BEST PERFORMANCES

How Mahershala Ali Became a Virtuoso Pianist For His Golden Globes-Winning Green Book Role

His transformation started at the piano.


TW_D_18_W_BP_20_0352.jpg
Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Whether he’s playing a Florida drug dealer with a moral compass in Moonlight or a slick Capitol Hill operative in House of Cards, Mahershala Ali possesses a dignity and elegance that’s all too natural to him. That poised sense of self truly shines when playing Don Shirley, a virtuoso pianist who had to perform his way through the Jim Crow South in Green Book, which won Best Comedy or Musical at the 2019 Golden Globes on Sunday night—and of course, Best Supporting Actor for Ali’s performance. The road trip buddy movie (which costars Viggo Mortensen as Ali’s considerably less elegant driver and occasional bodyguard against the open racism Shirley encounters in the Deep South) has seen its share of controversy of late—some of which Ali addressed backstage at the Globes—but that shouldn’t take anything away from a wonderful performance. Here, the actor reveals exactly how he got into character, not to mention his other secret talents.

So when you first got the script were you familiar with Don Shirley?

Dr. Don Shirley. The man with three doctorates. [Laughs.] No I wasn’t. I wasn’t aware of a Don Shirley, and so immediately I start looking for his music on iTunes, and digging to see what I could find. I found him in a documentary called Lost Bohemia. It was the only real footage I could get of him. And that’s where I sort of began to get ideas and sort of discover his rhythms and just how he carried himself. But you see someone on video, you can kinda get a sense their essence or something behind the eyes, and get in touch with the something beyond even their personality. And so in seeing him on tape there was something that I got to latch onto or connect with, which was a huge help.

Is this the first time you’ve played a real person?

Pretty much. Yes. You know, there was a smaller film I did, like a TV movie I did many years ago, a solitary confinement story about a gentleman who was still alive, but this is my first feature, I believe.

Was that nerve-racking or was that exciting or did that enter into it at all? Because you have to go with the parameters of who he really was, which is different than just—

Creating something out of thin air. Yeah. There’s a healthy pressure there that exists to, I don’t wanna say, “Get it right,” but to get it true. And so I did the best that I could, as I always do the best I can.

Mahershala Ali wears a Prada suit; his own top and bracelet. Amy Adams wears a Givenchy dress and belt.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Well, you were amazing. And did you know how to play the piano?

Well, thank you. [Laughs.] I didn’t know how to play the piano. I took some lessons with this brother, this gentleman by the name of Kris Bowers. We worked for about three months going into it. The goal, honestly, was not to learn how to play Chopin in three months. That’s not happening. [Laughs.] But it was to give myself an opportunity to really sit at that piano and discover how that would inform the rest of my performance. And to embrace the dexterity of the instrument, knowing that once we start shooting, and I’m having to pretend to be playing the piano, that I still have to know where I am in my character arc, because every time I play the piano he’s in a different moment.

Right. What I also loved about your performance was there was such a joy and a sense of control when he’s in the position of being the musician. You can feel his sadness, his fear, his isolation a little more. The minute he’s with his band in even the most bigoted environments, he feels there’s a sense of control and a sense of empowerment.

And there’s like this therapeutic space for the music in his world. We come off the tale end of an event, and it leads right to this one moment in the film where there’s an anger in the playing that you can’t necessarily express verbally.

Yes.

He’s not in a position where it wouldn’t benefit him to yell at someone or to hit someone or what have you. But that’s his relationship with his instrument, though. Like, he can do all that there. And so I think that there has to be a peace in knowing that. That’s the place where you get to work your things out, where you get to express yourself, where you get to communicate something on a vibrational level. Whether people understand that or not, who are experiencing that in the audience, it’s still him getting to release that. So I do think that, you know, he existed in his fullness when he’s at the piano, at least in our story.

Well, you’re such a naturally elegant person, but even when you’re sitting there, naked onscreen, he looks completely beautiful and elegant.

Ah, well, thank you. [Laughs.] You know, one of the first things I did, especially upon the little bit of footage I saw of Doctor Shirley… he almost was like a dancer, the way he moved, so the first thing I did, I had to open up my chest and make sure that my back was not only straight, but maybe at least for me it felt like it was sort of swooping back. And so that was one of the first things I did, which at a certain point all the muscles started, like, hurting in the back. And I worked with a woman by the name of Denise Woods, who’s a speech and dialect coach, and I just wanted to make sure that I was able to sort of capture this more nasally sound and a higher pitch and let the voice and the body inform each other.

