#freddie's of pinewood

[docholligay]

I don't know why the repro scene in the UK is so good, but man is it annoying that some of the very very most accurate reproduction vintage would cost me like 50 goddamn dollars in shipping and also would be royal mail so who knows if it would show.

And it's all "straight across." It's 90% straight-up, reproduction of shit that was made from the 1940s to the 1960s. Love that. Most of what we have in the US is a very twee, "pinup" take on the style. There is nothing wrong on god's green and verdant earth with wearing a fit and flare swing dress with a fuckin Fraggle Rock print, but that is not how I want to live my life. I want to look like I could have stepped onto the street in 1954 or some shit. (With some minor styling differences, I'm not a purist by any means, I'm just not into being CUTESY. I'm playing it straight.) And in the US, we just do NOT have the wide variety of options for that--we have shit like Modcloth, Unique Vintage, etc. Which in addition to being cheaply made, mostly, is all that twee stuff, or all fucking black.

I do not mind spending money on my clothes! The secret to my 'success' is I buy very few items of clothing a year and I spend MONEY on them. At this stage in my life, I am looking to refine my wardrobe, not build it. I am swapping out less nice pieces for better ones. But JESUS, does it make me choke to save up 90 bucks and then have 50 bucks in shipping on top of it.

And yeah, you actually can find the stuff I'm looking for at clothiers who do not specialize in reproduction. I got my Kitty Hepburn style pants and vest from Banana fucking Republic, really nice, thick 80% wool blend. Exactly what I wanted. But the trouble is *I* know the words I am looking for, but especially resellers DO NOT. I know what a dolman sleeve blouse is, but does Chaz in Boca Raton selling a silk blend top that I DO WANT? No! Not often!

And GOD, every time I look on ebay and see how AMAZINGLY CHEAP the resale market is on this stuff in the UK, I SCREAM. You are all so fucking spoiled cry cry cry.

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

July 26th, 1989 - Queen Story!

Pinewood studios, London, UK - Queen filmed video for 'The Invisible Man' from 'The Miracle' album. Directed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher (Do.Ro). During video for the Roger Taylor's 40th birthday, a large birthday cake was wheeled

➡ The teenage in this Promo Video, as future Eastenders star Daniella Westbrook

[crowtoed]

Sometimes as a non-binary person you end up finding the randomest modes of dress that give you gender euphoria: like vintage lesbian.

A pinup stevedore, if you will. (Turban and blouse from Freddies of Pinewood, overalls made from Folkwear's Rosie the Riveter set, makeup mainly from Notoriously Morbid.)

[alexinchainsfest]

Well, that was fun! At least it was for me, I hope you guys enjoyed it too, biggest thanks to everyone who participated ♥

13 works were added to the collection over the month, so here is a recap!

Sweet Amnesia by Myulalie for @rirren [E, 4 374 words]

Ian disappears, and Alex gets into his head to hire “Ian’s old army buddy” to rescue his uncle. Yassen Gregorovich comes with a price.

Adjournment by iceblyecyanide for @strangesoulmates [T, 5 399 words]

“Did no one ever tell you that it’s impolite to enter someone’s room without invitation, Alex Rider?” Chess prodigy Alex Rider is attending the 1981 Moscow Invitational when a moment of curiosity leads him into trouble, and lands him an impromptu rematch with the World Champion, Soviet Grandmaster Yassen Gregorovich.

The Boy in the Ice by Myulalie for @lastlymatt [T, 3 932 words]

Project IceX takes Yassen to a lab in Siberia in order to relive a miraculously preserved humanoid, seemingly older than humanity itself.

I don't want to lose you again by turtle_snail for @shehungthemoon [T, 7 461 words]

Alex gets a phone call from the hospital saying that his uncle was in a bad accident. Except, Ian Rider died four years ago…

A Surprising Holiday by TheOtherBlue for @myulalie [E, 3 487 words]

Alex runs into Yassen while on holiday in Greece and sees a chance to flip the script of their encounters. Yassen isn't entirely convinced, but is willing to play along.

