ALICE BRAGA IN NEW YORK, MAY 2016. PHOTOS: ROBERT NETHERY. STYLING: MARINA MUÑOZ/LALALAND ARTISTS. HAIR: LAURA DE LEON/JOE MANAGEMENT USING ORIBE HAIR CARE. MAKEUP: LINDA GRADIN/ATELIER USING MAC COSMETICS.


Queen of the South begins at the end: Teresa Mendoza, America's preeminent drug queenpin and the show's protagonist, is shot through one of the floor-to-ceiling windows of her home. "I knew this day would come," she says calmly in a voiceover. Based on the novel by Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte, USA's new drama tracks Teresa's journey from Mexico to the U.S., and her evolution from a vulnerable young woman into a powerful criminal. Brazilian actor Alice Braga, who made her film debut at the age of 18 in the Oscar-nominated City of God, stars as Mendoza. Though the show is predominantly in English, Braga is also fluent in Spanish.

While most English speakers will recognize Braga for her work in Hollywood action films such as I Am Legend and Elysium, Braga's roots remain firmly in Brazil. She owns a production company, Los Bragas, in São Paolo, the city in which she was raised. Many of her family members are in the film and television industry; her aunt and mother are both actors and her sister is a producer.

Here, Braga talks to her friend of over a decade Wagner Moura, who coincidentally stars as real-life drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in Netflix's Narcos.


WAGNER MOURA: I did my homework on you. I used to be a journalist years before we met, so it reminded me of the time I was a journalist. I think we met in 2003, right?

ALICE BRAGA: Yes. It was 2003 because I was 20 years old, and I turned 21 with you guys on set.

MOURA: You were just a girl.

BRAGA: I was a baby.

MOURA: I remember clearly the first day I met you. You arrived replacing an actress, so you got there 10 or 15 days before we started shooting. You showed up and I don't know how exactly—it was you and Lázaro [Ramos] and me—but we ended up going to the lowest level kind of bars in Cachoeira. Do you remember this?

BRAGA: [laughs] I do.

MOURA: We were drinking cachaça and dancing. When I talk about a low level bar in the countryside of Brazil, I don't know if people have an accurate understanding of what that means.

BRAGA: It's definitely very cheap...

MOURA: A very cheap place. So much fun.

BRAGA: I do remember that. We had cachaça and cognac one day, but I think it was on set.

MOURA: A lot of drinking involved. [laughs] We were working with another actress, and we were like, "What's going to happen?" The director just decided he was going to replace the actress, and you arrived. When we went to all those bars, I remember thinking, "She's so cool." Lower City ended up being a very important film for you—for both of us, I guess, but especially for you, right?

BRAGA: Yes, definitely. And thank you for saying that you thought I was nice. [laughs]

MOURA: Yeah, I think you're nice.

BRAGA: [both laugh] When I did City of God, I was 18, and it was during my July vacation. It's winter for us, so we only have a month off. When I was in Rio filming, I saw you guys doing A Máquina—The Machine—the play by João Falcão. I saw you and Lázaro and Vladimir [Brichta] and Gustavo [Falcão], but you and Lázaro together. And I loved the play. For me, it changed my perspective on acting and theater. I was 18 and I was enchanted; it was so amazing to see this group of actors doing the same character in the environment and the direction that you guys had. I completely fell in love. Then I finished City of God and I went back to São Paolo and finished school and started attending university for performing arts. When I got the call to go to Cachoeira to meet you guys, I remember exactly when they told me who was going to be in the film. I remember the feeling of, "Oh my god, these are the guys that I just fell in love with, that just inspired me to decide, ‘Okay, lets do this.'" Suddenly I found myself with you guys in that room on top of a tobacco factory. [laughs]

MOURA: It was an intense preparation.

BRAGA: It was! It was so intense. Of course the character was a big challenge for me, but also the chemistry between the three of us, finding that and then learning from you guys and starting to really work on something so deep as Lower City. I learned from everyone; I learned from the acting coach that we had, I learned so much from you guys. City of God, for me, was life changing for many reasons: it was my first film and the film got recognized all over the world and I got my agent. But Lower City was the most important film for me as an actress because it gave me a perspective of what I love about it, and how amazing it is when you put your soul into it and give yourself 100 percent to what you are doing. I always tell this story to journalists, because they always ask, "What do you remember that was very important for you and your career?" I remember one scene with you—we are in the room and you come to me and ask me to stay with you, and I say to you, "I can't. I can't stay with you and I can't stay with him. I cannot," and you grab me and push me against the wall. You're pushing me and I'm trying to argue. That moment, looking in your eyes and having our DP going on top of the bed to try and get it, and all the energy that we had, was one that changed my life. I remember your passion, I remember your eyes, and I remember how we were in that with the DP.