Was there a particular item of clothing or something that gave you a key into playing him?

The ascot. The ascot. [Laughter.] The ascot to me spoke… there’s something about that, like, once [costume designer] Betsy Heimann and I locked in on that. To me it felt like it helped the character just kinda pop into alignment. And I can’t explain why. But there’s this beautiful blue suit that he wears, and between that blue suit and that ascot, like, something about that, like, the characters sort of clicked for me in my mind.

After you won the Oscar for Moonlight, how did your life change? You also had a child.

Yes. I mean, that, my life definitely… I think we can all look back at periods in our life, and relative to whatever it is that we do we can say that, “Hold this right here, this is when there’s a significant shift in my life.” And you hope that that’s positive, and sometimes it’s more challenging than what people would like to think. But for me that was a really positive time, and it has remained positive. It was dense going into [the Oscars], my wife having just given birth a couple of days earlier, so I’m already all foggy, and then my name was called. I didn’t have a speech going there in case I won, so I’m just nervous in general all around. And so it was just all… I’ve watched [the speech] back a couple of times and I can remember it as I watch it back, but just thinking to myself and sort of digging in the recesses of my mind, like it was just, it’s not really there. It just happened so quickly and it was so full that it was just a crazy experience, especially with Moonlight

The ending.

It was just all a little confusing. [Laughter.]

Sometimes I forget that you guys won Best Picture.

Exactly. Sometimes someone would say congratulations to Moonlight winning, and I was like, “Oh yeah, that did happen.” Because it felt like La La Land won, and so many of those guys are friends of mine as well, so you’re happy for them, but then they said, “Hey, actually Moonlight won,” and then you’re happy but you’re kinda like, “Ooh, I don’t really feel like I can celebrate because it was just announced that our friends won,” so it was such a convoluted win. [Laughs.]

I love the movie—you know how I feel about Moonlight—but would you ever have dreamed when you read that script that it would end up where it ended up? It’s so amazing. It kinda makes you believe in anything.

Yes and no. And the reason I say that is because it was the best thing I had ever read. And so for someone to say, “Hey, I’m gonna hand you the script and this is gonna win you the Oscar for best film…” I could read that script and say, “I see how that would happen.” Because it was that good. But going back and coming off of what Barry [Jenkins] was coming from and the producers and whatnot, it was all so small and intimate. Like, we didn’t really have trailers, the wardrobe and costume department and actors, like, we were all getting dressed in one tiny trailer and every department is in one trailer. And we’re sittin’ on, like, the icebox or the cooler, like, there’s no real chairs. Everybody is just made the movie with a couple of bags of nickels. And Naomi [Harris] came in and shot the entire film in three days, you know, it was all a little wild, so, in its execution it felt crazy. But it also felt clear to me that we were doing something special. Everyone would have legitimately done it for free.

I want a prequel. Let’s have a prequel.

Yes, yes.

Best Performances: Featuring Nicole Kidman, Claire Foy, Rami Malek, and 29 of Hollywood’s Biggest Stars