The Monster in the Cellar by Too_Many_Rooks for @icebluecyanide [Not Rated, 5 104 words]

'Perhaps he’d lied to himself as much as he’d lied to MI6. Every report they’d demanded had read the same; his nephew was normal, and safe, and happy, and they couldn’t have him. Ian was his parent in every way that mattered, not a prison warden for the thing that might lurk inside him. No one would take his kid away from him. But the snarling, blood-stained, monster, barely conscious with all his hate and his hunger that was chained up in their basement didn’t much resemble the sweet little boy who’d run to greet him at the door when he returned from long overseas missions, or the child who’d stare with wide-eyed joy and fascination as Ian showed him the world, nor even the stroppy tween who liked to complain about how boring and embarrassing his guardian was.' Ian is forced to enact a plan he'd been desperate to avoid when he returns home one day to find his nephew... changed.

Lot 14 by Rirren for @lastlymatt [E, 2 509 words]

Blind and deaf, Alex Rider is helpless as he is auctioned off.

Pinewood by turtle_snail [T, 5 166 words]

Alex and Freddy are captured by nightshade, the situation is starting to seem dire and maybe Alex can’t sass his way out of this one.

A different kind of sacrifice by limnal for @strangesoulmates [E, 4 346 words]

Alex, a young Celt, has been chosen to be handfasted with Yassen, a druid known for his love of blood magic and human sacrifice. There are expectations to fulfill this night.

A Winter Offering by LastlyMatt for @myulalie [E, 4 561 words]

In order for the village to make it through winter, Alex has been chosen as a sacrifice for the spirit of the woods.

Salt Water by Myulalie for @shehungthemoon [E, 4 618 words]

Five times Alex forces Yassen’s hand (and gets away with it).

Disciplinary Action by icebluecyanide for @lastlymatt [M, 4 475 words]

General Alexei Sarov makes good on his promise to have Alex whipped. "There will be no more outbursts," Sarov told him, his tone brooking no disobedience. "You will be quiet, and you will watch. And when Juan's punishment is over, you will take his place." Written for FebuWhump Day 24: "I'm doing this because I care about you" and the Alex in Chains prompt "Alex tied up in front of an audience".

The Mystery Suitor by turtle_snail for @myulalie [M, 8 311 words]

“I’ll think this is an amazing deal. It will bring prosperity to both our kingdoms. I think Prince Alex can agree.” He heard Ian say. Alex's curiosity doubled. He caught his name being included in some deal Ian was making on his behalf. “What was that about?” Alex demanded, not hiding the fact that he was eavesdropping seconds before. “You have a suitor.” Ian said, "I just got a marriage proposal.”

What a way to start the year! Thank you to all the participants, once again, and happy reading to anyone catching up now ♥

Feel free to keep browsing through the wishlists and gift something to someone even if the event is over, I'll be happy to reblog it here if you do!

[turtlesnails]

Pinewood

Alex and Freddy are captured by nightshade, the situation is starting to seem dire and maybe Alex can’t sass his way out of this one.

(AU set in Nightshade Revenge; minor spoilers)

Tw: Claustrophobia, Taphophobia (fear of being buried alive)

———

T+, No warnings apply, ~5k words, fix- it fic, angst with a happy ending.

Written for Alex in chains fest, Febuwhump day 27: Left for dead, and my own desire for more Alex whump.

[momagirl-cosmicstatic]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Freddies of Pinewood High Waist Classics Jeans Size 28 Made England Rockabilly.

[thegallivantersart]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Freddie’s of Pinewood Jeanie Vintage Replica high waisted Straight leg Jeans.

[a-darla-ble]

…For Good Measure
Adam Brody, measuring 5’11”, and Jack Dylan Grazer, measuring 5′6” (five inches shorter), were measuring their heights while being on the Rock of Eternity Throne Room set at Toronto Pinewood Studios in Shazam! (2019)

[vintagefashionclassiccars]

Freddie’s girls and gasser circus girls

[rangersings]

Los Angeles summer

[docholligay]

There’s always some level of interest in how I source my clothes since I have a very particular style, and I have champagne taste on a...maybe no beer budget, but certainly box wine. So every so often i’ll try to remember to post a photo and how I got everything, how much it cost, etc.

ANYWAY! I was not the first owner of any of this.

Pants: Freddie’s of Pinewood, a vintage repro company, based in the Uk (boo!) obtained through a buy/sell Freddie’s group, $45.00

T-shirt: Cynthia Rowley, a thicker t-shirt that I find lasts a bit better, 7 or 8 dollars through thredup.com  Here is a referral link that gives you ten bucks off, and I get ten bucks if you buy. I do use them, obviously, but full disclosure. 

sweater: My local vintage store, true vintage, find of the fucking century $15.00 because she had it marked as a youth sweater when it’s actually just an XS crop sweater.

