French actress and singer Stéfi Celma

Paris-born actor and singer Stéfi Celma, who plays the ambitious receptionist in Call My Agent, on her cultural inspirations, social- media advice and dealing with racism

LUX: When did your passion for music start?
Stéfi Celma: Very early- it was as if I could sing before I could speak. My father found a little audio tape I made, so I have the proof.

LUX: What types of music have influenced you?
SC: I would say Latin music, Afromusic, French chansons and hip-hop. I also remember, as a child, discovering Lauryn Hill in Sister Act 2. her voice really affected me. Later, I listened over and over to her album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

LUX: What do you do to relax and disconnect?
SC: I have lived in Brussels for a few years and I’ve developed a real passion for antique collecting – the city has some real treasures. I love spending time at the flea market in Place du Jeu de Balle, just doing my thing. It is a good area to discover if you are passing through Brussels.

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LUX: What are your favourite restaurants and cafés in Paris to take a visitor?
SC: I’m not really up to date on good restaurants in Paris, but I do know a few in Brussels. If you pass by, I really like Le P’tit Chouia En +, a delicious Moroccan restaurant in rue de la Pacification. Certo Faim et Soif in rue Longue Vie is a quite simple restaurant, with original dishes that change every week. Boentje Café, in Place Colignon, offers beautiful fresh products, has a zero-waste approach and makes delicious little dishes.

LUX: What has been you favourite memory of playing Sofia in the TV comedy-drama Dix Pour Cent (Call My Agent)?
SC: The whole Dix Pour Cent adventure has been incredible – it’s been a real learning experience and I have met great people. But the scene that really comes to mind is the shooting of the theatre scene in episode 3 season 1. I perform the song Qui, which I also covered on my EP. It particularly touches me and is an important scene for my character.

Celma is best known for her role as Sofia in Dix pour cent (Call My Agent)

LUX: Have you ever experienced any racism or sexism in the industry?
SC: I have not experienced racism in the artistic world any more than I have elsewhere. I would even say that my experience has been better in the industry and that I have been encouraged to affirm my identity in the. projects I have been involved in. When I started, I did hear things like, “They are not looking for a black person for this role”, where colour was not a subject in the project. Luckily, that didn’t happen often.

LUX: What do you think of social media?
SC: For discovering artistic talent and for ease of communication it is brilliant. I also really like Facebook groups that help me to look for antiques and give a second life to things – I am very touched by that kind of approach. But I think social media takes up so much space in our lives and we have to know how to slow down and discipline ourselves. Easier said than done…

Read more: Alia Al-Senussi and Durjoy Rahman on art and cultural soft power

LUX: Are there musicians you would particularly like to work with?
SC: I have has the opportunity to be surrounded by great artists every day. I am blown away by the singer-songwriter Matthieu Chedid, who I have seen on stage many times, and the singer and actress Yael Naim. My favourite album at the moment is Hamza’s latest, Sincèrement. It is hard-hitting but also very free-form.

LUX: What advice would you give to young international actors?
SC: To try and stay true to themselves, whatever happens.

LUX: What were you doing before our interview this morning?
SC: I was looking after my baby daughter, who is eight months old.

This article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2023/24 issue of LUX

Zar Amir Ebrahimi, the first Iranian to win a Best Actress Palme d’Or at Cannes

At a time of upheaval in her homeland, the Iranian born actress and director, who won Best Actress at Cannes in 2022 for her role as a journalist hunting a killer in Holy Spider, speaks of the beauty and consolation she finds in Iran and her hopes for a new generation of women there

My favourite place in Tehran

Zahir-od-Dowleh Cemetery is a private cemetery in the north of Tehran. Many cultural figures are buried there, including Forugh Farrokhzad, a female poet I adore and admire. She was a modernist, very brave, but died in an accident in 1966 before she was 30. She made a very interesting movie that was the beginning of the nouvelle vague in Iranian cinema. Very few people can reach the cemetery, as it’s not public, but some who admire the poet sit there at the weekends reading her poetry. The cemetery belongs to my family, so I used to go there in sad moments and I would always find a good feeling. I miss it.