Claire Foy wears a Burberry top, corset dress, socks, and shoes; Charvet scarf. Emily Blunt wears a Burberry dress, shirt, socks, and shoes; stylist’s own top.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Kiki Layne wears a Prada top and headband; Tiffany & Co. earrings. Jonah Hill wears The Row jacket, shirt, and tie.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Margot Robbie wears a Chanel cardigan and skirt; stylist’s own top. Michael B. Jordan wears a Calvin Klein 205W39NYC cardigan and vest; Brioni trousers.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Nicole Kidman wears an Armani Privé dress; Cartier earrings; Cornelia James gloves; stylist’s own veil.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Mahershala Ali wears a Prada suit; his own top and bracelet. Amy Adams wears a Givenchy dress and belt.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Eddie Redmayne wears a Givenchy shirt and pants. Rami Malek wears a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello shirt.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Saoirse Ronan wears a Celine by Hedi Slimane dress.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves. Hair by Malcolm Edwards at Art Partner; Makeup by Lucy Bridge for MAC Cosmetics at Streeters London; Manicures by Michelle Saunders for Essie at Forward Artists. Set design by Gary Card at Streeters London. Men’s wear editor: Sam Walker. Hair for King: Angela A. Perrantes; Grooming for Jordan: Carola Gonzalez for Malin & Goetz at Forward Artists; Hair for Jordan: Jove Edmond; Hair for Layne: Larry Sims for flawless at Forward Artists. Produced by Jeffrey Delich at Padbury Production; Production Manager: Lauren Sakioka at Padbury Production; Local Producer: Meghan Gallagher at Connect the Dots; Local Production Coordinator: Jane Oh at Connect the Dots; Photography Assistants: Sarah Lloyd, Tony Ivanov, Kyle Holmquist, Keith Coleman, Scott Froschauer; Retouching by Graeme Bulcraig at Touch Digital; Production Assistants: Michael Osborn, Nikki Patrlja, Dan Fleming; Fashion Assistants: Allia Alliata di Montereale, Nadia Beeman, Sharon Chitrit, Megan King, Brejon Golden, Jonnie Atkinson, Lindsey Hartman, Rosa Schorr; Set Assistants: Nicole McBride, Collin Lebrasseauer, Seth Powsner, Olivia Giles; Ballet Dancers: Morgan Quinn, Jaclyn Hamric, Corey O’Brien, Dominic Eustes; Tailors: Isa Kriegeskotte, Karla Yvette Miranda, Nastassia Bauta; Special thanks to Quixote Studios, Heirloom LA, Kitchen Mouse, Electric Avenue, Cast Partner.
Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Nicole Kidman in Boy Erased and Destroyer

“In Destroyer, I play a cop who’s been through a lot—she’s very American, very angry, distressed, and disturbed. I wasn’t the first choice for that role—it went to somebody else and she didn’t want to do it. I read the script and put my hand up and said, ‘What about me?’ ” Did the wardrobe contribute to the character? We took so long to find the leather jacket that I wear in pretty much every frame of the film. I became so obsessed with that jacket, I would wear it at home. I put it on first thing in the morning. My kids visited the set and were shocked at the way I looked. You know, I’ve been working as an actor since I was 14 years old. It’s a choice, but it’s also a calling. Sometimes, I kind of try to move away, but it always pulls me back.

Comme des Garçons coat, T-shirt, skirt, tights, and boots; headpiece by hairstylist Malcolm Edwards. Inflatable latex costumes by artist Sasha Frolova (throughout).

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Amy Adams in Vice

“My role in Vice is Lynne Cheney, Dick Cheney’s wife. It’s a huge responsibility to play a living person. I didn’t meet Lynne, and that’s interesting too—playing somebody who’s alive but whom you’ve never met. Plus, I age from 20 to 70 in the film, so that was another challenge.” Did her conservative politics affect your performance? I really just absorbed her point of view. Whether I agree with it or not doesn’t really matter. To get into character, I would have long debates about policy and politics as Lynne Cheney with our director, Adam McKay. I called him many names. I teased him about wearing shorts on set and how that was disrespectful. But I didn’t swear, because Lynne wouldn’t swear.

Valentino gown; Valentino Garavani earrings; Marc Jacobs boots.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Saoirse Ronan in Mary Queen of Scots and On Chesil Beach

“This is the first time I’ve played any queen or monarch. Mary had to hold herself in a certain way when she was presenting herself at court, but when she was on her own, in her intimate quarters, she was quite different. I began to feel like a bit of a boss. A boss queen!” Did you learn any royal skills? Yes, I learned to ride. My horse in the film was also Wonder Woman’s horse—his name is Prince, and he is the biggest diva I’ve ever met. Prince doesn’t do anything for anyone, especially me, and had a nervous cough that you’d hear right before we’d do a take. Everything I did was for that horse, just to get his approval.

Balenciaga dress and shoes.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry to Bother You

“The director of the film, Boots Riley, had been following me for quite a while before I finally met him. He handed me the script for Sorry to Bother You literally put it in my hands. I was like, Who is this strange person? When I read the script, I realized I had no idea how deeply strange he is. But his strangeness revealed itself to be another form of beauty.” Growing up, who was your cinematic crush? Jennifer Love Hewitt. I loved her. I couldn’t comprehend anything, except that she was beautiful. What’s your favorite Halloween costume? I’m always the Joker. Every year. Soon there will be a black Joker movie, and it will be me.