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Late September 1989 - Queen story!

Queen filmed ‘Scandal’ promo, at Pinewood Studios, London, UK, directed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, 'The Torpedo Twins' (Do.Ro.)

🔸"I have kept the first take, as Freddie did for the vocals. In one evening, the song was finished, because we couldn't do a better take."

- Brian May - Interview 1989

Pic: Freddie Mercury from the promo video Scandal - Making Of

📷 Source Pic laif.de

👉 'Scandal' taken from 'The Miracle' album, 1989 - Written by Brian May

👉 The Torpedo Twins: nickname was given to them by Freddie Mercury

[debdarkpetal]

#Repost @/lamusicadeiqueen on Instagram:

——

Freddie Mercury on the set of 'Scandal' music video at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath on 27 September 1989. Video directed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher.

[hel-looks]

Mathilda, 19

“I’m wearing a Freddies of Pinewood Grease Monkey jumpsuit and Bettie Page shoes from Garageland. The 60s handbag is my grandmother’s old. I get inspired by 40s and 50s photographs and movies.”

17 July 2021, Pietarinkatu

[beansonbread2]

BEANSONBREAD AWARDS 2020 - BEST ALBUM

AWARD NO.2 - BEST ALBUM OF 2020

PAST WINNERS

2019 > Self Esteem - ‘Compliments Please’ (see full list HERE)

2018 > Kero Kero Bonito - ‘Time ‘n’ Place’ (see full list HERE)

2017 > Richard Dawson - ‘Peasant’ (see full list HERE)

2016 > Blood Orange - ‘Freetown Sound’ (see full list HERE)

2015 > Holly Herndon - ‘Platform’ (see full list HERE)

2014 > FKA Twigs - ‘LP1′ (see full list HERE)

2013 > These New Puritans - ‘Field Of Reeds’ (see full list HERE)

2012 > Django Django - ‘Django Django’ (see full list HERE)

2011 > Shabazz Palaces - ‘Black Up’ (see full list HERE)

2010 > These New Puritans - ‘Hidden’ (see full list HERE)

2009 > Animal Collective - ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ (see full list HERE)

2008 > Wild Beasts - ‘Limbo, Panto’ (see full list HERE)

2007 > Animal Collective - ‘Strawberry Jam’ (see full list HERE)

2006 > Safetyword - ‘Man’s Name Is Legion’ (see full list HERE)

2005 > Animal Collective - ‘Feels’ (see full list HERE)

2004 > Devendra Banhart - ‘Rejoicing In The Hands’ / ‘Nino Rojo’

2003 > Dizzee Rascal - ‘Boy In Da Corner’

2002 > The Streets - ‘Original Pirate Material’

2001 > The Beta Band - ‘Hot Shots II’

2000 > Outkast - ‘Stankonia’

1999 > The Beta Band - ‘The Beta Band’

1998 > The Beta Band - ‘The Three EPs’

1997 > Radiohead - ‘OK Computer’

1996 > Beck - ‘Odelay’

---

THE RULES - No Re-issues, Live Albums, Compilations, or EPs.

---

SPECIAL MENTIONS for these collections

Bulbils (Richard Dawson & Sally Pilkington) - 50 lockdown albums

Dean Blunt ‘Roaches 2012-2019’

These New Puritans ‘The Cut (2016-2019)’  

Hudson Mohawke ‘B.B.H.E.’ & ‘Poom Gems’

Various Artists ‘Paul Institute - Summer 2020’

Various Artists ‘Return To Y��Hup - The World Of Ivor Cutler’

---

***SPOTIFY PLAYLIST FEATURES TRACKS FROM TOP 80 ALBUMS (coming later) ***

---

WORTH A MENTION (in no order) - A bunch of albums i enjoyed but didn’t quite make the final lists and others i just didn’t hear enough to be considered properly.  A list for future me to revisit.

