeup Artist Gina Kane (Caren Agency) using Shiseido Production Rosco Production Digital Technician Sacha Philips Location Loft Studios Photo Assistants Simone Triacca, Lucy Rooney Fashion Assistant Emilia Zentner Production Assistant Ralph Kitt Green

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INTERVIEW ZACK FOX PHOTOGRAPHY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS FASHION MARTI SERRA TEXT CHARLIE KOLBRENER

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AHEAD OF THE LURKER’S RELEASE, MADEKWE CHATS WITH CO-STAR ZACK FOX ABOUT CREATING THE WORLD OF A FICTIONAL POP STAR

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ARCHIE MADEKWE

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"I’m just constantly looking to take on projects that I don’t see people that look like myself in."

When the first meager drop of fame trickles in, how far will you go to make sure the well never dries up? That’s the heartbeat pumping through the core of Lurker.

Starring Archie Madekwe, best-known for Gran Turismo, Saltburn, and Midsommar, the British actor’s new film represents a pivotal evolution for his career, taking on a new role as producer. A truly beautiful film, the result of a team operating in perfect concert, Lurker is tight, exhilarating, and, at times, hysterical. Owed largely to the captivating performances of its leading duo—Madekwe as a burgeoning popstar and Théodore Pellerin as the tenacious barnacle suctioned to his orbit— Alex Russell’s directorial debut is nothing short of tremendous.

Steeped in the world of the mononymous fictional singer Oliver, Madekwe and Russell relied on one of the movie’s other featured actors (and beloved musician) Zack Fox to help cultivate the milieu of an LA artist on the rise. The upcoming project will coincide with an EP of tracks plucked from within the diegesis of the film itself, imploring the two co-stars to dive into the development of the film’s strikingly catchy soundtrack—performed by Madekwe himself and produced by Kenny Beats. In a conversation littered with far too much laughter to possibly transcribe, a myriad of questions transparently steered precisely towards a specific punchline, and some beautiful moments of shared admiration between two very different but magnetic stars, Madekwe sits down with Fox to talk about the niche he’s carving in the industry.

ZACK FOX: Do you feel like you have—between Saltburn, Midsommar, Lurker— carved out a space in that sort of subject matter?

ARCHIE MADEKWE: I guess that when accepting those jobs, I’m not really thinking about correlation and subject matter. I’m just really looking to work with great filmmakers, and that’s the first thing on the agenda. I’m not looking at it through the lens of genre, necessarily. I’m trying to carve out a career where—there’s not really a template for people of color to be in lots of auteur-driven films. To be a person of color and to be a leading man, you have to look like Michael B. Jordan or Daniel Kaluuya. It’s a very different template. I don’t look like Michael B. Jordan.

I’m six foot five and gangly. There are incredible actors working, but there aren’t loads of carved spaces in strange auteur independent cinema. And I’m just constantly looking to take on projects that I don’t see people that look like myself in, whether that is something as small and interesting as Midsommar, or something as big as Gran Turismo.

ZF: There were so many moments on Lurker where I had that little sliver of feeling like you helped people just have a good time. Did you have a favorite moment?

AM: The things that I really remember are at the very beginning of the process, before we started shooting. I went to Paris with Alex to do this chemistry test with Théodore. And we just did basically all of our most intimate scenes in Theo’s apartment in Paris. We hung out and we got breakfast together, and we did some scenes, and then we played Fortnite, and then we went for lunch, and then we ordered a bottle of wine, and we got a bit tipsy, then we did some more scenes, and we just did all these things together and we really were just finding the

dynamic so quickly. I remember sitting in this restaurant with them in the evening.

And Alex, at the end of us doing these scenes, he kind of screamed, ‘Let’s make a movie!’ And I thought to myself, ‘I guess that’s him telling me I got the part.’ And we were sitting in this restaurant, and he looked at me and Theo and he said, ‘I want to say something. There are so many things that I’m not gonna know. I’m gonna have to ask you so many questions, and I’m gonna have to lean on you guys so much, but I’ve never been more ready to do something ever in my life.’ That was the moment where I thought, ‘I really want to do this film, and I really want to make this man’s vision come to life.’ I remember telling Alex that at Sundance. I was like, ‘Do you remember when you said this to me?’ And he started to cry. It was so lovely. He knew so much more than he knew that he did.

