From celebrated names to rising forces, we meet the MODERN VISIONARIES shaping Hollywood’s next act
STYLING DENA GIANNIN
ACT 1, STARRING
DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH
DAMSON IDRIS
EDDIE REDMAYNE
ELIZABETH DEBICKI
ELLE FANNING
HARRIS DICKINSON
JAMES NORTON
KRISTEN STEWART
LOUIS PARTRIDGE
NABHAAN RIZWAN
SELMA BLAIR
SIGOURNEY WEAVER
SIMONE ASHLEY
ṢỌPẸ́ DÌRÍSÙ
STEPHEN GRAHAM
TEYANA TAYLOR
ACT 2, RELEASED ON 18 DECEMBER 2025
2026 is set to be a phenomenal year for cinema and TV. In our Modern Visionaries portfolio, we met 34 of the names currently moulding the face of Hollywood. Golden Globe nominee Teyana Taylor features alongside Kristen Stewart upon her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water. Elsewhere, Simone Ashley and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù sit down to contemplate their legacies and hopes for the new year.
KRISTEN STEWART
Kristen Stewart’s no stranger to the camera, but her daring directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, signals a bold and brilliant career shift.
When did you realize this was what you wanted to do, and that you weren’t meant to play it safe?
I realize this more every. Single. Day. Every time I break my teeth on a seemingly immovable object, I remind myself: Forge away from these systemic road blocks. Walk around them. Keep your teeth.
Finish the sentence: I want to be remembered as…
Nice.
What are you most excited about for 2026?
MORE. System breaking.
EDDIE WEARS WOOL COAT AND WOOL SHIRT, BOTH YUHAN AO. GROOMING PETRA SELLEGE
EDDIE REDMAYNE
Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne has starred in his fair share of cinematic triumphs. Next up, he’s taking on the hair-raising thriller Panic Carefully, featuring Julia Roberts and Elizabeth Olsen.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
It would be a less festive version of the Home Alone opening. Total chaos and a kick bollock scramble as we try to wrangle our kids onto the school bus in time without forgetting anything or shouting.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
If you need to get slapped for real on screen, get the other actor to do it once, hard, rather than quite hard 20 times. This was told to me (and enacted on me) on my first job.
When did you realize this was what you wanted to do, and that you weren’t meant to play it safe?
When I got to leave my maths class aged 11 and take the tube to the London Palladium to perform alongside Jonathan Pryce in Oliver on stage in the West End. I felt like I was winning at life.
What’s the role you haven’t played yet but know is somewhere in you?
Maybe a Thundercat? But I’m probably too old.
What’s your favorite risk you’ve ever taken on set or in life?
Sensationally risk averse.
DA’VINE WEARS HORSEHAIR DRESS, CHRISTIAN SIRIANO. GOLD NECKLACE, YELLOW, PINK AND WHITE-GOLD BRACELET, GOLD AND PAVÉ BRACELET, AND GOLD BRACELET, ALL BVLGARI
DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH
After the melancholic Christmas comedy The Holdovers shot her to acclaim and an Oscar win, Da’Vine Joy Randolph is set to star in the upcoming American thriller, The Gallerist.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
It would be like the opening scene of 9 to 5. Women on the move, trying their best, and making things happen.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Know thyself. And once you know who you are, invest in it. Investing in yourself is all encompassing. Mind, body, spirit, everything. When you are locked in on yourself and your purpose, you don’t have time to compare yourself or worry about what anyone else is doing.
When did you realize this was what you wanted to do, and that you weren’t meant to play it safe?
I never thought this was what I was supposed to do. My career in acting really spawned from my rejection in music. I felt behind embarking on a new path and as a result didn’t feel like I had the time to play it safe. I felt like I had to catch up. I already felt like I was at rock bottom and had nothing to lose, so rejection wasn’t really a fear for me anymore. A lot of people, particularly creatives, are afraid to fall. But I say, just fall. If people take away anything from my story I hope it is the beauty of what can happen when you leave yourself open to possibilities. I don’t feel like anything else really matters as deeply.
