Ben Aldridge is feeling lucky about being able to play nuanced gay characters on screen. In Spoiler Alert, the adaptation of Michael Ausiello’s memoir, the British actor portrays the role of the author’s husband Kit who lost his battle with an aggressive form of terminal cancer. The film is a beautiful tribute to the strength of love – giving its audience encouragement to be vocal about their affection towards the people that mean the most to them. This week, Aldridge also celebrated the world premiere of Knock at the Cabin, a psychological horror from controversial director M. Night Shyamalan. As a gay father who is taken hostage with his partner (played by Jonathan Groff) and daughter by a group of strangers forcing them to make an unthinkable decision to seemingly avoid the approaching apocalypse, Ben’s character is faced with the question of what to believe before it’s too late. In our digital cover story, he talks about the themes that have been lately driving his acting choices, getting to know his Spoiler Alert co-star Jim Parsons over email and the physical aspects of starring in a horror.

Sweater and pants **Prada** & gloves **Thomasine**

“Spoiler Alert is a movie that makes you want to tell your loved ones you love them after you watched it.”

Your new film Spoiler Alert is based on Michael Ausiello’s memoir about his relationship with his partner Kit, who died of cancer a couple of years ago. Having read Michael’s book prior to shooting, what did you find most moving about their relationship?

What I found most striking about the book was just how honest it is about the foibles, pitfalls and challenges in their relationship. And with our film, the endeavour was to not over-romanticise it or make it a rose-tinted view – we wanted to show that love and loving someone over a long time is difficult. We’re so often fed, especially in movies, the notion of “the one”, of it enhancing our lives and everything being perfect once you meet that person. And I think that the film gives a more truthful portrait of that. Another thing was the sense of chemistry between them. Reading the book, I really felt that these were two people who were in an unusual way very well-suited – they had a real sense of playfulness between them and such a strong love for each other. Once I finished it, I wrote to Michael and said, “This book broke my heart, put it back together and taught me how to love better.” And I hope that the film does that as well – it’s a film that makes you want to tell your loved ones that love them after you watched it.

Full look **Miu Miu** & necklace **Boucheron**

What were the elements from the book that you wanted to make sure were explored within Kit’s story?

I wanted to make sure that his photography was more part of his character – I was trying to have him take photographs whenever I could. Actually, Michael kept several of Kit’s objects and his camera was one of them. So I got to use his actual Point & Shoot camera while in character! Kit was a very idiosyncratic and specific person. I was sent lots of video footage of him that was recorded on a Handycam during their milestones or trips. They were very lovely home videos, but they were quite overwhelming for me to watch at first because I was suddenly hit by the responsibility and pressure of really honouring him and doing his story justice. And also, I was going to be playing Kit in front of the person who loved him the most, as Michael was with us on set. So I knew that I didn’t want to do an impression or impersonation of him. Rather, something I wanted to get in there was his sense of lightness – his way of having fun and making light of any moment that he could. Another thing was his sassiness. Even though he wasn’t out to his parents for a long time, Kit really had ownership of his queerness, and I think that was really a part of him that I wanted to come through on screen.

Left Top **Ami**, sweater **Isabel Marant**, spikes scarf **Jordanluca**
Right Top and gloves **Dries Van Noten** & necklace and bracelet **Sweetlimejuice**

I read that prior to filming, Jim Parsons [who plays the role of Michael] and you would exchange long emails to get to know each other - what were the things that you have bonded over in these emails?

We were completely honest and transparent with each other. We spoke about our families, we spoke about grief. We spoke about our own sexuality and what our coming-out stories looked like. We spoke about shame. We spoke about our relationships. We spoke about our first-ever experiences performing. And we made a lot of jokes! It was funny because, on the first day of filming, I knew so much about him already – that really meant that we didn’t have any of that awkward moments of trying to get to know each other. We were straight in there and the conversation just continued, we just continued chatting the entire time. And we’re still in contact with each other a lot. It’s a really lovely friendship.

Up next, you’re also starring in the psychological horror from M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin. What drew you to this story?

I think that the film talks about something that has been quite a theme in my acting choices over the last three years or so – exploring both belief and faith, as well as lack of it. In the movie, M. Night is throwing up some really big questions about what belief and “truth” are, and whether believing in something makes it real. And in an age when we all believe such different things politically and ideologically, I found it really compelling that the story is bringing those themes to the forefront. Also, it’s a film about love and family, a single-sex partnered family. And I was really interested in the way it handles that on the page – the movie does deal with their identity, but it’s also really relatable and this could be any type of family. Finally, what drew me in is that M. Night makes a good film! He knows how to make a blockbuster popcorn movie that at the same time gets people thinking – you usually leave the cinema being like, “What just happened? What do I think about that?” He’s quite a controversial and iconic director and I was really intrigued to go on that ride with him.

Full look **Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello** & necklace **Cartier**

“In Knock at the Cabin, M. Night is throwing up some really big questions about what belief and “truth” are, and whether believing in something makes it real.”

Is this your first foray into horror?

Yes, it is!

What surprised you the most about how horrors are made?

How affected I felt by having to play high stakes, tension, fear, anxiety and anger for eight weeks. I really didn’t bank on that affecting myself off-camera. That said, we made sure to have a very playful atmosphere on set – it felt a bit like going to summer camp and a bit like doing youth theatre. It was very communal. The content within that cabin that we were in for so long was so heavy, so we made sure to have a lot of fun off-set. But yeah, I was jumpy and on edge for the entire time we made the film.

Left Full look **Louis Vuitton**
Right Shirt **Bluemarble** & waistcoat **Kenzo**

Even if what you’re doing is not real at all, it still affects you…

Yeah. Because what you’re doing as an actor is asking your body to believe if you want to try to be as truthful [in your behaviour] as possible. So you end up getting yourself worked up – my heart rate would be up all the time and my breathing would be up all the time. You’re doing something on a kind of cellular level and I think your body gets tricked by it.

Are you a fan of watching horrors?

Yes, I quite enjoy feeling scared.

What’s the film that scares you the most?

Sinister with Ethan Hawke. I couldn’t make it through and I had to turn it off twice now!

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Discover the full story in our upcoming SS23 WILDSIDE Issue - End March release.

Interview by Martin Onufrowicz

Photography by Jack Snell

Fashion by Steven Huang

Casting by Imagemachine cs

Grooming by Linus Johansson

Set design by George Lewin