#esquire theater

[kodachrome-net]

Esquire Theater, Chicago, September 2007

[filmcourage]

How A Man Wrongfully Convicted For 25 Years Helped Inspire The Movie SING SING - Greg Kwedar

Watch the video interview on YouTube here.

[ofmdrecaps]

08/22-23/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; David Fane; Samba Schutte; Madeleine Sami; Kristian Nairn; Alex Sherman; Bronson Pinchot; Damien Gerard; Vico Ortiz; Reminders to Vote; Adopt Our Crew: GalaxyCon San Jose Videos; Call to Action Aug 30th; Fan Spotlight: Citizen Dame Podcast; Truly Docked Event in Tx Reminder; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

== David Jenkins ==

David has been sharing more beautiful artwork by our crew. This time is the brilliant @thozaarmitage <3, and he's right, just SO GOOD.

Source: David Jenkins Twitter

== Rhys Darby ==

First up, some words of wisdom on how to success in life from Rhys' Tiktok!

Next up: Rhys' (And Minnie's!) movie Uproar won Best Oceania Film 2024 at the Septimius Awards!

Last but not least, it looks like Rhys has a new project coming up-- check out the article here!

Source: Variety Article

== Taika Waititi ==

Some "August b&w Shots" from a friend of Taika

Source: Christabel Rose Instagram

Previews of the season finale of Time Bandits!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Apple TV (@appletv)

And a short video by Rita.

Source: Rita Ora's Tiktok

== David Fane ==

David out with a John Asi!

Source: John Asi's Instagram Stories

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba's sharing more info regarding the upcoming Advanced Chemistry Theatre Screenings! You can buy tickets here!

📍 Arlington Capitol Theater 🗺️ Arlington, MA 🗓️ Date: 9/3 💬 Q&A 📍 Village East 🗺️ NYC 🗓️ Date: 9/4 💬 Q&A 📍 The Screening Room at 1313 🗺️ Wilmington, DE 🗓️ Date: 9/6 🕒 Time: TBD 📍 Lark 🗺️ Larkspur, CA 🗓️ Date: 9/7 💬 Q&A 📍 Harkins 101 via Phoenix Film Festival 🗺️ Scottsdale, AZ 🗓️ Date: 9/9 📍 The Ashland 🗺️ Ashland, OH 🗓️ Date: 9/10 🕒 Time: 4:30 PM 📍 More Info 📍 Laemmle Monica 🗺️ Santa Monica, CA 🗓️ Date: 9/12 🕒 Time: 7:30 PM 📍 Rodeo Cinema 🗺️ Oklahoma, OK 🗓️ Date: 9/18 📍 Gateway Film Center 🗺️ Columbus, OH 🗓️ Date: 9/18 🕒 Time: 7:30 PM 📍 Cinestudio 🗺️ Hartford, CT 🗓️ Date: 9/21 🕒 Time: 7:00 PM 💬 Q&A 📍 Esquire 🗺️ Cincinnati, OH 🗓️ Date: 9/22 🕒 Time: Matinee

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram Stories / Good Deed Entertainments Instagram

== Madeleine Sami ==

Madeleine's been promoting Season 2 of Double parked! There's some shots of her and her costar as well as a new trailer! Check them out below!

Source: Madeleine Sami's Instagram

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A post shared by Madeleine Sami (@madeleinesami)

== Kristian Nairn ==

Kristian is going to be in New York City on September 24th at The 92nd Street Y for an exclusive In Conversation & Signing! You can visit 92 NY.org to get tickets!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

Also~~ Kristian wrote a thank you note for @smudgeandfrank who recently saw him and the rest of the cast at GalaxyCon Raleigh! If you HAVENT seen their work, please check out their instagram!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

== Alex Sherman ==

Alex has been poking his head out lately which we love to see!!

Source: Alex Sherman's Twitter

== Bronson Pinchot ==

More Ned Low Musings from Bronson as well as his other characters! (PS: Sorry Tumblr DOES NOT want to share this video for some reason? 1. You can visit it here on Instagram 2. More Ned Low)

Source: Bronson Pinchot Instagram

== Damien Gerard ==

Damien out at a secret studio in their Green Room! Looking forward to see what you're up to sir!