Still House Plants / Fire-Toolz / Lomelda / Jerskin Fendrix / Zebra Katz / The Bug / Lorenzo Senni / Diamond Soul / Wilma Archer / Black Dresses / The Fantasy Orchestra / William Carkeet / Bonny Light Horseman / KA / Yung Lean / BlackPink / Rural Internet / Okay Kaya / Future / Belan / Tame Impala / Banoffee / JARV IS / Grimes / Whitmer Thomas / Jeff Parker / The Massacre Cave / Porridge Radio / Selena Gomez / Teyana Taylor / Sparkle Division / Cecile Believe / Lyra Pramuk / Waxahatchee / Happyness / Khruangbin / Bananagun / OHMME / Drakeo The Ruler / Missterspoon / Juice WRLD / Lonnie Holley / Jiafeng / October Drift / Roisin Murphy / KeiyaA / Dizzee Rascal / Salem / Tiña / The Weeknd / Aaron Cartier / Dana Gavanski / A.R. Pinewood / The Cool Greenhouse / Royce Da 5’9’’ / Rachel Aggs / Karl Band / Four Tet / Georgia / Sonic Boom / Kali Uchis / Luis Pestana / Salac / David A Jaycock / Klein / Temple After Faith / Roman Noseband / Dylan Henner / G.S. Sultan / Hinds / Jess Williamson / Coby Sey / Randolph’s Leap / Matthew D. Gantt / Stephen Kerrison / Katie Gately / Snails / Juniore / Good Dog / Lil B / Kamaiyah / Ryuichi Sakamoto / The Big Moon / Zoe Mc Pherson / Holy Fuck / Ovrkast / Reol / Andy Shauf / Ethan Gruska / Poliça / D Smoke / Sign Libra / Chara & YUKI / Wiley / Bad Bunny / Shirley Collins / Jordana / Gaika / DJ Python / North Americans / Michael / Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith / Lido Pimienta / Everything Is Recorded / Lwesberg / Sufjan Stevens & Lowell Brams / Rhodri Davies / LA Priest / Ian William Craig / Flohio / Irreversible Entanglements / Islet / Westside Gunn / Empress Of / NNamdi / Warm Digits / Baxter Dury / Kehiani / Eels / Emmy The Great / Owen Pallett / Elysia Crampton / The Beths / Julianna Barwick / Liv.E / Jimothy Lacoste / Ben Frost / J Hus / Sylvan Esso / Haiku Hands / Ariana Grande / Jean Dawson / Food House / Nuala Honan / Helena Deland / Boldly James / Headie One / Oliver Coates / Lowkey-E / Bree Runway / Warren Ellis / Boldy James & The Alchemist / Young Knives /  Little Dragon / The Garden / Melt Yourself Down / Quakers / Kamasi Washington / Mogwai / Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven / Eyeliner / ‘The Whalebone Box’ OST / Special Interest / Teyana Taylor / Nadine Shah / Tricky / Moor Mother / Nick Storring

---

2020 RUNNERS UP (in no order)

William Basinski ‘Lamentations’

Hook ‘Crashed My Car’

Vic Berger IV ‘Late Enough To See The Moon’

Nines ‘Crabs In A Bucket’

My Morning Jacket ‘The Waterfall II’

Firestations ‘Dream Home’

Moses Boyd ‘Dark Matter’

Dick Dent ‘Life’s Hard’

Nicholas Stevenson ‘Dead Arm, Vol.2’

Otto ‘Clam Day’

Pa Salieu ‘Send Them To Coventry’

Undermedvetenheten ‘Undermedvetenheten’

Martha Ffion ‘Nights To Forget’

Adrianne Lenker ‘Songs’

Happy Spendy ‘You’re Doing Okay’

Mark Korven ‘The Lighthouse’ OST

21 Savage and Metro Boomin ‘Savage Mode II’

Yorkston/Thorne/Khan ‘Navarasa’

Three Queens In The Mourning & Bonnie Prince Billy ‘Hello Sorrow / Hello Joy’

Shopping ‘All Or Nothing’

Megan Thee Stallion ‘Good News’

Obongjayer ‘Which Way Is Forward?’

Mush ‘3D Routine’

Geoff Barrow, Ben Salisbury & The Insects ‘Devs’ OST

Luke Abbott ‘Translate’

Spinning Coin ‘Hyacinth’

Princess Nokia ‘Everything Sucks’

Fleet Foxes ‘Shore’

Julia Holter ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ OST

Sufjan Stevens ‘The Ascension’

Nicolas Jaar ‘Cenizas’

Pottery ‘Welcome To Bobby’s Motel’

Jessie Ware ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’

Jung Jae II ‘Parasite’ OST

Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist ‘Alfredo’

Doves ‘The Universal Want’

Brigid Mae Power ‘Head Above The Water’

Bab L’ Bluz ‘Nayda!’