SIMONE WEARS SHEARLING JACKET AND SATIN-ORGANZA DRESS, BOTH ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
SIMONE ASHLEY
Sequels are set to reign over 2026 and Simone Ashley’s next project, The Devil Wears Prada 2, is the proof.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
The moment you jump in a cold plunge after a sauna.
What’s your earliest memory of wanting to be an actor?
I think I was always a bit of a dreamer — I remember being a kid writing in my princess fairy diaries about this sparkling life I wanted. I wanted something bigger, and I would listen to music constantly, watch movies, and get lost in my imagination. Obviously the older I get I realize there’s a reality to this kind of work, but I think keeping that sense of dreaming and taking risks is actually a discipline as you grow older.
Finish the sentence: I want to be remembered as…
Kind and thoughtful. I don’t feel like anything else really matters as deeply.
SIGOURNEY WEARS COTTON TOP, WOLFORD. DUCHESS-SATIN DRESS, WORN AS SKIRT, SIMONE ROCHA. RHODIUM-PLATED NECKLACE, ALEXIS BITTAR. HAIR SERGE NORMANT. MAKEUP BRIGITTE REISS-ANDERSEN
SIGOURNEY WEAVER
Alien and Ghostbusters are just some of the masterpieces Sigourney Weaver has led. Next year, she’ll be returning for another box-office hit with Avatar: Fire and Ash.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
“A crowded street in Warsaw before the war. Families are gathering around a man dressed as Hitler who is staring into a shop window. They’re wondering if he is real. From Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be or Not to Be, starring Jack Benny.”
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
It’s from Mike Nichols who said to all of us, ‘Don’t be jealous… it will take up all your time.’
What’s your favorite risk you’ve ever taken on set or in life?
Repeatedly asking Business Affairs at ****** to pay me a salary equal to that of a person with a penis.
Finish the sentence: I want to be remembered as…
I’m fine. No need.
TEYANA WEARS SHEARLING JACKET AND LEATHER BUSTIER, BOTH SCHIAPARELLI. RINGS, FROM A SELECTION, DAVID WEBB. HAIR BROOKE CRITTENDON. MAKEUP YEIKA OLIVIA
TEYANA TAYLOR
Teyana Taylor received her first Golden Globe nomination for 2025’s One Battle After Another, but in 2026, she shows no sign of slowing down as she joins Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in The Rip, and Kevin Hart in 72 Hours.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
It’s a wicked industry, don’t take anything personal. Via my Mom.
If you could steal any role in history, who would you play?
I love movies, and for that reason wouldn’t steal any. People play the roles they DESERVE. And cannot be replaced! The roles were made for them.
What are you most excited about for 2026?
Honestly, I’m so blessed and excited for everything that’s already happening and I’m only in 2025. But I’m super excited to show everything I have in the works! A new Air Jordan, which will be my second sneaker with my JB [Jordan Brand] family, a new movie, The Rip, with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and 72 Hours with Kevin Hart.”
NABHAAN WEARS COTTON SHIRT, SIMONE ROCHA. TIE, THOM BROWNE. GROOMING LIZ TAW
NABHAAN RIZWAN
Netflix is ushering in another year of masterful TV and film with the help of Nabhaan Rizwan, star of the murderous Agatha Christie adaptation The Seven Dials Mystery.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
Someone walking through a library that never ends, like in [Jorge Luis] Borges’ short stories. It’s a single shot. Maybe you open one of the books and it’s a pop-up book — inside it there are receipts of all your frivolous retail transactions. I’ve been reading a lot of books lately. And doing taxes.
What’s the role you haven’t played yet but know is somewhere in you?
Salvador Dalí.
What’s your favorite risk you’ve ever taken on set or in life?
Probably doing KAOS. Everything on that project was a risk. The scale of the story, the aesthetic, playing a god in that way. That’s where I really learned about myself. How to ‘play’.
If you could steal any role in history, who would you play?
Oh, Willy Wonka for sure. I love that no-one ever knows whether they can trust him or not.