Source: Damien Gerard's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico's got more OFMD BTS up on Patreon!

Source: Vico's Patreon

== Reminders To Vote ==

Thank you @adoptourcrew for the reminders!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Adopt Our Crew ==

One of the awesome things our friends over at @adoptourcrew have been up to lately is going to cons! They had some fun questions to ask our lovely cast and crew!

=Vico Ortiz=

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adopt Our Crew (@adoptourcrew)

= Kristian Nairn =

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adopt Our Crew (@adoptourcrew)

= Call To Action =

@adoptourcrew is asking for your help on August 30th to get OFMD trending again!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Citizen Dame Podcast =

There's another episode of Patreon exclusive OFMD Weekly series up! This week is The Art of Fuckery. It's just as fun as it sounds, if you're a patron feel free to check it out! If not, and you're interested, you can become a patron on their Patreon!

Source: Citizen Dame Patreon

= Truly Docked Sept 21-22, 2024 =

We're just a month away from the Truly Docked event in Galveston TX, and events have been announced! You can still purchase tickets here!

Source: Truly Docked Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! It's the weekend for a bunch of you! Huzzah! Hopefully this week wasn't too crazy for you and you're getting a chance to take a load off! Tonight I really just wanted to say thank you for all your kindness. Seriously. You all remind me every day that the world isn't a dreary place, but one filled with wonder, light, and good-intentioned people. Whether you're sending @ofmdlovelyletters to crewmates, or sharing artwork/fics, or making beautiful gifs, or sharing stills, sending a quick dm to check in on folks, or a comment with something kind, you are making the world so much more manageable. Sometimes when I'm having a bad day at work, even if I don't have time to interact much, I just come on and scroll through tumblr and see all of the things you all are up to, and I can feel the warmth radiating from all the wonderful things you're doing.

I can feel the love, even when it's not directed at me, that's how much love there is out there. It's like coming home to a warm fire and a soft rug to lay on and a blanket, and a cup of hot tea to warm the soul. You all make so many tiny waves each day, and those waves come back and go on to make other waves, and there's nothing more wonderful than someone being kind when they could have been harsh. You make the world a better place. You make this world worth living in, and fighting for, and full of hope.

So yeah.. I just wanted to say thank you lovelies, you truly have helped so many people through so many things you'll never ever be able to comprehend, and you do it with love. Thank you for being kind, and loving, and you <3 PS: This made me think of you all, thank you for being that reason for me and so many others <3

Source: FullSpiritQuotes Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is disaster! Gifs courtesy of the magnificent @thunderwingdoomslayer and @celluloidbroomcloset!

[skarsjoy]

I’m still thinking about Alexander Skarsgård looking like a million bucks at the Nosferatu Hollywood premiere last Thursday.  

I thought earlier that he was wearing his Tom Ford suit from the S4 True Blood premiere but it is not. I think it is the suit that he wore to the 2018 Critics Choice Awards (when he won for Big Little Lies). It was a Boss bespoke wool 3-piece suit, he just didn’t wear the vest this time. He was styled by Jeanne Yang for the 2018 event.

Alex quotes from his interview with Trishna Rikhy for Esquire in September: “It’s not sustainable with fast fashion, where we’re incentivized to buy new pieces of clothing every single day and then throw them out and then buy new stuff,” he says. “I think it’s very important that when you go out to buy stuff, [you] buy stuff that you obviously love and you’re excited to come home and try on but [also] pieces that will last and sustain you. You want to build a relationship with those pieces, or at least I do. I love having stuff that I’ve worn for many years and that I have many memories from wearing.”

He doesn’t like the idea of having a brand-new outfit for every red carpet, either. “What signal does that send out to the public?” he asks. “It’s basically saying you can’t be seen in the same outfit more than once, which incentivizes people to just go out and buy, buy, buy, which I can’t endorse.” 

📸 Alexander Skarsgård attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features' "Nosferatu" at TCL Chinese Theater on December 12, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Andrew Toth/WireImage)

📸 Actor Alexander Skarsgård attends The 23rd Annual Critics' Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on January 11, 2018 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

[radarsteddybear]

Above is the Memphis Belle, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.  These bombers were used heavily throughout WWII in all combat theaters, though most significantly over Europe. The Memphis Belle was the first such bomber to complete all of her 25 missions and return to the US*, where she went on a war bond tour.  She was also the subject of a 1944 documentary and a 1990 film.  The plane was named after the pilot's girlfriend back home and was taken from the film Lady for a Night; the pinup design was provided from the April 1941 issue of Esquire magazine.