What reminds me of home

Jasmine. The scent is stronger in Iran than anywhere else. And borage, a very beautiful tea, which has a fruit whose odour is very strong and reminds me of springtime. I also miss the rain. Tehran is a dusty city, and when it’s raining wonderful smells come out of the dust.

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The biggest difference between Paris and Iran

Paris is where I have found myself finally as a woman. I lived in Iran for around 25 years and, for almost all those years, I was trying to hide my femininity, to look like a boy. After one or two years of living in Paris, I became okay with my female feelings, my body, my hair. The freedom I found in Paris was so different from when I lived in Iran.

My hopes for the next generation of women in Iran

Women in Iran are so brave. The new generation is even braver. They don’t have boundaries or borders. If they don’t like something, they don’t accept it. If I wanted to send them a message, I would say “Never give up”, because we have the power. I don’t want to make it a feminist message, because we need men. If we are separate, nothing moves. So just keep hoping, keep trying to have liberty.

Spring wildflowers in Iran’s Alborz mountains

The most challenging part of my role in the crime thriller Holy Spider

One challenge I had was understanding the motivation of my character, Rahimi. At points in the film, she risks her life to arrest a killer, when no one else is even trying to find him. Why does she do that?
I think I finally found the answer in my personal life, and my personal experiences as a woman in a patriarchal country. But it was difficult to balance the two.

Read more: Mickalene Thomas and Steve Lazarides on art gamechangers

What it meant to win the Best Actress Palme d’Or award at Cannes

I was shocked. I think it’s just amazing: there is a message of courage, there is a message of justice.

My all-time favourite film

David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.

What’s next

The meaning of life for me is just creating things – being part of creation. The most important thing now for me is my future film. I hope I can finish the writing and start production, and find the best producers in the world.

Find out more: @zaramirebrahimi

Ballet dancer, actor and entrepreneur Sergei Polunin. Image by Alex Kerkis

Tattooed, athletic and outspoken, ballet maestro Sergei Polunin has a way of keeping everyone on their toes. LUX talks to the dancer, actor and entrepreneur about his internet-breaking video for Hozier, working with Kenneth Branagh, and dancing in virtual reality

1. Can you describe your style of dancing?

It’s a combination of having trained in two different countries: Russia, with its classical training, precise technique and good clean positions, and England, where there is a lot of acting and expression in every movement.

2. Are you a rule-breaker?

I actually enjoy following the rules when it comes to ballet. When you’re training, you need to follow a very strict path, but in order to perform, you need to feel free. During performances, I try to discard the rules and translate what I feel for the audience.

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3. Your feelings about ballet institutions seem untraditional, though?

I’m trying to build an alternative system to compete with the old theatre system, which has been going since the 1800s, where ballet dancers are signed up and then are told exactly what to do for their whole career. They’re not allowed any representation or to negotiate for money or to choose their next project – like old Hollywood. I’m working with the government to offer dancers more money and freedom and to create some healthy competition.

4. What is the biggest misconception about male ballet dancers?

That they are silly or feminine. I was never bullied for dancing, though; I’ve always considered it a man’s job. Boxers learn dancing to improve their flexibility and to hide emotions. Just as a dancer never shows how hard they are working, a fighter hides where his next punch is coming from. Also, if you choose to study ballet, you’ll be surrounded by girls! That would never happen with football.

5. Did you expect Hozier’s ‘Take Me to Church’ video with your dance to go viral?

Not really, no. When they filmed the video, I had been thinking about quitting dancing for acting, so I wasn’t in the best shape at the time. I’m happy that so many people appreciated it but I still see lots of technical mistakes!

Here and above: Sergei Polunin photographed by Morgan Norman

6. How do you connect with the audience when you are dancing in an arena?

Performing for that many people gives me more energy. I could actually dance larger, perform bigger! It’s important to show that ballet can work for big stadium audiences, too.

7. What great traditional ballet roles are left for you to perform?

So many amazing dancers have already performed these roles, I don’t think I could add anything. I want to create new things instead.

Read more: Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos on the poetry of jewellery

8. Are there any stories begging to be made into a ballet?

Many! You can turn anything into a ballet. Imagine a Marvel or DC comic and dancing as the Joker or the Penguin.