DAMSON WEARS SUEDE JACKET AND PANTS, AND COTTON TOP, ALL GABRIELA HEARST. GOLD BRACELETS AND RING, ALL DIDRIS. GROOMING JESSICA SMALLS
DAMSON IDRIS
As Damson Idris looks towards the 2027 release of Children of Blood and Bone, starring Cynthia Erivo and Idris Elba, he’s taking time to focus on his passions outside of cinema, including his jewellery brand DIDRIS.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
A slow, from-behind push-in to a tuxedo-wearing man at a bar drinking red wine.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My mum. Her creativity and drive shaped who I am, how I live, what projects I take on, and specifically my jewelry brand, DIDRIS. They’re all my way of honoring her.
What’s your earliest memory of jewelry?
My mum built a life for our family in Nigeria through jewelry, ultimately making enough to raise us all in the UK. She absolutely sparked my own passion for design and craftsmanship. She always taught me that a piece of jewelry holds power.
When did you realize that acting was what you wanted to do, and that you weren’t meant to play it safe?
In 2012, I got my first big laugh on stage in my first play. It was so beautiful to receive such a reaction from a group of strangers I did not know, and who did not know me.
ELIZABETH WEARS WOOL VEST, DURAN LANTINK. MAKEUP MISHA SHAHZADA
ELIZABETH DEBICKI
Elizabeth Debicki is stepping into Quentin Tarantino’s world for the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follow-up, The Adventures of Cliff Booth.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
A percolator coffee pot going on the stove, very early morning, not much light yet, maybe a little bit of sun coming up behind the trees. Very old sweatshirt on, nearly out the door.
What’s your favorite risk you’ve ever taken on set or in life?
The beautiful thing about being an actor is that you can play around with your own human-ness constantly. I think the proudest I’ve been of myself when I work is when I really cast a line out in the wrong direction in a take or in a rehearsal room, just to feel the possibility of what it is not. It’s a model I suppose I try to apply to real life.
What are you most excited about for 2026?
I’m currently shooting on David Fincher’s new project and it is an absolute delight.
ELLE WEARS LEATHER COAT, LOEWE. HAIR ORLANDO PITA. MAKEUP FULVIA FAROLFI. NAILS JIN SOON
ELLE FANNING
Elle Fanning’s extensive repertoire is only set to expand as she takes on the role of Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
The view outside a plane window, either before take-off or landing. The plane is lower than the clouds, flying above rows of miniature houses and glistening backyard pools.
What’s your favorite risk you’ve ever taken on set or in life?
I jumped off an almost 30-foot cliff last summer!
If you could steal any role in history, who would you play?
Katharine Hepburn’s Susan in Bringing Up Baby.
SELMA WEARS WOOL DRESS, GIVENCHY BY SARAH BURTON. GOLD RINGS, BOTH BVLGARI
SELMA BLAIR
From Legally Blonde to Cruel Intentions, Selma Blair has no shortage of film hits, but following a hiatus due to her MS diagnosis, she’s ready to make her return to set in 2026.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
A wide shot of me walking Scout [her service dog] down a quiet street at sunrise. It is calm, but you can feel a story about to unfold.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Do not play small. The world will shrink you fast enough, so take up your own space.
What’s the role you haven’t played yet, but know is somewhere in you?
Something raw and unapologetic, maybe a woman who refuses to be defined by her past. I know she is waiting for me.
ṢỌPẸ́ WEARS POLYESTER TOP AND WOOL PANTS, BOTH ISSEY MIYAKE. GOLD BRACELET AND GOLD WATCH, BOTH BVLGARI. LEATHER BOOTS, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
ṢỌPẸ́ DÌRÍSÙ
From Nigeria to the world, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù’s My Father’s Shadow is ready for its global debut after a successful showcase in Nigeria.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
Right now? Right this moment? The camera would push in slowly along this expanse of dusty crumbling earth. Nothing grows here. Just earth for as far as the eye can see. The camera settles, introducing us to the horizon. Just as we’re certain there’s nothing to see here, a single hand bursts out from the earth, straining towards the sky. If they could just touch a cloud, they could pull themselves out… Pushing and straining, the hand breaks the earth around it. Something is coming, birthing itself out of the earth…
When did you realize this was what you wanted to do, and that you weren’t meant to play it safe?