You can see the ball turret in the fourth and fifth pictures.  I can't imagine being crammed in one tens of thousand of feet in the air.  That sounds absolutely terrifying.  You can also see the very many guns sticking out all over the plane to defend itself from other planes in the air.

The final picture is of the Norden Bombsight, one of most closely guarded pieces of Allied technology during WWII (though it turned out later that the bombsight wasn't as secret--or unique--as had been thought). It allowed bombers to aim with significantly more accuracy than previously, though by today's standards, it...really sucks. For example, in one bombing that send 250 bombers to destroy a ball bearing factory, only about 1 in 10 bombs fell within 500 feet of their target, and additional raids were needed to completely destroy the target. If you look really closely in the bottom right corner of the display case, you can see that the bombsight is marked as being radioactive.

*There were a few other B-17s that finished their 25 missions before the Memphis Belle, but this one was the first to return to the States.

There are two more pictures, one of the open bomb bay and another of the ball turret, under the cut:

[bigassbowlingballhead]

Okay, but hear me out: in that new Paul Downs show with Kaley Cuoco, the other characters are members of a regional theater troupe. 👀 And in the moodboard for his Esquire shoot, they hinted at “new-age thespian” 👀 (https://x.com/faephilia/status/1857121772291989810?s=46&t=gjspkHH_XZBQgLxtfRC34w)

I’m probably clowning hard here, but what if???? 🤡

i'm liking how this is shaping up. i'm here for it.

[creativeimpetus]

What is the Squire?

Endsday, 45th, Wend.

The Squire, or Esquire, is a most unusual phenomenon. They are the dapper beasts— I am sure you know the same three or four at every locale— having crowded the eateries, the train stations, the theaters, and public squares, with their bulky frames and excited flourishes of the arms.

The Squire is an artful one whose interests lie in having sweets with hot drinks, and discussing the latest in fine culture. They carry themselves with dignity, as if they were Ladies gathered in a drawing room, and not packed together at the grease-laden tables of the chophouse. The patrons of the theaters and trains complain that they are too tall to sit in front, too talkative amongst themselves, and that they must sprawl across more than one seat to be comfortable.

The Squire’s favorite destination of all is the tailor’s, where they inquire, “Oh but have you any fine fabric for a poor quillock?” The warehouses are overflowing with the moth-eaten garments of the yesteryear. The Ladies cannot give their old rags to their servants, for they are much too big. If they fret so much about wasting them, then they must return them to the shop. But how much work to unravel the stack, for some Ladies discard their clothes every month! The Squire adopts the leftovers as her own and prides herself in public.

Not all businesses are so tolerant of the Squire. It is illegal for one to wear a crown and claim nobility. But it is not, and has never been, illegal for the non-noble matriarch to live. (If so, we would be lacking in those who dwell in the most undesirable, but important, stations of the Lakefront.) When prompted by authorities, the Squire is apt to smile, bat her doleful eyes, with such rote witticisms as, “I am no one in particular!” And “In the grand scheme, I think myself rather unimportant!” And of course, “I am only a Squire among friends.” The title of Squire has no legal bearing.

But where do these ‘Esquires’ come from? And what is their aim?

Recall that Her Grace the 9th Duchess Alabonsé was made legitimate by the Temple, on the claim that it was the “will of the Sanctimonious that she had been drawn to the Lake as a youth”. As consequence, all such victims of the Lake are now legitimized. They are no longer confined to the monastery, but allowed to re-enter society in ‘modesty’.

The balance of modesty and ostentation is the bread-and-butter of the Ladies Esquire. They crop their quills short, so as to not impose a crown, but leave their cheek markings bright. They accentuate their eyes with gilded glasses and ornaments. Though they wear dark coats and dresses, they decorate them with colorful ties, scarves, and trim.