9. How about a ballet about the Kardashians?

Absolutely! Dance has no boundaries. You can dance as a chess piece, a planet, a myth, a god.

10. What do you think is the future of dance?

Virtual reality and 3D technology are the perfect mediums for dance. Once a dance is done, how can the performance be saved forever? I think virtual reality is the answer.

11. You’ve acted in films directed by Kenneth Branagh and Ralph Fiennes. Did they give you any acting advice?

They didn’t have too many corrections on set. I think as an actor you transfer your personal energy into the role. Some actors just make you want to look at them, like Mickey Rourke or Marlon Brando on screen – I don’t care what they’re doing or saying, I just look at them.

12. Can you imagine a life without dancing?

Dance is my centre and my core. I always come back to it. It comes easily to me, but I don’t spend time thinking about it. I pursue other things like acting and I’m building a foundation to bring together financing, resources and people to develop and fund creative projects. I want to support different kinds of talents – choreographers, lighting designers, costume designers, painters, film directors, playwrights.

Discover more: poluninink.com

This interview was originally published in the Summer 2020 Issue. 

Model and actress Adrianna Gradziel. Instagram: @adriannagradziel

LUX contributing editor and model at Models 1, Charlie Newman continues her online exclusive series, interviewing her peers about their creative pursuits, passions and politics

Charlie Newman

THIS MONTH: At the age of 30, Adrianna Gradziel’s career resembles someone twice her age. With campaigns for La Roche Posay, Clarins, Vichy, Pandora, a Mercedes TV advert and a Van Cleef and Arpels perfume advert under her belt, Adrianna branched off into the world of acting, landing roles in two French TV series as well as the French Rom-Com I kissed a girl. Born in Vienna, she speaks and has performed in three “and a half” languages: English, Polish, French and a little bit of Italian. Charlie speaks to Adrianna about the development of her career, female solidarity, and dealing with rejection

Charlie Newman: What was the reaction from family and friends when you started modelling? Were they supportive?
Adrianna Gradziel: I don’t know if my parents were all that supportive with the idea of me becoming a model because
they thought I would be better off studying and staying at home. I started, like a lot of models, really young at 15 so I moved out of home at 17, inevitably they were a bit worried. But then after some time they realised everything was going well, that I didn’t party wildly and that they could have confidence in me. At the beginning they thought the job was dangerous, with strange people and maybe a bit superficial, but then they saw that I was making something out of my life, and how happy I was working.

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Charlie Newman: Was modelling something that was always on your radar or was it a total shock when you were approached?
Adrianna Gradziel: Actually, modelling wasn’t something I was thinking about at all. But then I was approached on the street by a mutual friend of my parents who was a model agent in Vienna and he was the first to sign me. I felt really flattered at that age because all of us in our teens are really uncomfortable in our bodies. So for someone to tell me I could model and go and work in Paris made me feel great about myself.

Charlie Newman: What has been a career highlight for you so far?
Adrianna Gradziel: One of my career highlights so far has definitely been working with Jean Paul Goude with whom I shot a Galerie Lafayette campaign. He’s such an incredible artist – he was the guy who basically created Grace Jones and the artist she became. I was so impressed by the way he works because he is super friendly and knows exactly what he wants, he gives good direction and he doesn’t have to be rude to get people to listen. I really love working with people like that.

In October, I had a job in Spain where I worked with a Spanish director called Victor Clement for a TV commercial. He was exactly the same type of person who is very creative, loves his job and comes up with great ideas quickly. It was amazing to see someone so creative within the constrains of such a commercial job, I loved working with him. For me, it’s about working with great people.

Charlie Newman: If you could work with any photographer who would it be and why?
Adrianna Gradziel: There are a lot of people whose work I really admire but are impossible to work with as they have died. Helmut Newton for example, whose imagery of strong and sensual women I love because it’s so powerful. I also love the softness of Paolo Roversi’s imagery, it’s very feminine too but in a different kind of way, it’s more vulnerable and sensitive.

