W MAGAZINE’s first issue of 2024, Volume 1, Best Performances hits stands February 13, 2024. The highly anticipated Best Performances portfolio is an annual feature curated by W’s editor-at-large Lynn Hirschberg and highlights stars at the forefront of cinema, from industry legends and icons to those whose phenomenal talent is ushering in a new wave of stardom.
Paying tribute to the actors and stories that left us in awe over the past year, this year’s Best Performance issue features Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Colman Domingo, Greta Lee, Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey Jr., Lily Gladstone, Nicolas Cage, Charles Melton, Zac Efron, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jodie Foster, and Margot Robbie across thirteen unique covers photographed by Juergen Teller and styled by W Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Sara Moonves.
NICOLAS CAGE
On some of his favorite movies throughout his career: “I’ve made over 100 movies, and Dream Scenario is one of my five favorite scripts I’ve read in 45 years of doing this. The other four are Vampire’s Kiss, Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation., and Raising Arizona. I didn’t want to change a word in any of those.”
On who his cinematic crush was growing up: “Barbara Eden, from I Dream of Jeannie. I wanted to be in the bottle with her and play cards or…something.”
CHARLES MELTON
Sharing his go to Karaoke song: “‘Halo,’ by Beyoncé. I scored a 100 percent in noraebang, which is Korean karaoke.”
On his favorite movie growing up: “The Matrix. I watched The Matrix almost every day. I thought I was Neo, the chosen one. I will be so starstruck if I ever meet Keanu Reeves!”
ZAC EFRON
Remembering the first acting job he ever booked: “I think it was an episode of ER. Maura Tierney, who plays my mom in The Iron Claw, saved me. My character had a bad gunshot wound and was tossed on the sidewalk in front of the hospital. Maura rescued me, and they pulled the bullet out. I’m pretty sure I died.”
On where he had his first kiss: “In a tree house. We played spin the bottle. It was a great first kiss. It was her birthday, and a bunch of us climbed up to the tree house. There were candles—it was pretty cool.”
DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH
On how she started her career as a singer: “I’m a classically trained opera singer. I thought that was my journey. I’m telling you a secret: I may be able to bridge art forms together. I would love to portray the opera singer Leontyne Price in a film. She’s in her 90s, and we’re trying to reach out to tell her story.”
Explaining what she calls the “Brad Pitt effect”: “…there’s something I call the “Brad Pitt effect.” I did a film called The Lost City, and he was staying in the villa next to mine. That was intense: just him being him. Once I saw him in person, I got it. It’s not just that he’s sexy; the ‘Brad Pitt effect’ is like an aura.”
JODIE FOSTER
On shooting Taxi Driver as a 12 year old: “I first worked with Martin Scorsese when I was about 10, on Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. By the time I was 12, I’d made a lot more films than De Niro or Scorsese. They were definitely scared of me: ‘What do we do with this 12-year-old?’ I was in my hot pants and corkies, or whatever those platform shoes were called.”
On whether she likes Halloween: “Are you kidding me? I’m a huge Halloween fan. I was a Smurf for many years. I kept my Smurf mask until it smelled really bad…[I was] Papa Smurf, of course! With the beard and the blue and the whole thing.”
MARGOT ROBBIE
On the first acting jobs she booked: “I don’t really know what the first acting gig that I booked was. I did some unpaid commercials—I was in the background of a Hooters commercial. At the end of the day, the manager of Hooters came up and offered me a job. I said, ‘I think I’m going to wish for more.’”
The movie that makes her cry: “I would never not cry in The Notebook. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it. I bawl my eyes out. In fact, I stop halfway, before it gets to the sad stuff. I’d rather watch the first half 50 times over.”
[Photo Credit: Juergen Teller for W Magazine]
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Julianne Moore, Colman Domingo, Greta Lee, Lily Gladstone and More Cover W Magazine’s 2024 Best Performances Issue
T LO’s Fave Movie Costumes of 2023, Part TWO Next Post:
Julianne Moore, Colman Domingo, Greta Lee, Lily Gladstone and More Cover W Magazine’s 2024 Best Performances Issue
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