On fair-weather days, the Squires meander the side-walks to hand flowers to passerbys, paper dolls to children, and spread crumbs for the birds. There is nothing so terrible about them. In private, they do nothing remarkable either. In the many attempts to uncover their ‘devious aims’, none so far have made a reasonable claim. The Squires are in violation of no law, speak nothing against the Temple, and seem only to discuss ordinary things. The Squires’ only crime is that they purport themselves to be warm and sociable people, not miserable beasts.

The Squire is always intentional about herself. This intention begins with her making. The so-called tragedy is orchestrated at a funeral, a marriage, or perhaps any other pilgrimage to the Lakeshore. She stands at a terrible spot, and once she has fallen into the Lake by ‘accident’, she awakens in the monastery ward. While others bemoan what she has become, she is content in her being, only feigning disappointment, or perhaps not at all. She will, invariably, be met with open arms by fellow Squires.

And what say the Duchesses of them? Her Grace the 3rd Duchess Eschyllon invited the Squires of Sanctimonious to her banquet house, during the 1st quarter of Warm this year. She remarked that they were “amusing” and “not an unpleasant bunch”. She said further, “Overall, such cases of the willing pretenders are so rare, there is no need to be alarmed. It is only a fad. Soon forgotten, [soon] regrettable.”

The subject of the Squires' motivations and impact remains curious. There are fewer than one-hundred Squires living in World Sanctimonious. The numbers in the Old World are unknown, but still less than a few hundred more. By the 3rd quarter of Wend next year, the ruffle over Squiredom is expected to dwindle altogether, following the Council’s new restrictions of the Lake.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Photograph of Jason Robards via Bettmann.

* * * *

By now the first marriage is finished and he marries another actress (“I 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 marry them,” he says later). And from the plush precincts of “21” to the No Name Bar in the Village, he is one of the legendary boozers of New York.

“It’s an occupational disease with actors,” says Robards. “It goes back to Dionysus and the Greeks, they always got pissed after a show, and it’s been going on longer than our society and I think it will continue forever. . . . It was great fun in those days to wipe out things you couldn’t cope with—stay up all night and have a good time, sing and laugh and play the piano, sit around and bullshit till dawn and forget about responsibilities. O’Toole was part of that, and Plummer, and Burton, all of us in the theater who wanted to forget our night’s work and pain and family and whatever. Maybe it’s because actors are in another world for a while. It takes them some time to get back. Actors are using their whole adrenal system—a whole physical system as well as a whole mental system. They need time to come down. So they drink. But drinking actors are sober when they work.

“Movie actors do it in a different way. They drink because they’re sitting around the beach all day and never get a call for six months. A lot of wonderful actors are sitting out there waiting to work three times a year. They do three television movies a year and that’s it, so what do you do the rest of the time? I used to live out there and never go out on the beach, never walk on the beach for a month or two at a time. I just didn’t want to go out and watch a bunch of bastards jogging around . . .”

--Jason Robards to John Bryson in Esquire, January 1978

[Follies of God]

[kaletastrophes]

Pedro Pascal: A Life in Movies

Categorizing every film Pedro has mentioned in public.

Notes and Sources:

He mentions the 1979 film Caligula here in this interview but it’s so in passing I didn’t feel I could fully include it above.

He talks about Last Tango in Paris in that same interview but its…in relation to Marlon Brando’s dick size hahaha so again I didn’t feel this was enough to warrant inclusion. I'm sorry, I would have loved to include it! But alas.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have given so much space to Kramer vs. Kramer because it’s mentioned in passing in his funny Superman story, but I made the executive decision to put it in there anyway. 

So I didn’t include it in the graphic above but Superman was actually the film the Pascal family was watching in the theater when young Pedro wondered off and got lost. 

