BACK TO SCHOOL

Lorenzo Zurzolo on being a teenager and having a crush on the teacher.

Move over Gossip Girl and Elite, the undisputed Queen Bee of our screens these days is Baby, the Italian series on wealthy teenagers behaving badly set against the naturally fabulous décor that is the Eternal City. And in this cast of upcoming Italian talent, 18 year-old Lorenzo Zurzolo shines as Niccòlo, a boy misbehaving with the best of them. So before he can head back to school, or rather Netflix, on September 15, he serves detention with Behind the Blinds. 

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How has your summer been? Did you escape to Riccione in real life?

Actually, San Felice Circeo, a little town near Rome right on the beach. I love the summer; I think it’s a special moment in everybody’s life. Especially when you are young, it's a period of discovery and new experiences. Despite a couple work engagements, I think this has been the most relaxing summer of my life, a real moment of light-heartedness. 

 Normally, I’d go to parties and enjoy the nightlife, but because of the particular situation we’re in, I avoided all the “movida” places. Instead, I spent time with my family, read many books and worked on improving my guitar skills too. I’ve also started appreciating going to the beach early in the morning. 

After playing Vincenzo, who is blind, in Under the Riccione Sun, what sense would be the worst to lose?

I think the answer is not so much what you lose, or what issues you face, but how you face them. Vincenzo has taught me that with strength and joy of living, you can get through everything in life. To not give importance to superficial aspects but concentrate on what really matters.

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“[As a teen] you always feel misunderstood. That’s why having role models, and people who love you, that can give you guidance is important.”

 You grew up in Rome. Is the teenage angst as high as we see it in Baby?

The series is inspired by real facts. I think that teenagers all over the world have this sort of angst and face problems. At that age, there are so many expectations from school, family and friends while we are trying to figure out who we are and who we want to be. You always feel misunderstood. That’s why having role models, and people who love you, that can give you guidance is important.

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 Last season, Niccolò hooks up with his teacher! How scandalous! Did you ever have a teacher you had a crush on?

Andrea De Sica, Baby’s director, asked me the same thing at the audition. And yes, I had this math teacher who was very good-looking and fascinating. In her class, I’d always try to be the smartest guy to get noticed by her, always being overly generous and offering my help. 

 Andrea asked me to imagine her in front of me, and we did on hour of improvisation with me trying to ask my math teacher out. I was really comfortable with the role; it wasn’t difficult at all ;))))

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This is the final chapter. Are you happy with how you conclude your relationship with Niccolò and the work you've done on him?

You’ll find out very soon but in Italy, we have this proverb that says “all the knots come to the comb”. I think the English-language equivalent is “the chickens coming home to roost”. Season 2 left a lot of things unsettled and a lot of question marks. For the final season, so everyone must assume responsibility for what they did! I’m pretty with the conclusion, you’ll see. 

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 Your next role is a thriller, and of course, Niccolò is a character we love to hate. Why these ambivalent characters? 

Complex characters with complex psychology are the most stimulating for me. I must believe in what I’m doing, so I hate, and tend to avoid, stereotyped and exaggerated characters or plots – cinema must represent reality. I started acting at 7 for fun, but growing up, I realized that it was what I wanted to do in life. I love the sense of evasion. When I’m filming, I forget about everything. All the problems and concerns about life disappear, and you immerse yourself in a new life. That is priceless. 

What’s next for you? 

I just finished filming that thriller, which will be out in cinemas this December, and is something very different from all the other things I did till now. Beyond work, Covid-19 allowing, I’m planning on visiting my sister who loves in London. We have a very strong relationship so it's always nice to spend quality time with her. It would also be a great opportunity to improve my English. I hope to keep doing what I love and want to make my dream come true with international projects.

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interviewed by Lily Templeton

Photography by Adrian Mesko 

Fashion & Production by Yael Quint 

Stylist’s assistant Mina Erkli 

Hair by Gianmarco Grazi

Make-Up by Alessia Stefano

Thanks to Atomo Management & Gianni Galli 

Lorenzo wearing Salvatore Ferragamo and Giorgio Armani

THE BOY

Jack Quaid on superheroes and scary times

Ever since Jack Quaid made his debut as a boy we loved to hate in The Hunger Games, his tousled curls have cropped up in unexpected places. Point in case, he's on the wall of the metro as I go home for the Zoom call scheduled with the 28-year-old actor. 

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Jacket and sweater SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO, denim pants LEVI’S & hat NICK FOUQUET

 Lily Templeton: Sorry about the Blair Witch lighting but I don't want you to have my lamp in your face. But it matches the mood of your recent work. That opening sequence in The Boys, season 2? Just when I thought you couldn't top the hand-holding scene of episode 1 [where Hughie's love Robin dies].

Jack Quaid: Yeah, we waste no time in showing you how gruesome our show is.

LT: We all love horror flicks, though. So this is the perfect superhero caper that caters to that.