He was so ready 1000 times over to make this film. I just feel so immensely proud of what we were able to do and do for him, and what he did. I’ll remember that forever. It’s ingrained into my mind.

ZF: You did the karaoke scene in Saltburn. You played a pop star in Lurker. Do you see music in your future? Because, I mean, all the stuff in Lurker slaps.

AM: Well thank you for saying that. There’s another universe where you say, ‘God, it would have been so fun to be a musician.’ And I felt like Lurker, I got to live out that fantasy for a second. And it’s definitely addictive. I loved doing it.

But also, I went into that with the promise that I wasn’t going to be making any music for the film. [Laughs] As we were getting closer and closer to shooting, I just kept saying to Alex, ‘Have you thought about the music? I want to start practicing if I’m going to be singing in this film.’ He’d say ‘No, no, there’s no singing in this film. This is all behind the scenes.’

Cut to, I make a full EP, and I’m doing live shows for hundreds of people. And it was just a complete flip reversal. It was so terrifying, but that was so exciting.

When we did the concert for Oliver, for the film, they weren’t extras. This was under the guise of a Zach Fox show. Then I jumped on stage and was like, ‘Hey, we’re just gonna film something. I hope everyone’s cool with that.’ And so everyone’s watching me, like, ‘Who’s this?’ And then sometimes were like, ‘Oh my god, is that the guy from Saltburn?’ It was so intoxicating to have people screaming and enjoying the music. It really helped me find that character in such an exciting way.

But I don’t know—in terms of the future—if I’m ever going to do music. It’s not in the 10 year plan.

ZF: I can’t wait for you to get more flowers for being the incredible talent that you are, and as a producer. Damn, I don’t know what happens after though.

AM: We never see each other ever again.

ZF: Yeah, that is what happens. We kiss each other on the lips, and then we just go our separate ways.

[Both laugh] AM: And then we go our separate ways. That’s showbiz baby.

HEAD TO VMAN.COM TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW

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THE SPANISH MODEL-TURNEDACTOR ISCAPTIVATING EVERY KIND OF LENS

INTERVIEW VALENTINA ZENERE PHOTOGRAPHY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS FASHION MARTI SERRA TEXT CHARLIE KOLBRENER

FERNA ANDO LINDEZ

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etween the high cheekbones and perfectly wavy curls framing his puppy dog eyes, it would seem Fernando Lindez was always destined for the screen. Born in Madrid, Spain, but proud of his family from the southern city of Algeciras (“I really feel that a part of me is from there”), the Spanish modelturned-actor grew up averse to being photographed—a now ironic characteristic for someone known for his presence in front of the camera. Currently gracing the cover of VMAN, and with a roster of two movies releasing in the fall (Tradita and Dímelo Bajito), it’s hard to believe that modeling wasn’t “in the plan.” But in his soft-spoken humility, the little Lindez who shied away from the camera is still present. “I never thought I could do it,” he tells VMAN, explaining how the prospect of seeing himself on screen seemed more like a fantasy than a possible future.

“Since I was very young, [my father] was always showing me really good movies and good directors. So [acting] was a dream, but a very far-off dream.”

Perhaps best known for his role in the final seasons of the hit Spanish drama Elite, Lindez sat down with costar Valentina Zenere to speak about his career trajectory and their shared experience on the beloved drama—plus his excitement for his first international project and shooting his American film debut.

It’s safe to say Lindez is done shying away from the camera.

VALENTINA ZENERE: Tell me a bit about how you first got into modeling. How was it your first time?

FERNANDO LINDEZ: So one of my best friends, he posted a photo with me on his Instagram, because at that time I didn’t have social media. And an agent from my mother agency saw that photo, and he asked my friend for my number, and a few days later, they called me. And that’s how I met them, but it was not in my plans.