When Pedro Pascal was roughly 4 years old, he and his family went to see the 1978 hit movie “Superman,” starring Christopher Reeve. Pascal’s young parents had come to live in San Antonio after fleeing their native Chile during the rise of dictator Augusto Pinochet in the mid-1970s. Taking Pascal and his older sister to the movies — sometimes more than once a week — had become a kind of family ritual, a way to soak up as much American pop culture as possible. At some point during this particular visit, Pascal needed to go to the bathroom, and his parents let him go by himself. “I didn’t really know how to read yet,” Pascal says with the same Cheshire grin that dazzled “Game of Thrones” fans during his run as the wily (and doomed) Oberyn Martel. “I did not find my way back to ‘Superman.'” Instead, Pascal wandered into a different theater (he thinks it was showing the 1979 domestic drama “Kramer vs. Kramer,” but, again, he was 4). In his shock and bewilderment at being lost, he curled up into an open seat and fell asleep. When he woke up, the movie was over, the theater was empty, and his parents were standing over him. To his surprise, they seemed rather calm, but another detail sticks out even more. “I know that they finished their movie,” he says, bending over in laughter. “My sister was trying to get a rise out of me by telling me, ‘This happened and that happened and then Superman did this and then, you know, the earthquake and spinning around the planet.'” In the face of such relentless sibling mockery, Pascal did the only logical thing: “I said, ‘All that happened in my movie too.'” (Source)

Poor baby hahaha 

He also mentions Paper Moon here around the 3 minute mark, as a film that the Mando team asked him to watch to inform the Mando character and his relationship with the child.

Chinatown and Dog Day Afternoon are mentioned as two of his all time favorite films in both his Reddit AMA and this Buzzfeed interview. The Reddit AMA is also where he mentions Solaris, Alien, and Superman.

Alien being is mentioned AGAIN in his Variety interview here. The interviewer of this really annoys me but that's truly here nor there.

Dog Day's Attica! scene is named as his favorite movie scene in this interview. That interview is also where he speaks about Alien, and The Omen.

The story about his father taking him to see Watership Down can be found here.

Jaws is mentioned briefly is his Vogue Italia interview.

Star Wars is mentioned in his Esquire Spain interview.

Masterlist

[plenilune]

put together a little outfit to go see THE DOOM GENERATION at the Esquire Theater and realised too late I’ve just done a genderswapped Spike from BtVS cosplay. uh. well I’m committed now. sorry.

[kodachrome-net]

Esquire Theater, Chicago, September 2007

[jetblcksocool]

(7/5/24) jett posing for me under the marquee of the esquire theater in clifton.

[destinyc1020]

I'm the one who sent in the thing about Kaia and Austin. I think I worded it wrong, but no way did I mean it was Austin's responsibility to give her lessons lol. I just meant that Austin himself took many acting classes to get better. She should follow his lead and take classes, if she's as passionate about acting as she claims.

Thanks Anon for clarifying lol. Yea, I figured that's what you meant😅

(Even though I've joked about this myself in the past) I just wanted to make sure to stress that it's no way Austin's responsibility to be making sure his gf gets acting lessons lol. Every actor should be responsible for themselves.

Like you said, Austin has taken acting lessons over the years, he's worked with acting coaches, voice coaches, he's done theater plays (even talked about possibly going back to theater in his more recent Esquire magazine interview), etc. in order to work on and improve his craft. That's what an actor DOES.

Btw.... Austin's acting was NEVER anywhere near as bad as Kaia's acting imo...not even when he was on Nickelodeon and Disney shows as a kid lol. 😅

Even doing "fluff" stuff, his acting has always been believable to me. I thought he did pretty well on "The Carrie Diaries" in fact. 😊 But maybe it's just my nostalgia talking.

I can't speak for "The Shannnnananaa Chronicles" lol since I've never ever actually seen that show😅 , but I do recall him saying that he regrets his acting work in that show.... I mean, I'm sure every actor has a project they may have not felt was their best. Plus, his mom just died right before he did that show, so he may not have been in the right headspace then.

[cantquitu]

Chris Pine on Don't Worry Darling and "spitgate" in Venice for Esquire, 1 March 2023:

"When he’s alone in the sauna, Pine will stretch or listen to a podcast, but because I’m here, we talk about his last big moment out in the world: the seemingly quite nutso Don’t Worry Darling press tour, consumed soap-operatically by a diversion-craving populace when the film premiered in Venice last September. “If there was drama, there was drama,” Pine says of the shoot, but for the record, “I absolutely didn’t know about it, nor really would I have cared. If I feel badly, it’s because the vitriol that the movie got was absolutely out of proportion with what was onscreen. Venice was normal things getting swept up in a narrative that people wanted to make, compounded by the metastasizing that can happen in the Twittersphere. It was ridiculous.” He speaks well of Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles (“a sweet guy”), loves Florence Pugh—whom he first worked with in 2018’s Outlaw King—“to fucking death,” and maintains that nobody spat on anybody in Venice.