Maison Margiela Artisanal Men’s Designed by John Galliano suit; Tiffany & Co. earrings; John Hardy cross necklace; Chrome Hearts thick chain; Hoorsenbuhs long chain; Stanfield’s own rings.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots

What was your first red-carpet outfit? I was 18. The Australian equivalent of the Emmys is called the Logies, and I was nominated. It was my big moment, the biggest thing that had happened to me. So I went all out on the dress: It was very short at the front, long at the back, lots of layers, bright colors, and shiny fabric. It was, like, orange, black, orange, black—with a big bow at the back. I had stipple-looking hair, and I was very tan. It was…a look. I don’t regret it, because I was 18 and having fun. I can dress boring for the rest of my life.

Staud coat; Giu Giu turtleneck; Vex Clothing tights; Urstadt Swan gloves; Manolo Blahnik shoes; stylist’s own veil.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Timothée Chalamet in Beautiful Boy

Beautiful Boy [which is about a father and his son, who is addicted to drugs] was a script they’d been trying to get made for 10 years. Every guy actor my age had gone up for it. I’ve been lucky, but a lot of the bigger Hollywood movies like Spider-Man, things like that, I didn’t get. So, for Beautiful Boy, I did a lot of research and read about drugs, and I brought the books to my first meeting with the director. I could see in his eyes that he was thinking, This kid is nuts. But I felt this movie—the subject of drug addiction—was so important. I wanted to make an anti-glorification-of-drugs movie. And I think we did.” Did you meet Nic Sheff, whom you play in the film? Yes. I met him a week before we started shooting. And there was nothing about Nic that fit my stereotype of an addict. That was the learning grace of this movie: Nic is alive and well, but the reality is, it’s a day at a time. You never really beat it. You lost so much weight. Was your mom worried about you? My mom was worried! I lost 18 pounds. First, I’m in a movie where I was having sex with a peach, and then it was like, “I got another movie!” She said, “Great!” And then I had to tell her what it was about.

Charvet shirt.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Claire Foy in First Man

Growing up, what was your favorite toy? I had a disgusting pillow until I was about 21. Shamefully, I took it to university. Do you get nervous before filming? Oh, yes, I get nervous. It’s a gradual process of trying to work yourself up to being brave enough to be on set. You always worry that everyone’s going to say, “Ooh, we’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake.” What was the name of your first pet? Thumper. And the first street that you lived on? I don’t know. So you’re a one-name sensation: Thumper is your porno name. Thumper it is.

Burberry cape; Falconiere bonnet.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

What was the first record you bought? Bon Jovi. “Livin’ on a Prayer” is such a good song. I love a good emotional ballad. The greatest YouTube hole to go down is Leona Lewis when she was on The X Factor. Every week, she just came and delivered. Occasionally she’d take her shoes off. Do you watch other reality shows? I’m quite excited because The Hills, which is my original reality-TV guilty pleasure, is coming back. I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Heidi Montag. Do you have a secret skill? Yes. I’m incredibly good at being early. I’m always the person who gets to the airport four hours early. I drive everyone crazy.

Dior Men jacket and pants; Urstadt Swan gloves; Givenchy boots.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther

Do you have a favorite movie villain? For me, it’s a tie between Heath Ledger as the Joker and Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Villains, like Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, are the most interesting characters. They are the ones you can empathize with—they want you to not like them, but you can still understand their motivation.Even though you’re the villain in Black Panther, do people on the street still say “Wakanda forever” to you? They don’t immediately realize that my character is not exactly pro-Wakanda. Midway through saying something, it registers: Oh, he wasn’t really with Wakanda. But by then they’ve already committed.

Is it difficult to act when you’re basically naked? I’m always naked. So, no.

Hermès sweater.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Joanna Kulig in Cold War

“The director, Pawel Pawlikowski, wrote the part of Zula for me. I knew that the inspiration for the character came from his mother. Zula is her real name, and, like me, she was blonde. I saw her photo.” Was that the hardest part about portraying the character? No. The hardest part was the dancing. In general, I have a problem with coordination. I spent six months in a Polish folk ensemble learning how to dance. We partied together, we drank together, and we’d dance for six hours during a concert. It was like a family, and I started to build the character of Zula. Soon, I had her thoughts and personality. And I finally learned how to dance!