VZ: Love it. Because you’re really pretty!

[Both laugh] VZ: And what about acting?

FL: Acting, it was almost at the same time. My first project as an actor, I did it that year. 2017. I remember when I was even younger, I was more passionate about cinema, about movies, about the actors, but I never thought I could be a model. I used to hate being in pictures. I was so shy. I am still, but not the same.

VZ: So we met acting in Elite. And what was your favorite thing about Elite—besides me?

FL: I was gonna say you.

VZ: I paid him a lot of money [to say that].

[Both laugh] FL: Of course, the people I met in Elite. It was the best thing. It was so much fun.

And also in a professional way, the things that I’ve learned as an actor. But of course, my friends, like you.

VZ: We love them. It was a great journey. And your role was really nice, you had a lot [to go through]!

FL: Yeah, especially in the last season. It was wild.

VZ: You were the dead one. Blood all over your body for how long? Months. Do you remember?

FL: Almost a month, yeah. Every day I came to set, and they were covering me in blood.

VZ: Naked and in blood.

FL: Naked and in blood, my god.

[Both laugh] VZ: That’s the best combination for Elite. And can you share your next projects that are coming out?

FL: So I have two movies that are coming out at the end of the year. One of them was my first international project, we filmed it in Rome. It’s an Italian movie with great actors like Giancarlo Giannini, William Levy. It was a different type of character than I’ve played before. Estuvo guay [it was cool]. And then I’ve got another project that is gonna be for Prime Video that we filmed last year in La Coruña, it’s coming out pretty soon. And also this summer I’m filming my first American movie.

VZ: American movie, congratulations!

FL: Thank you. It’s gonna be my first American production, the first time I’m acting in English, so I’m pretty nervous about that. It’s not that bad, but I’ve got to improve my accent.

VZ: No, you’re going to have such a great time. I have to improve my accent as well. So if you have a big dream—and I suppose you do, as we all have one—what would it be?

FL: Having a big family.

VZ: Aww, te quiero.

FL: Dos niños. Dos niñas. [Two boys. Two girls].

VZ: ‘Corto y al pie [short and to the point],’ as we say in Argentina. So you’re excited about that in the future, and what else?

FL: Creating a family. That’s my personal [dream]. And as a professional: doing what I love, which is what I’m doing right now. Learning more and building a better version of myself.

VZ: Baby, I’m so happy for you. Cover, two movies, an American movie coming.

Abundancia.

FL: Gracias, corazón.

VZ: My first time as an interviewer. I love it.

FL: Amazing interview. Best interview of my life.

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“I was more passionate about cinema, about movies, about the actors, but I never thought I could be a model.””

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INTERVIEW BRADLEY COOPER PHOTOGRAPHY ALVARO BEAMUD CORTÉS FASHION MARTI SERRA TEXT CHARLIE KOLBRENER

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HOT OFF THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME, OUR NEW SUPERMAN SITS DOWN WITH BRADLEY COOPER TO TALK ABOUT THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

DAVID

CORENSWET

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hey say you should never meet your heroes. David Corenswet, the latest in a star-studded lineage to inherit the shield emblazoned across his chest, had never met Bradley Cooper until sitting down together for VMAN—despite playing son and father in his box-office hit (a cameo kept under lock-and-key). In a chat about the latter’s hero turn and upcoming film Mr. Irrelevant, littered with philosophical musings about the role of an actor and the folly of “making it,” Cooper laughs to Corenswet: “Sounds like you got it all figured out!” Corenswet, with the trademark grin that surely helped him nab the role of a lifetime, quickly retorts, “All to say that I know there is no figuring it out.”

For a first conversation, Corenswet and Cooper quickly uncover a bevy of parallels. From the biographic (both are from the Philly area; both lost their fathers during pivotal career moments), to the interpersonal (both love James Gunn), to the philosophical (both have a finely tuned creative ethos propelling their careers forward), meeting your heroes might not be so bad when you’re already Superman.