James Yorkston ‘That Summer, We Flew’

Oklou ‘Galore’

Angel Olsen ‘Whole New Mess’

The Lemon Twigs ‘Songs For The General Public’

Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu ‘Renegade Breakdown’

Gupi ‘None’

Alexia Avina ‘Unearth’

John Bence ‘Love’

Colin Stetson ‘Color Out Of Space’ OST

King Krule ‘Man Alive!’

Against All Logic ‘2017-2019’

Willie J Healey ‘Twin Heavy’

Jam City ‘Pillowland’

MXLX ‘Maximum Amounts Of Extremely Fucking Yes (Vol.1)’

---

THE TOP 80 ALBUMS OF 2020

80. Poppy ‘I Disagree’ 79. ThisisDA ‘Mud Hype’ 78. Fenne Lily ‘BREACH’ 77. Gorillaz ‘Song Machine’ 76. Soccer Mommy ‘Color Theory’ 75. 1995 Epilepsy ‘1995 Epilepsy’ 74. Jabu ‘Sweet Company’ 73. Actress ‘Karma & Desire’ + ‘88’ 72. Chloe x Halle ‘Ungodly Hour’ 71. Dirty Projectors ‘5EPs’

70. Beatrice Dillon ‘Walkaround’ 69. Matmos ‘The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises In Group Form’ 68. Blanck Mass ‘Calm With Horses’ OST 67. Eartheater ‘Phoenix: flames Are Dew Upon My Skin’ 66. Sega Bodega ‘Salvador’  65. Savage Mansion ‘Weird Country’ 64. Kelly Lee Owens ‘Inner Song’ 63. Daniel Blumberg ‘On&On’  62. Clementine March ‘Le Continent’ 61. HAIM ‘Women In Music Pt.III’

60. Dua Lipa ‘Future Nostalgia’ 59. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs ‘Viscerals’ 58. Darkstar ‘Civic Jams’ 57. Lil Uzi Vert ‘Eternal Atake’ 56. This Is The Kit ‘Off Off On’ 55. Shabazz Palaces ‘The Don Of Diamond Dreams’ 54. Princess Nokia ‘Everything Is Beautiful’ 53. The Orielles ‘Disco Volador’ 52. Oro Swimming Hour ‘Pteradactyl’ 51. MXLX ‘Serpent’

50. Dan Deacon ‘Mystic Familiar’

49. Jay Electronica ‘A Written Testimony’

48. Fiona Apple ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’

47. Galen Tipton ‘Ungoliant’

46. Knife Liibrary ‘MARKS: Songs For Those I Have Killed’

45. Deerhoof ‘Future Teenage Cave Artists’

44. Caribou ‘Suddenly’

43. Working Men’s Club ‘Working Men’s Club’

42. Seamus Fogarty ‘A Bag Of Eyes’

41. Field Music ‘Making A New World’

40. Cornershop ‘England Is A Garden’

39. Lambchop ‘Trip’

38. Katy J Pearson ‘Return’

37. Amaarae ‘The Angel You Don’t Know’

36. James Ferraro ‘Neurogeist’

35. Hen Ogledd ‘Free Humans’

34. Spectres ‘It’s Never Going To Happen And This Is Why’

33. Laura Marling ‘Song For Our Daughter’

32. Bill Callahan ‘Gold Record’

31. Bob Dylan ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’

30. A.G. Cook ‘7G’

29. Good Sad Happy Bad ‘Shades’

28. SAULT ‘Untitled (Black Is)’

27. Run The Jewels ‘RTJ4’

26. Clipping ‘Visions Of Bodies Being Burned’

25. Thundercat ‘It Is What It Is’

24. Pictish Trail ‘Thumb World’

23. Jessy Lanza ‘All The Time’

22. Yves Tumor ‘Heaven To A Tortured Mind’

21. Sorry ‘925’

20. Yaeji ‘What We Drew’

19. A.G. Cook ‘Apple’

18. Wesley Gonzalez ‘Appalling Human’

17. Pet Shimmers ‘Face Down In Meta’ & ‘Trash Earthers’

16. Arca ‘KiCK i’

15. 100 Gecs ‘1000 Gecs And The Tree Of Clues’