And those photos of Pine spacing out during that Venice press conference, the ones people turned into memes imagining him rethinking his every life choice, trying to astral-project his consciousness away from the torture chamber of the Darling promo cycle? “All the memes I saw about my face in Venice made me fucking laugh,” he says, especially the one captioned “me on an important zoom call watching my cat throw up on the sofa.” But he swears all he was doing was admiring the ceiling of the Palazzo del Casinò, jet-laggedly. “Sometimes the question’s not that interesting,” he says, “and you just fucking zone out, and you’re looking at a ceiling because it’s really pretty.”

The runaway narrative around Darling meant nobody talked about Pine’s magnetically unpleasant turn as a midcentury-modern cult leader, recasting his natural charisma as something toxic and threatening for a movie about retrogressive masculinity. It’s the latest of many Chris Pine films in which he simultaneously embodies and interrogates an old-school idea of movie manliness, squaring the past with the values of the present.

It was the waning days of summer and the Venice Film Festival was in full swing. The warm sun was setting on a perfect Italian evening, and the cast of Don't Worry Darling was finally premiering their anticipated film. After months of rumors—cast feuds!, "Miss Flo!", Harry and Olivia!—the Aperol spritz was flowing and things were looking up. And then, Harry Styles entered the same row in the theater as Chris Pine, leaned down towards his costar as he edged toward his seat and...did he just hock a loogie at Captain Kirk???? The Internet erupted.

Now, many months removed, Chris Pine sat down with Esquire—check out our March 2023 cover story—and gave us the lowdown on what really happened in that moment. Did Harry spit on him? Were they feuding? Was it an accidental walk-by spit? Or was it some secret exchange that only celebrities could understand? In our newest episode of Explain This, streaming above, Pine confirms that Harry did not, in any way, spit on him as he passed. He continues, adding, "Harry's a very very kind guy."

But Pine does admit, he sees how the fire spread. "I was on the plane with my publicist, who says I look like Rachel from Friends [with my current hairstyle], we're flying back from Venice. And I'm sleeping, having a great time on the plane. I love planes," he begins. "And she wakes me up, in a, you know, in a state. She says, 'We have to craft a message about what happened in Venice.' And I'm like 'About what?' 'About Harry spitting on you.' Which I have no idea what happened. She showed me the thing. It does look, indeed, like Harry spitting on me. He didn't spit on me."

Turns out, it was just a joke between Styles and Pine that was shared. As Pine says: "I think what he said, is he leaned down, and I think he said, 'It's just words, isn't it?' Because we had this little joke, because we're all jetlagged, we're all trying to answer these questions, and sometimes when you're doing these press things, your brain goes all befuddled, you know, you start speaking gibberish, and we had a joke like, 'It's just words, man.'"

So there you have it. It's just words, man.

[philhoffman]

Busy day for Phil in the press! Justin Theroux also talked about PSH and their early friendship in NYC theater with Esquire:

We met doing a play [Shopping and Fucking] together off-Broadway. He had done Scent of a Woman and a small part in Boogie Nights. He used to live on my street, so we’d see each other quite often and he would come over and I’d have a little stack of scripts. And I’d go over to his house, and he’d have a little stack of scripts. He was always getting these offers for “schlubby loser who opens the movie masturbating,” or whatever. I do remember him looking at my scripts going, “I’d like to get some scripts like this.” And I was looking at his schlubby-loser-masturbating pieces thinking, I’d like a script like that.

But he was operating at a different level, earlier on, than any of our peer group. He had that capacity to go incredibly deep, and he was wonderful. Shame he’s not here to do it.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Translation:

Sam Heughan: "A romantic comedy set in Madrid would be very passionate"

We went up to one of the most representative domes of the Madrid 'skyline' with the Scottish actor to talk about superpowers, time travel, Madrid and the characters in his life, such as Jamie Fraser from “Outlander” or the journalist from “ Love Again”, the romantic comedy that opens in theaters on May 12.