Instagram: @adriannagradziel

Charlie Newman: What would you say are the best and most challenging parts of modelling are?
Adrianna Gradziel: The best parts of modelling are definitely travelling and meeting fun, creative, crazy people. I wouldn’t have got to where I am today without all the bonds I’ve created with them and you’re paid really well. What is definitely more challenging, and for me personally, is that I had a little too much weight for the job. It was really hard for me to live up to the expectations of the job; to always be in shape, always happy, always smiling. Sometimes you have to be a little bit of machine. I’m a very sensitive person, I’m not the same person everyday so sometimes I wouldn’t feel so great, but that immediately comes through in your work. This is very tough because you’re expected to be this joyful, sparky person all the time and if you’re not then people aren’t afraid to tell you you’re not on top which is super hard.

Another part is that you can be really lonely a lot of the time when you’re working. When you move out of home so young you don’t have friends everywhere, you’re constantly travelling and often alone. One negative which I have now found to be a positive is the fact that you don’t know when or where your next job is going to be. At first it’s hard to adjust to this carefree lifestyle, but now I enjoy the fact that not every day is the same. Also when you’re young it’s really hard to stand your ground when people are being rude or expecting too much of you. Now that I’m 30, I’m not afraid to speak up.

Charlie Newman: What was the process between you transitioning from modelling to acting? Has it always been on the cards or was it something you just fell into?
Adrianna Gradziel: Acting was something that has been on my mind since I was younger but I never really had the courage to say it out loud, it always seemed like some weird dream you can never actually do. Then when started modelling I kind of forgot about it, but my agent and ex-boyfriend in the same week mentioned that I should try acting because they thought I might like it. I then enrolled at the Cours Florent and I quickly realised how much I enjoyed doing it. The transition from modelling to acting is tough though because you don’t feel legitimate at the beginning. So many models try acting, yet not so many are good at it and also because you’re pretty, people often think that opportunities come more easily. I always had the feeling that I needed to be better and do more so I could prove them wrong because models are seemed as superficial etc. I even cut my hair to make me look more interesting or maybe more arty, but in the end I think it all comes from inside.

You just have to train really hard to be a good actor, you can’t just rely on natural talent. I didn’t feel good enough to be an actress at the beginning. It wasn’t until only recently that I started to believe in myself. You might think acting and modelling are two similar jobs because it’s about an image on a screen, but it’s not at all the same. Acting is about emotions, whilst modelling can be but it’s mostly about selling something ,which are two completely different things. A director’s camera and a photographer’s camera expect two different things from you.

Read more: How Hublot’s attracting a new generation of customers

Charlie Newman: What has been your favourite character to play so far and why?
Adrianna Gradziel: I think my favourite character so far was Natalia from a French comedy TV show. It was a great role. She was a Polish lady who moved to France with her husband and was really unhappy with him so she was very grumpy all the time! I loved playing this character because she was a foreigner in the country she lives in and felt lonely, which of course I could relate to. Mainly, it was fun to play the role because it was a comedy and a cliché of how we see Eastern people. I really enjoyed playing out this cliché, for example, Polish people only eat potatoes and all those kind of jokes. The preparation for it was interesting too because I had to have a Polish accent in English! It helped train me in accents and apply it to future projects.

Instagram: @adriannagradziel

Charlie Newman: If you could work with any director who and why?
Adrianna Gradziel: Wow there are so many! Firstly, I love Wes Anderson movies because of all the juxtapositions. They’re childish yet elegant, deep but shallow, entertaining but violent all at the same time, which is a most amazing combination. I love Pawel Pawlikowski’s work, it’s extremely beautiful whether it’s the frames, the light or the writing. His films are very moving, I feel like he is a director who really has something to say and that it’s really crucial for him to tell the story, it’s in his flesh.

Charlie Newman: What was your favourite film growing up as a child and what’s your favourite movie now?
Adrianna Gradziel: My favourite movie when I was growing up was all the James Bond movies because we watched them with my family and it was always such a pleasant family moment. Growing older, tastes change. It’s difficult to pick one movie but I think The Double life of Véronique has moved me the most, it has a special place in my heart.