MOURA: Yeah, that was a very, very beautiful scene. I felt the same about it.Lower City is one of my favorite films that I've done. We ended up going to the Cannes Film Festival with that, which was cool as well. Remember when we were invited to walk on the red carpet of a film that I don't remember the name of any more, for reasons that I will explain now? [Braga laughs] It was a film with Bill Murray or something. We were so elegant. I had a tuxedo and you were so beautiful and people were taking pictures of us, even if they didn't have a clue of who the fuck we were. I was like, "Alice, they're taking pictures of us. Check this out!" We walked the red carpet and when we got to the entrance of the theater, a guy—a guard or publicist—showed us our way out of the theater. We were cracking up, laughing so loud, like, "What's going on?"

BRAGA: That was the first time we walked a red carpet—at least for me—that big.

MOURA: Oh yeah, definitely. A lot of Hollywood stars were there. Lower City, likeCity of God, was one of the big things at the film festival.

BRAGA: I love that story.

MOURA: So here we are now, in the cocaine business. That's where we ended up. Let me ask you something concerning Queen of the South. First of all, I want to know how was it, because we haven't talked about the fact that we're both playing drug dealers at the same time.

BRAGA: And that we are bosses!

MOURA: Yeah, we are the bosses of the whole thing. Playing a character like that, how did you prepare yourself? What was the first thing you thought, "This is what I have to do now."

BRAGA: It is based on a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, this wonderful Spanish writer. I read the book eight years ago. A really good friend of mine gave me the book, and she said, "You need to read this book because it's a beautiful, strong story about this woman. Maybe she's a nice character for you to play, but just read it." The years went by and they did the telenovela version in Spanish, and I was happy that they made it, because I always thought it was such a beautiful character for a woman to play. When they called me, I couldn't believe that eight years after I had read the book and loved the character, they came to me. It was very special. It was funny because Blindness, which is based on the book by José Saramago, was also a book that I loved, so when they invited me it was the same feeling. ForQueen of the South, my main [reason] to sign up for it was the character and the book, because that was a journey I really wanted to play. So right after I got cast, I went straight to the book and made notes, getting all the little details about what people say about her, who she is, what type of woman she is in the world that she's born, how she manages to survive—all that. Just trying to honor the book and have a better understanding of it. I have an acting coach that helps me. He works with me on preparing—running lines and having ideas and developing different ways of approaching characters.

MOURA: And you basically worked off the book. The book was your main source of material.

BRAGA: Yes. They decided afterwards to change the course of the story. They got the inspiration from the book—this character Teresa Mendoza that goes from being the girlfriend of a drug dealer to running for her life. She escapes from the Sinoloa Cartel in Mexico. In the book she goes to Spain, and in the series she goes to the U.S. Because the writers decided to change the journey of the character, I sat down with them and said, "The character that I want to play is the character that's in the book. That's my passion. So I'm going to base how she would respond to these new things that you guys are creating on little notes and details that Arturo Pérez-Reverte wrote." I really went to the book all the time to get little details that I love about her, like she never victimizes herself, she's someone that listens more than she speaks, that observes a lot and has a very beautiful inner strength. She could have died; anything could have happened throughout her whole life. She was sexually abused. She comes from very poor circumstances. Those little details of her life I tried to honor. Whatever they wrote, my main source of preparation was the book.

MOURA: So she's Mexican, but it's all spoken in English?

BRAGA: They decided to do the whole series in English for the American audience.

MOURA: Did you try a Mexican accent?

BRAGA: I wanted to. I speak Spanish with a Mexican accent in a few scenes. I wanted to change my accent to a more Mexican English accent, but they started to neutralize everyone rather than thickening their accents. They wanted it to be smooth for people to easily understand. That was a choice that they made and I just went along.