BRADLEY COOPER: Number one, I saw you on your first Ryan Murphy show. What a talented actor, man, wow. You just make everything so real.

DAVID CORENSWET: This is so cool. It’s gonna be really hard for this not to become me interviewing you. I mean, you must have had this experience in your career as well where you meet an actor who you’ve looked up to, and you sort of think of as impossibly, distantly excellent.

BC: I remember being at Chelsea Piers—this is like 2005—and this guy comes up to me. He’s like, ‘Hey man, I think I know you.’ And I look up, and it’s Phil Hoffman, and my whole body turns to ice. I’m like, ‘No, no. I know you.’ And he’s like, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this, maybe Wedding Crashers?’

[Both laugh] BC: I just want to start, how old were you when you decided to do this? What was the sort of igniting moment? Did you grow up in a family that was theatrical?

BC: How old were you when you decided to do this? Did you grow up in a family that was theatrical?

DC: Family of lawyers, but I would say artistic lawyers. My dad was an actor.

He died before [The Politician] came out, but he knew that Ryan [Murphy] had become my champion, and he had seen in me whatever my dad saw, which was that I had something to offer.

DC: Family of lawyers, but I would say artistic lawyers. My dad was an actor.

BC: So this was because of your dad?

DC: Yeah, that was my dad’s guidance.

BC: Is he still alive?

DC: No, he died in 2019. I had just finished The Politician, and then [Ryan Murphy] said, ‘We’re going to take you off the market for television. We’re going to develop a show around you,’ which meant that I could go and live with my dad for those 6 months in 2019 full time. He died before it came out, but he knew that Ryan had become my champion, and he had seen in me whatever my dad saw, which was that I had something to offer. So he got a lot out of that. Obviously it would have been great for him to see everything, and he would have loved it and appreciated it so much. But I think he could see that I was going to be able to build a career for myself, which was good.

BC: Wow, we have a lot of connections. You know, my father also died of lung cancer, and I moved back to my house and took care of him. That’s so crazy.

DC: How old?

BC: He was 71, and it was a similar thing. He had seen The Hangover. [My parents] saw it probably 200 times.

DC: This is such a segue, but I got into directing in school, and I was really frankly pissed off to see how good A Star is Born and Maestro are. It’s insulting that you could make such great films as your first films, and it’s going to be really hard for the rest of us actors who eventually transition to directing to measure up. But that said, were you thinking about your father and your experience with him when you made Maestro? When I watched it, it made me think of my father, and I found that everybody I talked to who had lost their father found it to be deeply moving.

BC: That last scene where he’s with [Felicia] is basically what it was like with me with my dad. So that was all based on my experience with my father. Oddly enough, A Star Is Born, that Jackson Maine character—I didn’t even realize it until after—but I was playing him in a lot of ways. He drank gin and tonics and Jackson does, and that was the most oddly cathartic journey for me, artistically, for mourning my father. And I didn’t even realize it, David, until after.

DC: Well, that’s understandable. The one movie I’ve gotten to do since Superman is this football movie called Mr. Irrelevant, which we just shot in the spring, about a true story of a New York Giant. He gets diagnosed with cancer after his first season, this rare aggressive cancer, and then the whole story is about him fighting to come back. As we got to that point in shooting, I was inevitably drawing on my experience taking care of my dad. And I did have this strange cathartic experience of remembering that time. Imagining it—to a certain extent— felt like it did close a loop, weirdly. I didn’t expect that at all.

BC: I think you’ll probably find that as you keep going, he’s going to come up a lot.

There’s something about creating, in the memory, that’s pretty powerful. I really believe that goes straight to the viewer.

There’s something authentic you can feel watching the movie. And is directing in your future? It sounds like it.

DC: I think so. It was easier when I felt like I could make a movie that nobody would care about, because I do feel like I need to play in the sand a little bit. I’ve made some shorts, and I have a, not false confidence, but a feeling of: I can do it.

I could get to the finish line.

BC: That’s awesome. That’s essential.