Chloé dress; Louis Vuitton hat.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Elizabeth Debicki in Widows

“I was a dancer for many, many years, and I thought I was going to be a ballerina. When I was about 12, I went to a summer school for the Australian ballet and I was already taller than my teacher. So I remember saying to myself, I’m going to have to rethink this plan.” Did you audition for Widows? Yes, I put myself on tape in my friend’s garage. How glamorous! I remember wearing a lot of eyeliner. I picked out some hoop earrings. And, funnily enough, in the finished film, she ended up looking a lot like she did in my test.

Marc Jacobs coat; Noel Stewart headpiece; Cornelia James gloves; Falke tights; Vivienne Westwood shoes.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk

“I took a break from making films. My son, Ian, was getting to the age, around sixth grade, when kids are starting to spread their wings, and everything that was being offered to me was outside of Los Angeles, except for TV. I didn’t want to travel to make films. So I like to say I was one of the first movie actors who made the leap into television.” Do they call Beale Street your comeback film? I like to use the LL Cool J song: “Don’t call it comeback. I been here for years.”

Givenchy dress; Graham Tyler hat; Linda Farrow sunglasses.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Willem Dafoe in At Eternity’s Gate

“I painted in a movie called To Live and Die in L.A., but it wasn’t about painting—it was more about counterfeiting and killing people. In playing Vincent van Gogh, painting was the key to the character. I had to know what I was doing. The director, Julian Schnabel, would say, ‘Hold the brush like a sword’ and ‘There’s no such thing as a bad mark.’ I began to think that painting is about making an accumulation of marks. Acting is the same: You create a character scene by scene. It’s a series of marks that start a rhythm, and that rhythm sends you where you need to go.” Who is your cinematic crush? Warren Oates. When I saw him perform, I thought, That’s not an actor, that’s a man. It kind of broke my heart to find out he was actually a trained actor.

Balenciaga coat.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in Leave No Trace

“I play a girl who is with her father in the wild, far away from civilization. Since I live in New Zealand and couldn’t fly to America, I auditioned on tape. We had a lot of props: a bucket, a toothbrush, a sleeping bag, and a rabbit named Coco. I also ran through the New Zealand bush with a GoPro in my mouth and sent that off as well. I didn’t meet the director in person. Six months later, on Christmas, I found out that I had gotten the part.”

Moschino Couture dress; Capezio tights; Sergio Rossi shoes.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Steven Yeun in Burning

“I like filming death scenes. When I was on The Walking Dead, I had known for some time about my character’s death. I was really excited for that day—I was looking forward to getting my skull bashed in. In Burning, my death scene was really fun. That was the only time it snowed, which was unexpected, and it added some magic to the moment. Everybody fantasizes about what it would be like to die. If I could make a career out of being killed, it would be okay.” Do you have a secret skill? Yes. I’m really good at getting parking spots. I’m so confident that the spot is going to be there, that it’s always there. Right in front.

Gucci jacket, shirt, pants, hat, and shoes; Charvet tie.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade

“I have been acting since I was 5. My first job was doing the voice of Agnes, the youngest daughter, with the big ponytail on top of her head, in Despicable Me. I was in the sequel, but I was too old for Despicable Me 3, because I can’t do my 5-year-old voice anymore.” In Eighth Grade, there is a pool-party scene that is nerve-wracking. You wear a very awkward green bathing suit. Yes, it is anxiety inducing. I did not pick the bathing suit. They wanted a lime green one so my character would stick out. I still have it. I mean, I don’t go to the pool that much, but that’s my bathing suit now. I love it.

Gucci dress; Eugenia Kim hat; Sophie Buhai necklace.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Jonah Hill in Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot

In the film, your character, Donny, has a fantastic fashion sense. One of the things that inspired me was a photograph of Yves Saint Laurent in Morocco in the ’70s. I looked at it and was like, Oh, level-10 Marrakech! So Donny wears a lot of caftans and Moroccan stuff in the movie—kind of our Tom Petty and Yves Saint Laurent level-10 Marrakech. He also has a very calm, Zen outlook on life. Donny had conquered a lot of the things that were dark and demonic about himself, and he was able to be peaceful and calm. That was a joy to play. I miss being Donny— even his long blond hair. What was your most memorable birthday? My mom once sent a mariachi band to play my favorite song, “Feliz Navidad.” It was winter in New York and eight mariachis played my song. I was like, “Am I hallucinating right now?”