Charlie Newman: With acting and modelling comes relentless rejection which can be extremely tough -how do you overcome this? Do you have any advice for other aspiring models/actors on how to combat
it?
Adrianna Gradziel: This is a great question because there aren’t many jobs out there where you experience daily rejection. At the beginning it was so tough because I permanently felt that it was for a personal reason, therefore I took it personally. I was constantly trying to adapt to something I could’t control. Then one day when it wasn’t bearable anymore I thought maybe I should actually start doing some spiritual evolution inside of myself, see the bigger picture and not take myself too seriously. Now, I know if I don’t get a job it’s only because it’s not meant to be, and to have more faith in myself. Also I think if you chose this line of work, you have to accept that rejection becomes part of your daily life and you shouldn’t see it as something damaging, but instead as something constructive. Rejection makes you learn about yourself, so I think it should be seen as more of a blessing than an injury.

Charlie Newman: You are working within two industries that are heavily involved within the MeToo movement. From your experience, is there anything you would like to see change personally? How do you think both industries can better themselves?
Adrianna Gradziel:  The MeToo movement is highlighting a huge global problem, affecting every industry. What I would like to see improve more is female solidarity. We can’t break out of the patriarchal society without coming together. We have to overcome the intimidation we feel by a woman who might be older than you, or prettier than you or whatever. If we are all looking out for each other then we can help one another to stand up for ourselves in testing times. Once that happens on ground level, then hopefully it will filter up to a political and economic level too.

Charlie Newman: Who’s your role model of the month?
Adrianna Gradziel: I have a a few! My mum, because I’m always so impressed by the fact that despite her age, she still sees life through a child’s eyes, she has so much energy and is very emotional and generous. My friend Valeria for being such a tough warrior and my acting teacher Tom because I look forward to his classes so much. They’re all very powerful people who give me light, inspire me and go further.

Follow Adrianna on Instagram: @adriannagradziel

Actress Isabelle Huppert photographed by Fred Meylan

Acclaimed actress Isabelle Huppert, 65, has appeared in more than 120 films since her debut in 1971, including her Golden Globe-winning turn in Elle in 2016, and The Piano Teacher, for which she won Best Actress at Cannes in 2001. She is also the most-nominated actress of the César Award, France’s national film award. Here, she considers the gender pay gap and the privilege of time with LUX Associate Editor Kitty Harris

1. As a woman in film, knowing that men are paid more than their counterparts, do you think things will change?

Yes of course, you can always wish for change, because obviously it’s a worldwide fact that women have still a lot to gain. When I started as an actress, I did everything possible to fight for myself. In a way, fighting for myself was fighting for women in general, but I always felt I had to be in a certain position in the films I was doing.

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2. What’s your greatest fear for future generations?

I think it’s more and more difficult to find a focus. Sometimes I see very young people having difficulty finding an aim in life. I don’t know why that is, maybe because there are too many options or not enough in certain fields. But I hope it’s only temporary in their lives.

3. How did you balance work with raising children?

I’m in a very privileged situation. It’s a lot more difficult for women who have to fight for time and to navigate with money problems. It’s a problem in everybody’s life to run after time, to consider that life is too short and days are too short to put everything together, but it wasn’t a problem for me.

4. Do you feel social media is enhancing or damaging our society?

I don’t know what to think about it, but it’s not important to my life. I have to say I am aware of it, of course – you have to live within your time and you cannot completely ignore it. Although I know some people do ignore it and, in a way, I praise them for being completely ignorant of it. It’s so difficult now to keep things private and secret. Everything is so much more exposed and open to interpretation and therefore, misunderstandings. It doesn’t only propagate bad; it’s great to be kept politically informed about how people experience difficulties and tragedies around the world. I wouldn’t choose whether it is good or bad. You can also take it as a game.

Read more: Andermatt Swiss Alps reveals concert hall & artist collaboration

5. Has there ever been a moment in your career where you have been misunderstood or misinterpreted?

There is always a misunderstanding, but you have to live with it – there is nothing you can do about it. Especially for life as an actress, you have a certain image through the roles you play and some of it is true and part of it is untrue, but that comes with the territory. The public side to it necessarily creates a kind of misunderstanding.