DC: I’ll make mistakes, but you never know until you get through. I wanna let you go, but can we pretend to be friends or something?

BC: I’m in. You still live around Philly, right? I’d love to get together, man. It’d be an honor.

DC: For me as well. This is such a fun way to get to start talking.

HEAD TO VMAN.COM TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW

David wears wool blend bouclé bicolor jacket, wool jersey shirt, Ottanio double pence wool trouser CANALI

“BRADLEY COOPER: Is directing in your future? ? It sounds like it.

DAVID CORENSWET: I do feel like I need to play in the sand a little bit [...]] I have a feeling of: I can do it.

I could get to the finish line””

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PHOTOGRAPHY RICHIE TALBOY FASHION ALEXANDER ROTH TEXT CHARLIE KOLBRENER

MODEL BEHAVIOR BEFORE ROLE MODEL SETS THE SOUND OF FALL ON HIS EUROPEAN TOUR, THE MUSICIANTURNED-ACTOR STEPS OUT IN THE BEST LOOKS OF THE SEASON 76

(Left page) Cassandre cotton shirt SAINT LAURENT by Anthony Vaccarello Vintage western hat THE SOCIETY ARCHIVE (This page) Wool top DIOR MEN

W

hen we shot Role Model this past summer, someone whispered into the producer’s ear to “play Yacht Rock.” It was clear that a confidant of Role Model (aka Tucker Pillsbury) mentioned it to his publicist who then wryly requested it. The 28-year-old singersongwriter, best known for his 2024 album Kansas Anymore and its chart-topping deluxe edition, was in the process of gearing up for his European fall tour—and preparing for his role in Lena Dunham’s Good Sex next year. We’d be remiss to interrupt a creative process, quickly acquiescing to the DJ request, blasting Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” through the thumping loud speakers. Naturally, we had to dive into the sounds of the season in a follow up conversation about everything from Yacht Rock to Kacey Musgraves, Bon Iver, and more.

Pillsbury’s early memories of music may be familiar to a lot of Gen-Z / Millennial cuspers.

Coming into sentience during a period punctuated by a notable evolution in pop music, a lot of members of this age demo found themselves infatuated with the more experimental tastes of their older siblings and friends. “When I was a kid, I would plug my iPod into my brother’s laptop and just download everything he was adding. And so my whole music library and everything that I grew up on was just stolen from his laptop.” This era was characterized by a genre of increasingly unorthodox folk music, which has now found its footing firmly within contemporary pop music: “It was very cool stuff, Bon Iver in the early days. Temper Trap. It was cool, weird, experimental folk.”

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“I’m in a weird obsession,” Pillsbury notes when asked about his current infatuation with Yacht Rock, the easy-listening (and perhaps controversially named) subgenre of rock that emerged in the mid 1970s. “My whole playlist is pretty much that right now. I love Christopher Cross, Steven Bishop. Those two have been heavily on repeat.” He opens his phone to rattle off a few more names, “Bread, America, Atlanta Rhythm Section.” Upon asking Pillsbury if he specifically requested the genre on set, he laughs: “I did not say anything, someone must have whispered something.”

When we turn to some of Pillsbury’s all-time favorite music—a daunting question for a lot of music lovers—a few albums immediately pop up. “I’m a big album person. Albums that I still listen to and that still hit in the same way, I feel like two come to my mind. One is Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour. I’ll forever love that album. It’s perfect to me,” he says of the critically-adored 2018 record. “And then there’s two War on Drugs albums, Lost in the Dream and A Deeper Understanding. Those three albums, I don’t think they’ll ever get old. So I guess they’re my favorite. I think that’s a good way to gauge it, if you can still listen to it three or four years in.”

Finally, we turn to Role Model’s music. For those who have perhaps never heard his brand of catchy, lovesick rock, but share some overlapping inspirations, he has some guidance on where to first dive in: “‘Some Protector,’ off the deluxe. That’s where I would send people for a first try.” Needless to say, the throngs of fans who have already secured their spot to see the singer in November don’t need the recommendation.

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