JQ: You're totally right. I never thought about it that way, but those who are horror movie nerds will definitely get a kick out of The Boys, for sure. Just wait till you see the rest of the show. I don't know how we top ourselves, but somehow we definitely do.

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Left Tank top, jacket, hat and boots GIVENCHY, denim pants LEVI’S

Right Vest and coat DIOR & hat NICK FOUQUET

“Horror movies are a way of exploring our fears in a safe environment.”

 LT: Have we just become an ultraviolent society?

JQ: That's not necessarily true. Horror movies are a way of exploring our fears in a safe environment. People make that argument about video games, too. I don't think it's necessarily people indulging in violence. But if you have that tendency towards violence, wouldn't you want a space where you can get that out of you [through gameplay] so you don't put it out into the real world?

LT: Wait… Why are you wearing a Coffee For Sasquatch cap and where’s he hiding? Because his Comedy Club’s been awfully quiet recently.

JQ: Oh my god, I'm so happy you even know about Sasquatch! He really loves iced lattes, so I couldn't resist getting the hat from this coffee place in Los Angeles called Coffee For Sasquatch. You’re right. We have been pretty quiet lately. At least online. While we haven’t shot a sketch in quite a while, we were doing live comedy shows in LA right up until the pandemic, at the Comedy Central stage every couple of months. We just kind of fell into this groove of live comedy and we stuck to it. We all come from a performance background so that was always very, very rewarding for us. I’m sure we’ll get back to doing something together again once this is all over. 

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Vest, jacket and pants LANVIN & boots GIVENCHY

LT: Why the Sasquatch as your comedic spirit animal? Can't fool you, I'm obsessed.

JQ: I love that you're obsessed with the mythological beast of Sasquatch. I've always been obsessed with like UFO’s, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and just the paranormal. I've always just had kind of an eye... Well, maybe not an eye. Let's say an interest in that. And yeah, it's kind of radiated into all different aspects of my life.

LT: From the paranormal to the barely believable year we're living. It's like a series we'd like to see the end of, no?

JQ: The bar is so low that “I’m guess we’re alive” is the feeling. The world is just absolutely insane right now. I don't know what's coming, it seems like the pressure is just going to keep getting ratcheted. The American election is like the season finale.

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Left Jacket DRIES VAN NOTEN

Right Jacket and sweater SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO

 LT: “Those dirty supes are gonna get what’s coming to them sooner or later,” you told me earlier. Given the circumstances we're in, lots of people are looking for a magic bullet of sorts to end this. Do you think superpowers are what's needed, or is it really up to regular Joes and Janes to feel their way out as best they can?

JQ: I'd never thought about it that way. Our show's very timely and we talk about a lot of real issues. And the feeling, at least in my community in America, is that those who were supposed to be our champions and our leaders have failed us in a lot of ways –– not very altruistic, they don't seem to have our best interests at heart. This is the first time where my generation has seen an injustice that we could do something about. So we do have to pick up the slack a little bit, as regular citizens. But it's an opportunity for everyone to be a better person. When times are tough like these, I try my best to learn as much as I can about other people's perspectives and experiences; about things that are outside my purview as a straight white man in America. 

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Jacket and sweater SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO & denim pants LEVI’S

“This is the first time where my generation has seen an injustice that we could do something about.”

LT: If you could have an actual superpower, what would it be?

JQ: Flight. I know that’s the boring answer. And I feel like anyone else who says anything different is lying a little bit. I mean, I would love that. And talking to animals. That's like my unique one. Because I just think we can learn a lot from them. At the same time, it could get kind of annoying because the animals would either be very smart and have discourse with you or just be like "food, food, food, food". Flying just seems like so much fun.

Tank top, jacket, hat and boots GIVENCHY, denim pants LEVI’S

LT: C'mon, flight's just because you want to cut those TSA lines...

JQ: I do. I really do. I hate air travel as it is now so anything that can help mitigate. Although teleportation could also be great. In an instant, you're somewhere else. But yeah, I would definitely want to cut the TSA line.

LT: So as an actor, you spend a lot of time answering questions. Turning the tables around, what's one question you always want to ask your interviewers?

JQ: What got you into journalism in the first place?

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Vest, coat, pants DIOR & hat NICK FOUQUET

LT: Okay, you got me there. Well, I would say probably that, like actors, I'm all for a good story and for character. And having actual conversations, rather than following a script of questions.

JQ: Yeah, sometimes the questions I get — and it's fine, that's the dance — are a bit ‘generic’. I love when people point to a specific thing in my life. The more specific the question, the more I jump out because I always love that so much.

LT: What are you up to these days? Are you back filming or are you just being Zoomed to death by us journos? Or should I say… “Are you alone in the house, Jack?”

JQ: I'm about to start a movie, which is crazy, a bit like I was going to the moon. I didn't think that would happen now or any time soon. And yes, it’s the next Scream movie, so I've been watching every one there ever was in preparation.

LT: Aha! So you ARE a horror movie nerd.