When you put it like that, I think I’ve always known. I look back on my childhood, and doing something or being conventional never settled in me. I knew it was expected of me and I felt that pressure, but I never fulfilled it. There was always something else that caught my intrigue, something else to discover, to explore. This was all it could ever be.
What are you most excited about for 2026?
Sharing My Father’s Shadow with the rest of the world outside of Nigeria, creating the fourth season and perfect ending to Gangs of London, and spending enough time in Atlanta to become a native while shooting All the Sinners Bleed.
STEPHEN WEARS WOOL JACKET AND PANTS, AND SILK-MIX SHIRT, ALL MAGLIANO. BRACELETS, STEPHEN’S OWN
STEPHEN GRAHAM
Stephen Graham’s Adolescence was a piercing, Emmy Award-winning social commentary that got the world talking. In its wake, he’s set to make a return to Peaky Blinders for its anticipated film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
It would be the sun rising over Kirkby, where I’m from, in Liverpool and Hymn of the Big Wheel by Massive Attack would be playing.
What’s your favorite risk you’ve ever taken on set or in life?
The risk was when Hannah [my wife] was going to move to Spain and I took the risk and said, ‘Please don’t go, I love you’, and she said, ‘OK, I’ll stay.’ That was a big risk — if she had gone, I’d have been fucked, but she didn’t go, so thank God. Put everything on the line, at New Cross train station.
If you could steal any role in history, who would you play?
I’m inspired by many performances. Mostly Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman, and how they transform so much, but I wouldn’t want to nick anyone’s role, they’re great artists. We were on set the other day and I remembered Gary Oldman in Léon and he’s looking for the girl, and he comes into the apartment and he smells the fella… and I just remember thinking, ‘Wow.’ Then the other day we were doing a scene and I borrowed from the great Mr Oldman and I smelt the character that I was in the scene with — that idea really came from that.
HARRIS WEARS CASHMERE TOP AND WOOL TROUSERS, BOTH PRADA
HARRIS DICKINSON
Harris Dickinson’s recent foray as a debut director for the poignant drama Urchin was a cinematic success, but following the announcement of his role as musical icon John Lennon in The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, he’s gravitating to a part he’s more than comfortable with: the leading man.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
Opening shot of Boogie Nights — there’s a lot going on but it’s a vibe!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Denzel Washington told me to ‘lighten up’ at an event once, because he could see I was nervous.
LOUIS WEARS METAL MESH TANK TOP AND WOOL PANTS, BOTH VERSACE
LOUIS PARTRIDGE
Louis Partridge is set to invade our TV screens in 2026 as he returns to Enola Holmes for its third season, and stars in Dolly Alderton’s Pride & Prejudice adaptation.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
An old Film Studies teacher told me, as I was leaving school to pursue acting, to go and make as many mistakes as possible. I could tell he meant it. And Bryan Cranston reminded me a few years later how lucky we are to act for a living and that we mustn’t ever forget the fun that is at the heart of playing. Once you’ve lost the fun there’s a good chance the audience have, too.
If you could steal any role in history, who would you play?
I’d love to have been in something like My Own Private Idaho. I’d wanna play either River Phoenix’s or Keanu Reeves’ part. Anything by Gus Van Sant in that era. I loved Miles Teller’s part in Whiplash, too!
What are you most excited about for 2026?
I am excited to keep working, really. I will hopefully have two projects out — Enola Holmes 3, directed by Philip Barantini of Adolescence fame. And perhaps Pride and Prejudice, too.
JAMES WEARS NYLON COAT AND PANTS, ERL. COTTON TANK TOP, CALVIN KLEIN. GOLD NECKLACE, CARTIER
JAMES NORTON
James Norton is taking on the role of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein in The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event. Before then, you’ll find him on your screens amongst the House of the Dragon cast for its third season.
If your life right now were a scene in a film, what would the opening shot be?
Adult me, as the baby on the front of Nirvana’s Nevermind.
When did you realize this was what you wanted to do, and that you weren’t meant to play it safe?
Have wanted to do it from as far back as I can remember. The ‘not playing it safe’ is more recent, and an ongoing project.