6. What for you are the biggest social worries at the moment?

Well, [my worry] is the same as it has always been – but maybe it’s more obvious now – the imbalance between wealthy countries and non-wealthy countries. And with all the movement with migrants, it looks like it’s getting worse and worse.

This article originally appeared in The Beauty Issue. Click here to view more content from the issue

22-year-old model and actress, Emma Laird. Instagram: @emmlaird

LUX contributing editor and model at Models 1, Charlie Newman continues her new online exclusive series, interviewing her peers about their creative pursuits, passions and politics

Charlie Newman

THIS MONTH: Emma Laird was scouted when she was 18 by Models 1 at a festival  covered in mud, glitter and last night’s make-up. Since then, the 22-year-old from Chesterfield, England has appeared on the pages of some of the world’s most famous magazines including Elle, Grazia, Glamour and L’Officiel, and has starred in a campaign for United Colours of Benetton. She is also an actress and avid reader, as Charlie discovers

Charlie Newman: Firstly huge congratulations on your burgeoning film career! Can you tell us a bit about it and what you’re working on at the moment?
Emma Laird: Thank you so much! I always loved acting at school, but felt maybe a little naive thinking that’s a valid career path. Modelling set me up because I knew how much effort went into a photoshoot, the lights, the costume department etc…there are similarities there which transfer to acting. When I went to New York initially for modelling back in 2016, I started looking at studying whilst I was there. I went to an open day at New York Film Academy and the casting director there said that he had a spot for me, but I had to start on Monday. I said yes and have never been so thankful for making such an impulsive decision. This year I got two short films, one in particular that I’m very excited about. It will be hitting film festivals globally next summer and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

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Charlie Newman: How have you found the progression from modelling to acting?
Emma Laird: It’s hard because modelling is addictive. It’s very easy to get addicted to money, but there comes a point when you go to work wishing you were doing something else and you realise you can’t be doing something with your life just to score a bigger pay cheque. I would always turn down a paid modelling job to work on an indie film. As long as I can pay my mortgage off each month I’m happy doing free shit that I’m excited about, smaller projects, just learning and working with talented people in film is what I get excited about. I’m trying to enjoy the ride and continually learn in the mean time; reading scripts, watching other performances, reading, writing and just educating myself in general. Some of the greatest actors are some of the smartest people. If you land a role set in a different time period you have to know your shit. Politically, who was in power at that time, how were women treated, what were their roles in society at that time, how did people dress, what things had been invented, what were people campaigning for? It’s all relevant. So I’m trying just to continually progress with education and spend more time with my head in books that on social media.

Emma Laird, shot by Aaron Hurley

Charlie Newman: Being a model and actress must require a multitude of emotion and a lot of energy when you turn up on set. Does it ever all get a bit much?
Emma Laird: Yes it does, it’s hard. I think loving yourself is something every model needs to learn. You are constantly under scrutiny. Getting naked in a room full of people, going in bare-faced when you might have a few spots, people asking your age and what you plan to do with your life… Of course that requires confidence, but more importantly you have to love and appreciate yourself as a person in order for that not to affect you. Modelling more so, I feel the pressure because they’ve booked me on looks alone. At least with acting I’ve gone through that audition process and they’ve booked me because they see something inside me. Acting is more of an escape from my own emotions or I use the stuff I’m dealing with and build it into a character which offers me a release.

Charlie Newman: How do you think the film and fashion industry compare when it comes to female empowerment?
Emma Laird: For me it’s been very circumstantial. Sometimes it’s an all girl team and it’s fab, sometimes it’s been the women who have scorned me for having hips. Sometimes I’ve been vulnerable in a room with only me and a male photographer. In general I think both industries are progressing with more female directors, photographers etc. which have always been male dominated but I do think we’ve got a way to go in taking women seriously and judging someone on their talent not their gender.