By Ana Pérez and Photography: Alfonso Ohnur / Styling: Jesús Cicero

04/19/2023

"A coffee and in five minutes we are ready. He's in a very good mood, by the way,” says Wendy, a cheerful and charming middle-aged Scottish woman who is featured as the hair and makeup manager in today's session, although we soon discover that she is much more than that. She belongs to the actor's circle of trust, so she goes down in advance to see that everything is in order. The Esquire team is already prepared in the spectacular 300 m 2 suite that the Four Seasons in Madrid has given us for the occasion. There are nerves, because it's not every day that you have a star like Sam Heughan on your hands(Galloway, Scotland, 1980) and everything has to go perfectly. While he goes down, the team from Sony Pictures and Movistar Plus+, the producer and distributor in Spain of Outlander , respectively (the series that has catapulted him to fame), review the outfits so that, once we start, everything goes smoothly.

Fendi trench coat, and Pedro del Hierro shirt and pants.

Finally Sam arrives at the suite. He is serious, but so charming that the nerves dissipate. Everything happens with astonishing agility under the watchful eye of Wendy, who reviews each shot with efficiency and alternates her suggestions (all of the most sound, really) with her enthusiasm for the work we're doing. There is nothing that this herculean Scotsman of almost two meters in height does not defend with solvency. He doesn't care about a modern Prada trench coat with green squares or an impeccable summer suit from Emporio Armani. Once the photo session was over we went to the suitepresidential, overlooking Calle Alcalá, where the interview will take place. “On my next trip I want to stay here!” She says, joking for the first time, as she crosses the threshold. We settle into some seats, facing each other, and I have to confess that when Sam Heughan gives you all his attention, he's intimidating. I perceive an obvious barrier of shyness, so I try to break through it and reach him through his characters.

Tell me, Sam, what is the first memory you have of being on stage?

I went to a very creative school, where the arts, music, theater were very encouraged... My first role was Bill Sikes, the drunken villain in Oliver Twist , in a school play. He hadn't acted before and he wasn't very good, but I vividly remember having a lot of fun on stage. Later, my first professional role was Romeo, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , already at acting school.

You became known to the general public with the Batman from the musical Batman Live . What was your favorite superhero as a child?

Batman , without a doubt, a very dark character who lost his parents very young. He dresses up as a bat, but in reality he is not a real superhero. He's just an ordinary human being, who has had privileged access to a lot of technology. And yet I think it's very interesting.

"Teleportation would make my life easier, because I would no longer have to travel continuously."

And if you could choose to have one superpower that you could use in real life, what would it be?

Perhaps teleportation, so he can travel wherever he wants. It would make my life easier, because I would no longer have to travel all the time. It would allow me to be anywhere in the world in a moment.

After Batman, Outlander and Jamie Fraser come into your life. What has this character meant to you?

Jamie has changed my life. Since I started playing it eight years ago, everything has completely changed. Until then, I was a normal actor; you know, towards theater, television... But Jamie really changed my world, he's given me a lot of opportunities, I've been able to create my own projects, write, produce... He's an incredible character that I've been growing up with, living with many experiences, I have grown old with him... It has been an incredible challenge to play him.

Sam is wearing Giorgio Armani total look . ALFONSO OHNURESQUIRE

And what do you think is, in your opinion, the secret of the success of this series?

I think the incredible relationship that Jamie and Claire have, without a doubt; their romance, which never dies despite all the obstacles that come their way. No matter what, their love endures and I think that everyone would like to have a relationship like this. But this is to the credit of Diana Gabaldón [the American author of the saga of novels on which she is based]. She created these characters, who people love and season after season are waiting to see what will happen to them.

“Jamie has changed my life. Since I started interpreting him, everything has changed completely ”

In the seventh season, which premieres in Spain on June 17 on Movistar Plus+, will Jamie be alive from start to finish?

We are studying it... [laughs]. Yes, this story has to last even longer [recently it has been confirmed that the eighth will be the last season of the series]. Diana has written a tenth book, so we still have a long way to go.

If you could travel in time , as Claire's character, your wife, does in the series, what era would you travel to?

Wow, so I would love to go to Ancient Egypt, to Rome, and maybe I would also like to travel to the future to see what will happen in a hundred years.