14. Tara Clerkin Trio ‘Tara Clerkin Trio’

13. Richard Dawson ‘Republic Of Geordieland’

12. Phoebe Bridgers ‘Punisher’

11. Perfume Genius ‘Set My Heart On Fire Immediately’

10. Charli XCX ‘How I’m Feeling Now’

9. Rina Sawayama ‘SAWAYAMA’

8. Dorian Electra ‘My Agenda’

7. Alabaster DePlume ‘To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol.1’

6. SAULT ‘Untitled (Rise)’

5. Tim Heidecker ‘Fear Of Death’

4. Moses Sumney ‘græ’

3. Oneohtrix Point Never ‘Magic Oneohtrix Point Never’

2. Crack Cloud ‘Pain Olympics’

1. The Flaming Lips ‘American Head’

[moonwest]

Full Ben Whishaw Interview in Sunday Times Magazine

Ben Whishaw, the voice of Paddington, the millennial Q in the Bond films, the next generation of Mr Banks in Disney’s epic Mary Poppins reboot, is fresh off the plane from LA. He is wearing a navy shirt, dark wool trousers and a fluffy knitted hat over his lush curls. It’s a strange combination of quirkiness and elegance. At the start of the year he won a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice award for his captivating portrayal of Norman Scott opposite Hugh Grant’s Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal. Of course he says he didn’t expect to win, and of course he says it feels great, but when I ask if this recognition from Hollywood means he’ll spend more time out there, he says: “No idea. I don’t feel it’s my world. I just sort of dropped in and it was a lovely thing. I would like to drop in more often. Maybe it opens doors. I guess we’ll see.”

For now, it’s back to the day job. Whishaw, 38, is rehearsing a play called Norma Jeane Baker of Troy, in which he plays a man who likes to dress up as Marilyn Monroe. “We just got the costumes,” he says. “I wear a dress that’s a replica of the one she wore in The Seven Year Itch — the white one where the wind comes up. They’ve also given me the bum, hips and breasts. I don’t think they’re as big as Marilyn’s, but they’re proportionate to my body. It’s a strange thing. I’m not playing Marilyn, I’m playing a man who’s infatuated with her. The play is set in the year she died and he’s in mourning for her. Apparently there was a spate of copycat suicides that year.”

To research the role, Whishaw has been reading a book called Fragments. “It’s bits of Marilyn’s diary, notes on hotel paper, poetry,” he says. “She writes beautifully. Arthur Miller was here with her when they were doing the film The Prince and the Showgirl, and she opened his diary and read about how disappointed he was with her, how embarrassed he was being around his intellectual friends with her. Apparently this was devastating to Marilyn. All these men say how difficult she was. It makes you want to strangle them. But she really was amazing. She had a lot going on, a lot of sadness on her plate, poor darling. To be a star in that star system and those men.”

If she had been born 50 years later, does he think she would have been part of the #MeToo movement? “I’m sure she would have. I’ve been listening to interviews with her. She doesn’t seem afraid of anything.”

Fearless and vulnerable. It’s a contradiction that could possibly describe both of them. “Yes,” he smiles.

Almost 15 years have passed since Whishaw, fresh out of Rada, was acclaimed as one of the best ever Hamlets in the Trevor Nunn production at the Old Vic. His portrayal earned him an Olivier nomination and opened the door to film and television roles. He voiced Michael Bond’s Peruvian stowaway bear in the two recent Paddington films and is lined up for a third, as well as an animated TV series for Nickelodeon. Perhaps his best known role is Q in the Bond films Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015). As soon as he’s finished his Marilyn, he will begin shooting the next one, though no one in a Bond movie can tell you in advance what it’s going to be like. “I think they’re probably trying to figure out what to do with the storyline,” he says. “At least I know that my character is the same. Someone did tell me there might be a scene with Q’s cats.”

I immediately want to sort out an audition for my cat Roger Moore.

“Does Roger travel?” he asks. “Could he go to Pinewood? And can he cock an eyebrow?”

Yes, he can. That’s why he’s called Roger Moore.

“I’ll get onto Barbara Broccoli about it,” he says.

Whishaw has created an ever-widening niche for himself — he has made room in film, theatre and television for malleable, sensitive male characters that are sometimes described as androgynous, but what they really are is sexually ambiguous.

“Do you think I’m androgynous? I think I’m quite male-looking. Androgyny is different to non-binary, but I hate all these labels. I get mixed up.”

It’s true, there are many labels; nonetheless Whishaw is a 21st-century man. When you think of those macho actors of the last century, men like Rock Hudson, who revealed he was gay only when he was dying of Aids, it seems so different now.