Read more: Charlie Newman interviews model, actress, filmmaker and activist,Florence Kosky

Charlie Newman: What would you like to see change within both industries?
Emma Laird: I’d love to see women in male roles and vice versa. I hate to think that a boy would grow up with such a talent for styling but would never pursue it because he thinks its too feminine or is scared people will question his gender. I sometimes think these issues are linked to homophobia. If people were more accepting of the LGBT movement and if it was normalised in more rural areas (because London is very progressive, it’s the small towns that still have a long way to go) I believe there would be fewer problems with gender roles/norms and that people would feel less obliged to take on a career based on their gender. So yes, I’d love for everyone to stop worrying about men wearing pink and on a more serious note, all industries hiring on a strictly talent and skill basis!

Emma Laird for Skinny Dip London. Instagram: @emmlaird

Charlie Newman: You have such a strikingly beautiful look. Whilst growing up, did you ever feel like you needed to conform to more stereotypical beauty standards?
Emma Laird: You’re very flattering Charlie thanks! I tried too definitely but there came a point when I realised that heavy make up didn’t suit me and nor did fake tan. I either had to embrace my look or hate it. I learnt to deal with it, and I had a really great group of friends in secondary school so whilst I was never the ‘pretty’ one, I wasn’t bullied for my looks after about the age of 12. It’s funny, I always hated not having boobs growing up, I developed very late and now I actually have B cup and wish they were smaller! I don’t think we’re ever happy with our bodies are we?

Charlie Newman: What do you do for you, to keep you grounded?
Emma Laird: I go back North all the time, around twice a month. I also have a lot of friends with ‘normal’ jobs, who don’t live in London which I think helps. It’s great to be able to live such a normal life and disconnect from fashion and the media whilst having such an extraordinary job. Don’t get me wrong I have amazing friends like you in fashion, and it’s so exciting knowing so many creative and truly talented people. I just personally like the balance of both. I feel like I have the best of both worlds.

Read more: Co-founder & CEO of Spring Francesco Costa on creative co-working

Charlie Newman: I know that you’re a committed vegan. What made you make this transition?
Emma Laird: I kind of did it accidentally at first. I don’t think I knew what a vegan was until after I became one. I was restrictive with food groups when I first started modelling so I wouldn’t eat that stuff anyway. I then started to research vigorously about food. I always loved learning and felt like I had to know whether I was doing my body good or bad by eliminating these things from my diet. That was when I started to realise there was all these health complications and risks with consuming dairy and meat that I started to call myself vegan.

Charlie Newman: Do you have any tips for aspiring vegans whilst travelling? I presume it’s quite difficult to maintain whilst on the move.
Emma Laird: I always say just be low maintenance. You can’t expect vegan joints all over the world but you can sure as hell expect supermarkets with fresh produce, places that sell side salads, fries, meals that you can ‘veganise’ and ask for things off of the menu. At the end of the day you’re giving a restaurant your money so you should get what you want. You just have to be a bit more creative when you travel.

Instagram: @emmlaird

Charlie Newman: Are there any environmental causes you’re particularly passionate about?
Emma Laird: I’m actually spending the entire month of August plastic free, meaning all of my produce from shops I’m buying without plastic. I’m very passionate about our oceans – we should all be passionate about the oceans because we 100% need them to survive. The majority of our oxygen comes from the oceans, more so than trees and plants on land. It’s almost that out-of-sight, out-of-mind view that people have. We’re not really taught about environmental issues in school and how we can live a more conscious lifestyle, supermarkets make it very difficult to live eco-friendly when almost everything is wrapped in plastic. I’m not saying plastic isn’t effective. I know that it allows for produce to stay fresh whilst it’s being transported but I refuse to believe that other, less harmful materials can be used or even reused.

Charlie Newman: Lastly, who’s your role model of the month?
Emma Laird: My role model of the month is Sylvia Plath. I’ve been reading a lot of her work recently. It’s so inspiring and resonates so well with me that I almost create this world in my head as I’m reading her poems. Her and Leonard Cohen. He can make me cry like nobody else, his songs especially. There’s this verse in one of his songs that goes:

I walked into a hospital
Where none was sick and none was well,
When at night the nurses left
I could not walk at all

(Lyrics from Teachers)

I just love it. So I guess poets are my role models of the month!