Sam Heughan, in the dome of the Four Seasons hotel in Madrid with a total look by Zegna.

Although Heughan has often stated that it doesn't have much to do with his character in Outlander , what he does have in common with him is his Scottish origin, something he wears with pride, to the point of becoming its ambassador worldwide. In fact, in parallel to this series, he stars in another, Men in Kilts (its second season will also be available on Movistar Plus+ in the coming months), in which he tours Scotland accompanied by Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie, in the series), to divulge the secrets of their culture and customs. And he also makes his own whisky, which he has named Sassenach, after the Gaelic word for non-Gaelics and Jamie for his fictional partner.

Outlander has been very successful in Spain. What do we Spaniards and Scots have in common?

I think the energy and passion in Spain is incredible, similar to ours. Scots and Spaniards have many things in common: we are very warm, friendly, passionate about sports and we also like to party. We are very similar.

The first thing you premiere now is the romantic comedy Love Again (Sony Pictures) , on May 12, in which you share the bill with Priyanka Chopra and Celine Dion herself . What can you tell us?

The film revolves around a great romance, although underlying it there is also a tragedy: the protagonist loses her fiancé and writes text messages to his old mobile number, which my character has, a journalist named Rob Burns who falls in love her. It is tragic, but also very beautiful. It's a very sweet film, with the presence of Celine Dion, an authority on romance [laughs]. I think people are going to have a lot of fun watching it.

Sam Heughan and Priyanka Chopra in a scene from Love Again. LIAM DANIEL SONY PICTURES

[Notice to fans: Watch out for Heughan singing Celine Dion's It's All Coming Back to Me Now while taking a shower.]

In the case of the characters in the film, technology is crucial to finding each other. What do you think about using technology to find love?

I think technology helps us communicate and allows us to connect people who might not otherwise be able to, like the two characters in the movie. Dating apps and social media allow for more interaction, but maybe sometimes we rely too much on technology and hide behind it. I think an in-person connection is always better.

Perhaps Madrid could be the setting for your next romantic comedy... Where would it take place?

I love Madrid, it's great, romantic and full of energy. A romantic comedy set in Madrid would be very passionate. Perhaps in the Royal Palace, with a prince who meets a girl in the El Retiro park, but finds out that she is actually a professional soccer player. They see a game at the stadium and end with dinner and dancing in the San Miguel market.

Prada trench coat and Paul Smith pants. ALFONSO OHNURESQUIRE

In addition to work, you lead a project, My Peak Challenge, with which you collaborate in various solidarity initiatives. What is it about?

It is an online fitness program . The peakers , which is what the members are called, pay a fee for daily training, adapted to each one. They include yoga, mindfulness , nutrition program... In addition to the fee, 15% is contributed to charitable causes. It is about working for your health, for yourself, and at the same time helping others.

And what is the peak or challenge that has been the hardest for you to reach in your life?

Perhaps the large number of projects I have on my hands. Finding time to dedicate to all of them, but I am very lucky to be able to get them going.

After this interview, Waypoints came into my hands. My Scottish Journey (recently published in Spain by Principal de los libros), a kind of memoir in which Heughan alternates reflections on his life, parallel to a trip along a complicated hiking route, the West Highland Way, in the homeland of he. Among other things, he tells that he grew up without a father (he abandoned him at 18 months) and gives some clues that explain the man behind the actor. In fact, he is perfectly summed up in this fragment: “According to my mother, he was a little adventurer, although he could also be quite sensitive. When left to my own devices he could lead any attack, but in company he preferred not to be the center of attention. He wasn't shy: I just felt more comfortable watching from the rear."

Photography assistants: Dani García and Elisa María Lozano · Styling assistant: Aline Patiño · Makeup and hairdressing: Wendy Kemp Forbes · Tailor: Maribel Madrid · Photography editor: Carolina Álvarez · Production: Marta Sánchez · Acknowledgments: Hotel Four Seasons Madrid.

*This report appears in the May 2023 issue of Esquire magazine, on sale since April 21.

Now it is understood why Wendy Kemp Forbes was part of SH's speech in Madrid last year. His improvised speech was not for social reasons. His interest in women's participation was very doubtful. The credibility of his speech was put aside by his opportunism 🤨