Raf Simons coat; the Row T-shirt and jeans; Paul Smith boots.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Kiki Layne in If Beale Street Could Talk

How did you find out you had the part in Beale Street? It was nine in the morning and Barry Jenkins, the director, called and woke me up. He just got to talking and didn’t introduce himself. Finally, he said, “Girl, do you even know who you’re talking to?” He went on to tell me that they were giving me the role! I was trying to rush him off the phone so I could really go crazy and cry and call my mama. What is your go-to karaoke song? “Drunk in Love,” by Beyoncé. Especially if you’ve got somebody that’ll hold down Jay Z’s part. That’s definitely the move. I feel like you have mood hair: Sometimes it’s long, sometimes it’s short—up, down. Oh, yeah, we gotta switch it up. You never really know how it’s gonna be: Will it be curly? Straight? And watch out when those colors start coming in!

Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress and boots; Prada headband; Tiffany & Co. earrings.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Carey Mulligan in Wildlife

“Paul Dano, who cowrote and directed Wildlife, called me and said he was going to send me the script. I was kind of flattered that he thought I could play Jeanette.” She’s a tormented character. Did you have trouble shaking her off at the end of the day? No. When you’ve got kids, they expect you to come home and be Mom, not some weird drunk woman. At the end of the day, I take off that hat, leave that person at work, and come home and watch the Food Network. I love Chopped. They make disgusting things, but I do like Bobby Flay. Chopped and Bobby Flay are the perfect antidote to films like Wildlife.

Michael Kors Collection dress; vintage hat from New York Vintage, New York; Tiffany & Co. earrings; Carolina Amato gloves; Capezio tights; Jimmy Choo shoes.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Yalitza Aparicio (far left) in Roma

“The shoot for Roma lasted six months. We shot in chronological order. It was a very long process for me. I had not seen any of Alfonso Cuarón’s films. I actually didn’t know who he was. Alfonso asked me not to watch any of his films until we were done with the filming. He didn’t want me poisoning my mind with any images or ideas.”

Marina de Tavira in Roma

“I was the only actor in Roma with any previous experience. It was really challenging. First-time actors—and many of them were children—have a completely different way of working. Alfonso Cuarón would play tricks on us—make things happen that we were not expecting. That way, he made real life appear on set.”

From left: Valentino gown. The Row gown; Tiffany & Co. earrings.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns

“The hardest thing about playing Mary Poppins was learning how to dance. One day, you’re handed a hat and a cane, and I was like, Oh, my God. And, also, the initial idea of taking on a character that iconic was daunting. But once I got over my fears, it was deliciously fun.” What was your first red-carpet outfit? It was for My Summer of Love, and I was far too tanned. I was wearing a very bright yellow dress. I always laugh at how sweaty I looked. Horrible. Who is your girl crush? Rihanna. I mean, come on. She’s smoking.

Louis Vuitton coat; Eugenia Kim hat; Manokhi gloves.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.

Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody

“The first thing I auditioned for I almost wasn’t allowed to audition for. I got a call from a casting director, and she asked to speak to the agent representing Rami Malek. I said, ‘Uh, speaking.’ She kind of laughed and said, ‘Call me when you have an agent.’ I go, ‘You’re already laughing—give me a shot.’ It was three lines in Gilmore Girls. I convinced her to let me read, and I got the part.” Besides in the film, have you ever sung any Queen songs in public? In Japan, with our version of the band, we dressed up in animal onesies and did “Bohemian Rhapsody,” like the original video. It was filmed, and I’m sure someone will get drunk and throw it out there into the ether.

Officine Générale pants; Atsuko Kudo Couture Latex Design gloves.

Photograph by Tim Walker; Styled by Sara Moonves.
1/30

All right, so let’s ask you some questions about yourself. What is your secret skill? What are you good at that people would be surprised that you’re good at?

I used to be a barber.

You used to be a barber?

Yeah. I used to barber. I started barbering when I was 12.

Wow. Who taught you?