Whishaw entered a civil partnership with the Australian composer Mark Bradshaw in 2012, but for a long time he did not discuss his private life. He would say things like, “An actor shouldn’t reveal their sexuality because it pigeonholes them.” Once he had come to terms with it himself, however, hiding it became difficult in a different way. “People assume there’s some juicy secret,” he says. “But I don’t agree any more with that statement [about being pigeonholed]. I don’t think it’s the be-all and end-all, and since revealing my sexuality I haven’t had any negative effects.”

Perhaps that’s because he is such a skilful actor, perhaps the pigeonholes aren’t as rigid as they used to be, or perhaps the revelation has actually helped him. He shrugs. He doesn’t mind talking about it now, it’s just he can’t be conclusive.

At one point, Whishaw was lined up to play Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, although he was never given a contract or confirmed officially. Various versions of the biopic had been on the cards for about 10 years. Sacha Baron Cohen was in the frame first of all, then Whishaw, and ultimately Rami Malek. The film has been accused of not being “gay enough”, but, for all the criticism, Malek’s career-defining role won him an Oscar.

We talk about how hard it was for Mercury to admit that he was gay and how he would refer to himself as bisexual. But then perhaps he was. He certainly had sexual relationships with women. “I think it’s very unfair when people say they’re bisexual and they’re accused of being gay really,” Whishaw says. “If we’re honest about these things, perhaps most people are on a spectrum.”

Whatever the risks he took in revealing his sexuality to the public, Whishaw found it much harder coming out to his family. “I’ve gone through a few difficult things,” he says. “There was a moment in my early twenties when I did not feel very good about myself. It was to do with my sexuality and not knowing how to be myself and hating myself. I did know [my sexuality], I just couldn’t tell anyone.”

When he eventually told his parents, they weren’t surprised, but he still struggled. He sought therapy. “It really did help,” he says.

He carries himself with such a sense of otherness that I am surprised to learn he is a twin. “We were born on the same day and we came out of the same place at the same time, but we are totally unalike,” he says. “Perhaps you can see we are related, but we don’t look alike. He’s blond. He came out first and was very pink and chubby. And I was this squashed, dark thing that popped out a few moments after. We were so different, but we were always dressed the same and taken everywhere together, even to things I was not interested in, like football. So I’ve always defined myself by him, but in opposition to him. I like everything different to him. There’s not a single thing we have in common, except we both liked the scary rides if we were taken to a park.”

Don’t twins normally have a kind of supernatural understanding? “No. No understanding, no telepathy. When I told him [about being gay], he wasn’t surprised, of course, but still.”

He notices a black crystal around my neck and I explain that it was given to me by my hypnotherapist.

“I’d like to try hypnotherapy,” he says. For what? “Smoking,” he says. “It’s so frowned upon. You feel ostracised from the world if you smoke. And there’s the hair twiddling thing.” He starts twiddling his hair. “I’ve probably been doing this for the whole interview.” He hasn’t, but apparently it’s been a lifelong habit. “I’ve done it since I was a baby. I don’t know why I do it.”

I recall the title of a Peter Cook anthology: Tragically, I Was an Only Twin. That’s what Whishaw seems like. I can’t imagine him with a brother. “My dad says if my brother and I were one person we would be an amazing, perfect human,” he replies.

It’s often reported that his father works in IT, but that’s not true. “He lives in the countryside and raises chickens behind a farm. He used to be a footballer and he now works in sports with young people. He’s not an IT person at all,” Whishaw laughs. His mother works in cosmetics. They split up when he was a young boy, but he has good relationships with both of them. He talks about them with love.

The last time we met, Whishaw told me he was afraid of meeting people. “I haven’t got over that,” he says. “I love people, but I’m just shy of meeting new people, especially when they’re famous.”

In particular, he was bashful around Meryl Streep, whom he starred alongside in Mary Poppins. “I’m so completely left speechless when I’m in the same room as her. Do you never feel that speechlessness come on you?” he asks sweetly. “Even though she seemed to be the nicest person, I was very timid and shy around her.”

It’s odd how someone so shy can look so confident — smouldering even — on screen.

He walks off in the furry hat that makes him look part man, part mole. It’s certainly a statement. But perhaps the most curious thing about Whishaw is we’ll never entirely know what that statement is.

Norma Jeane Baker of Troy is showing at the Shed’s Bloomberg Building, New York, April 6-May 19; theshed.org