JQ: I'm becoming that way. You know, actually no, I'm gonna say yes, I am. I'm a huge fan of modern horror that's been coming out like The Babadook. It's an amazing resurgence.

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Jacket and shirt DRIES VAN NOTEN, tank top ALL SAINTS, denim pants LEVI’S, belt LANVIN & boots GIVENCHY

 LT: If I were Ghostface, I’d ask “Sidney, what makes you scared?”.

JQ: I think my niche is sci-fi horror. I watched the director's cut of Alien when I was nine. Bad move. I was so scared. Growing up, there was this old movie called Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein, about them encountering Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's monster, and it was scary enough for a kid. You could laugh a little but there were all the little elements of horror seeping into you. I do remember having very visceral memories of Halloween where I was scared while trick or treating. There was this one year where I was very scared from ghost faces... the year Scream came out. So it's weirdly coming full circle.

LT: How does Scream hold up in the scare scale?

JQ: It made a horror movie cool. It’s a brilliant movie: full of references and Easter eggs that true horror cinephiles would love, but never too meta or too far up its own whatever. So genuinely scary and frightening in its own right, with satirical elements but also characters that you connect to. Sidney, Gale and Dewey are just genuinely great characters. The fact that I'm going to be joining this universe is incredible. I feel great but it also is terrifying because I know it's something that fans really, really care about.

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Tank top, jacket, hat and boots GIVENCHY, denim pants LEVI’S

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JACK QUAID, Los Angeles, September 2020

interviewed by Lily Templeton

Photography by Shane McCauley

Fashion by Sharon Chitrit

Grooming by Candice Birns

using Eminence skin care r&co haircare

Let's meet ERIKA LINDER

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Erika Linder is a model and an actress. She's also an amazing human being, moving her blond hair and sweet face from Stockholm to Los Angeles.

Erika Linder in 5 words

 Dreamer, philosopher, creative, motivated, focused. 

 What's your favorite Swedish word?

 Grabben. It means “dude”. Even though I never say it in English.

 You are an actress and a model. Where lies the difference?

 There's a major difference. The work I put into a role for a film goes beyond months of work. Dedication and discipline is a key factor. Normally when you go to set for a photo shoot, you’re spoiled and you just “show up”, work the hours and then you’re done. With acting it’s different. I normally study months ahead of a project to really get into character and then I constantly work with the writer or director or the other actors on set. I mean, you’re playing a different person than yourself, or at least a different version of yourself. It’s a challenging and hard process to act, but yet so fun. Modeling is hard within itself and there are a lot of challenges doing it, but for me, creatively, acting is more rewarding. I guess I could say that acting has been a part of my modeling career in a way by dramatically doing men’s and women’s fashion, but acting is a much more layered work of art in my book. 

 You are now living in Los Angeles. What's your feeling about that city?

 I moved to LA 5 years ago, and prior to that been going back and forth for 2 years. I just love the energy here. Everything seems possible. I grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. It’s a very small country in general. Which I appreciate and I love how grounded I am because of it. I genuinely believe that people here are so happy because of the sun and the heat. It has definitely changed me for the better. I’ve always been very driven and focused, a lot of Swedish people are, and combine that with nice weather and endless possibilities, it’s a great way to live. I’m very lucky.

 What's your opinion about the "Me Too" movement?

 I don’t want to say too much about it, more than I think it’s about time something like this happened. Sexual assault is never ok and should be talked about. As long as the accusers are telling the truth, which we always have to assume and take seriously. 

 Modeling for men’s or women’s collection?

 I’ve always been way more inspired by men’s fashion and photography, especially when I started modeling. It profoundly speaks to me in a personal way. I love to do both men’s and women’s fashion, a good mix of both is necessary for my creative process and bringing something different to every thing I do. I’ve always said to myself that I don’t want to do just “one face” all the time. I’d get bored. The fact that I get the chance to do both men’s fashion and women’s fashion and everything in between is a blessing. 

 Can you describe yourself as a new gender?

 No, not really. I’ve always seen myself as a woman. At the end of the day, I’m a woman. I don’t struggle with that or trying to hide it behind my work. When I first started modeling back in 2011 and ended up on the men’s board at my agencies, that was my “thing”. That’s who I was in the industry. People want to put labels on everyone and everything, especially on gender. It makes them feel smart and safe. I just see a human being. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m a woman who has a lot of ideas and creation in my brain and am lucky enough to have an outlet for it. I love inspiring myself and others. I wanted to change things. I still do. Constantly. 

 If you had a magic wand, what would you do with it?

 World peace and restore all the natural habitats across the world.

 Do you believe in love?

 Yes. Love is the basic foundation of happiness. No matter how dark the world can get, I would never stop believing in love. You can’t. 

 “Love is the bridge between you and everything.” - Rumi 

  What's your favorite dream?

 Flying dreams are always my favorites. Preferably above glaciers.

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/ Interview by Julie Nysten /

/ Photography by Heather Kemesky /

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