My mom was a hair stylist. I taught myself, actually. My mom did, like, perms. She used to work in a shop and then eventually she got remarried and had one of my brothers—I have two brothers, they’re much younger than I am—but so she started working out of the home so my house in the 80’s smelled like perm. Every weekend she had people coming in and out. But, you know, I hit that junior high age, and I wanted to start looking cute for the girls, you know, and my generation is a generation that got super conscious with, like, hair, lining, blinds, and flattops and gumbies and all these cuts. And my mom wasn’t really cutting my hair often enough, it was kinda like a once-a-month thing and I kinda wanted my hair cut like every week or every two weeks, and so I just started playing with it and doing stuff. So I started cutting when I was about 12.

And then people would come over and you’d cut their hair?

Mmhmm. By the time I was, like, 13, I was cuttin’ other people’s hair. I still cut my hair most of the time.

Really? So you can do a gumby?

Mmhmm. I could do all those.

Could you do a jheri curl? Or one that involves chemicals.

That’s chemicals, that’s product, and knowin’ all that. My mom did that back in the day. I didn’t do that. I just barbered.

That’s a fantastic skill. Sometimes when you’re on set it must come in handy.

I did it until Green Book and True Detective. I did my hair for every other project. Didn’t help. But I have input on the characters, so like with True Detective a lot of it for me was like… it’s a funny thing with the work. With doin’ the work you have to sort of release and let go of your vanity. You gotta, like, fight yourself because you’re like, “This wig looks crazy on me, it looks terrible.” But then you also have to go, “But that’s great, because that creates the character,” so you let that go. On the flip side, in championing these projects and promoting them, you have to sort of embrace the vanity aspect of it to tell people about how you weren’t vain. [Laughter.] It’s an interesting thing.

Right. Well you got on a lot of Best Dressed lists, so something must be going right.

Thank you. I always loved to get dressed. I was a kid who picked out my clothes the night before, and then wake up in the morning and be like, “Ah, this don’t feel right,” and you go off and you find the other thing, or whatnot. But I always enjoyed puttin’ a outfit together as a kid.

Golden Globes 2019: See What Everyone Wore On the Red Carpet

Lady Gaga arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Dakota Fanning attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Rachel Brosnahan arrives for the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards on January 6, 2019, at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

KiKi Layne wearing Dior Haute Couture at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Laura Harrier attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images

Jodie Comer attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Getty Images

Janet Mock attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Elsie Fisher attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Getty Images

Lili Reinhart attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Getty Images

Camilla Belle attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Getty Images

Francia Raisa attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Getty Images

Hosts Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg attend the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre attend the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Jamie Lee Curtis attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Octavia Spencer attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Jon Kopaloff

Glenn Close attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Jon Kopaloff

Elizabeth Perkins attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Daniele Venturelli

Heidi Klum arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Emma Stone arrives for the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards on January 6, 2019, at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

VALERIE MACON

Thandie Newton arrive to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Saoirse Ronan arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Todd Williamson/NBC

Gina Rodriguez arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Chris Messina attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Emmy Rossum attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Judith Light arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Sofia Carson arrives for the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards on January 6, 2019, at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Cody Fern attends the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Troye Sivan arrive to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Kevork Djansezian/NBC

Claire Foy arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Catherine Zeta-Jones arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

1/30

Did you have a particular favorite outfit as a kid?

No, because it was always, you know, anything you start the school year out with. So you do the school shopping and you excited ’cause you got the new what have you, and you wear, like, something that’s not even… because these clothes gotta last you at least till Christmas, until you get, like, a new influx of some clothes, right? So it’s California, the Bay Area, and it’s September 3rd, you’re goin’ to school with, like, a turtleneck on, with like some sweater on over it just because I like that outfit. [Laughter.] I’d be sweatin’ and whatnot, but you look good.

I want to see pictures.

What we do to suffer for our beauty.

Yes. Do you have any fears? Fears of insects? Fears of heights?

Oh, rats. Oh, I’m not good with no rats. No. That’s my thing, rats. Mice, no.

Have you ever had to act with mice or rats?

Uh, yes. In the new season of True Detective. There’s a scene that… Stephen Dorff and I both are not big fans of rats and so we both, you know, we got to lean on each other to manage that moment. It was originally supposed to be many [rats], and they got that down to a couple, and took care of us. So, yeah, that’s my thing. Rats.