Find Emma Laird on Instagram: @emmlaird

One of Hollywood’s great mysteries, Jared Leto has spent his career defying its received wisdom that you can only fit one niche. Below the radar of gossip columnists, he flits from Oscar-winning performances and eye-catching red carpet appearances – green Gucci frock coat with candyfloss pink cropped trousers recently – to rock climbing and headlining with his rock band, Thirty Seconds to Mars. He fits the role of doe-eyed sweetheart, psychopathic killer and fashion frontrunner all in one.

Raised by his mother, Leto spent his childhood moving from city to city around America, learning to love the nomadic life. He studied cinema, moved to LA and was cast as the sensitive teenage love interest in the cult TV series, My So-Called Life. But Leto was more than a pretty face. A committed method actor, he has lived with homeless heroin junkies for the role of Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream and dramatically lost and gained weight playing the overweight killer of John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, in Chapter 27 and the transgender drug-addict, Rayon in Dallas Buyer’s Club. Winning an academy award for his work, Leto never breaks from his character on set. After years of art house, Leto recently went for blockbuster as the Joker in Suicide Squad, taking on the role left by the late Heath Ledger. All this while he has been fronting his rock band alongside his brother, with record sales in the millions. Now he has taken another turn on his alternative Hollywood path, working with Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele as the new face of Gucci Guilty. He spoke to Caroline Davies about commitment, guilt and never quite letting go of the joker.

Jared Leto in the Gucci Guilty campaign

LUX: What scents do you associate with your childhood?
Jared Leto: The smell of a campfire is always pretty powerful. It brings back certain times and adventures.

LUX: What was the first scent you wore?
JL: I think one of my grandfathers got me and my brother Old Spice and Brut soap-on-a-rope.

LUX: Acting, directing, music. Are they different parts of your personality? How do they inform one
another?
JL: It’s been challenging to make them all work. They take a lot of time, which has always been the
biggest challenge for me. How do you find the time to make room for several lovers, I suppose?

LUX: You spent much of your childhood moving around America. Has it given you a wanderlust?
JL: I would say that I like new experiences so that’s sometimes the part than can keep you travelling.

LUX: Where is your favourite place in the world? What would you do there?
JL: There are so many places around the world that I really love. The national parks in America have to be some of my favourites.

LUX: You’re known for your commitment to roles. What has been the most difficult part to play? Why?
Jared Leto: The Joker was probably one of the most difficult, that and Dallas Buyers Club. It’s just very dark and emotional. There was a physical component – I had to lose a lot of weight, so it was really challenging.

LUX: Have you ever scared yourself with a character? When?
JL: I was more concerned with the work that I needed to do in order to try and do my best.

Behind the scenes shot from the Guilty Gucci campaign by Alessandro Michele

LUX: Which character was the hardest to let go of?
JL: The Joker still visits from time to time. So be careful.

LUX: Why Gucci? Why now?
JL: Alessandro drew me to the collaboration and we had met and become friends. And so when he asked me to do it, I was so excited. I thought it would be really fun to join him in this great adventure.

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LUX: Tell me about creating the footage for the Guilty campaign. You filmed in Venice in December; what was the atmosphere like?
JL: It was improvisational. It was very creative. It was a unique story of this guy and two women on an adventure, and it’s magical but it’s good. It was a lot of fun to make, and a great group of people to work with.

LUX: What do you think of when you think about guilt?
JL: Guilty is a frightful way to mean taking some chances and not always playing things safe.

LUX: How would you describe your choice of clothes?
JL: I don’t really put very much time and variation into fashion to tell you the truth. Maybe that’s a good explanation for a lot of things. I have fun with it and I’m not worried about being too safe with it because at the end of the day, it’s really not big a deal. So I just have a bit of fun with it.

A still from the Gucci Guilty campaign, filmed in Venice

LUX: Do you think that fashion can feel limiting for men?
JL: I think most men’s fashion is pretty boring, utilitarian, safe, and there is something to the
unpredictability of what Alessandro does that’s really compelling.

LUX: How do you view Hollywood?
JL: Well, I’m glad that I am where I am now. I think you sometimes have to throw a bit of caution to the wind. I have taken long breaks from acting. And that’s okay.

LUX: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard about life and acting?
JL: Commitment, to commit