If you could steal any role in history, who would you play?
Eli Sunday — Paul Dano’s role in There Will Be Blood. To have been in those scenes…
ACT 2, STARRING
ALICIA VIKANDER
CELESTE
CHARITHRA CHANDRAN
CLAIRE FOY
DAFNE KEEN
EMILIA JONES
EMMA D’ARCY
FELICITY JONES
GRACE BOWERS
GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE
JEFF GOLDBLUM
JOE ALWYN
LASHANA LYNCH
MATTHEW GOODE
NOOMI RAPACE
RIZ AHMED
SONAM KAPOOR
RELEASED ON 18 DECEMBER 2025
PHOTOGRAPHY NORMAN JEAN ROY
STUDIO MANAGER JOANNA RO
STYLING DENA GIANNINI AT A CREATIVE PARTNER
CASTING JILL DEMLING AT CREATIVE CASTING AGENCY
CASTING ASSISTANT MADDIE KELLY
PRODUCTION ALEXEY GALETSKIY (LA, NY), GIORGIO TSINTOUKIDIS
AT THE CURATED PRODUCTIONS (LONDON)
HAIR EVANIE FRAUSTO (NY), NAO KAWAKAMI AT THE WALL GROUP (LONDON), RENATO CAMPORA (LA)
MAKEUP FULVIA FAROLFI (NY), HOLLY SILIUS AT R3 MGMT USING COSRX (LA),
LAURA DOMINIQUE AT LIBERTE (LONDON)
GROOMING SHANNON PEZZETTA (LA)
NAILS GINA OH (NY), LIIA ZOTOVA (LONDON), YOKO SAKAKURA (LA)
TAILOR OXANA SUMENKO (LA), MACY IDZAKOVICH (NYC),
RICKY BRIGGS, SOFI CHETRAR AT KAREN AVENELL (LONDON)
STYLIST PRODUCER ZOE HOFMANN
STYLING TEAM COLTON FRENCH, EDEN LOVESEE-CLARK, ENRICA MILLER,
JAKOB HELD, SOPHIA OZAN, LAUREN MARRON, MADISON WALKER, MAO MIYAKOSHI, MYRTO PERISTIANI
PRODUCTION TEAM ALEXANDRA STRASBURG AND ERNEST KLIMKO (NY);
AMBREEN BABARIYA, CHARLIE WALKER, KATIE HOMES (LONDON)
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS IVAN SHENTALINSKIY (LA)
HAIR ASSISTANT ROGERIO DA SILVA (LONDON)
MAKEUP ASSISTANT NAOMI AKAMURA (LONDON)
NAIL ASSISTANTS HANNAH BENT, NOSIPHO LEDWABA-CHAPMAN (LONDON)
STUDIO AGP WEST (LA)
LONDON LOCATION WITH THANKS TO THE LONDONER
Albert Watson on the art of great image-making Albert Watson on the art of great image-making
Albert Watson on the art of great image-making
Turner Prize 2025: Meet the artists shaping Britain’s visual culture Turner Prize 2025: Meet the artists shaping Britain’s visual culture
Turner Prize 2025: Meet the artists shaping Britain’s visual culture
Matt Jones’s Miami exhibition is a love letter to humanity Matt Jones’s Miami exhibition is a love letter to humanity
Matt Jones’s Miami exhibition is a love letter to humanity
Cynthia Erivo’s memoir Simply More charts the making of a remarkable talent Cynthia Erivo’s memoir Simply More charts the making of a remarkable talent
Cynthia Erivo’s memoir Simply More charts the making of a remarkable talent
Inside the book reframing Black identity in modern Spain Inside the book reframing Black identity in modern Spain
Inside the book reframing Black identity in modern Spain
The Books That Make a Room The Books That Make a Room
The Books That Make a Room
Photographer Dee Dwyer is “the visual voice” of her generation Photographer Dee Dwyer is “the visual voice” of her generation
Photographer Dee Dwyer is “the visual voice” of her generation
Jennie Baptiste’s New Exhibition Bridges Generations Jennie Baptiste’s New Exhibition Bridges Generations