MOURA: Is it still difficult for you to work in another language that's not Portuguese? I think now, you've worked more in English than in Portuguese.

BRAGA: It is still a challenge. I never thought about it, but I think that's true—I've done more work in English than in Portuguese. Because I'm so close to my family and friends and I always speak Portuguese, my heart and mind goes to Portuguese. Once I was on set, after three or four months doing the series working hard every day and only speaking English, it became easier. You're mindset is there and you're dreaming in English and you're focusing in that language. But it is hard; in a way you're translating from one thing to the other. How is it for you?

MOURA: It's a nightmare. English or Spanish, any time I do something that's not Portuguese, my brain is putting in so much effort. It's like part of your brain is there doing the character and connecting to the emotions of the character, and the other part of the brain is like, ‘Am I pronouncing this well? Is this correct?'

BRAGA: [laughs] I go through the same thing. If you want to improvise or just put your heart out there, it's really hard to bring that intensity to it.

MOURA: My primal emotions get out of my mouth in Portuguese. But let me ask you, doing Queen of the South, has your perspective towards the drug trade changed? Do you think drugs should be legalized?

BRAGA: In the series, the main journey is about this character and not the cocaine. In the first season, we're showing the journey to get there—the relationship of the character with cocaine is through her boyfriend and through this woman that hires her. The other day I was talking to a journalist and they asked me about Narcos, and what I think is brilliant is that Narcos is not only based on a true story, but it follows the path of cocaine. It follows the whole explosion of cocaine in the world, and it's really telling the story of this product, this drug. Queen on the South is different because the focus is not on the drug; it's on this character. But we have [to find] the balance of, "It is entertainment, but cocaine can't be a fun part of it or something that we idealize related to action or fame or money." It's always the point I'm trying to discuss with the writers. If you look at what's happening—especially in that I play a Mexican and we're talking about the Mexican world—it's beyond devastating. The situation with the cartels and what they're doing to the community, to the cities, to the whole country, is heartbreaking. To glamorize that, it's a totally wrong way to go.

MOURA: Like you said, Narcos is pretty much about the birth of the drug trade, and the more I understand about it, the more I'm sure that the "War on Drugs" is a big flop. I definitely think that drugs should be legalized, because, like you said, the people who are really dying in this war are people who live in the poor neighborhoods of the countries that export or produce drugs. I think addiction is a big deal, and it should be treated like a health problem, not a police problem. The war is killing more people than addiction. I always thought drugs should be legalized but now, by doing Narcos, I'm 100 percent sure about it.

BRAGA: Exactly, I agree. All over the world, all of the relations with drugs come from the violence of trying to stop it and trying to smuggle it. What is happening at the border of the United States and Mexico is heartbreaking.

MOURA: It's brutal.

BRAGA: Have you seen this documentary Cartel Land?

MOURA: I saw it last week. How about that doctor [José Manuel Mireles] that created a militia? What a character.

BRAGA: It's crazy. It's a wonderful film because of that.

MOURA: It's such a sad story. In our countries, South American countries, the drug trade brings violence to—

BRAGA: —the slums.

MOURA: At a level that is beyond comprehension. I think the best way to stop it is by having the government control the drugs. But I want to ask you a little bit about Brazil as well. How is your relationship with Brazil now? I know you love to be there and love to work there, but how do you balance working in the U.S. and working in Brazil? How do you see the Brazilian film industry now, and how do you think they see you? I mean, I can answer that last one for you.

BRAGA: [laughs] Can I ask you? Because I don't know actually.

MOURA: They love you, and Brazilians have a very accurate of understanding who you are. They see you as a great actress, which you are, and a great human being, which you also are. They're very proud of you and all the films that you are doing abroad. How do you see the industry in Brazil?

BRAGA: Well, thank you for everything you just said. I love you.

MOURA: It's not my opinion. It's Brazilians'. [laughs]

BRAGA: [laughs] Very warm people. I ended up having these doors open up for me when I was very young to work abroad, and that was wonderful. I started just throwing myself into it and through curiosity, through a desire to meet new people and challenge myself with different possibilities, I ended up working here a lot. But Brazil is where I come from; I'm 100 percent Brazilian in that I have my house in São Paolo and I truly believe in our cinema and the talent we have. I think we have a wonderful film industry.

MOURA: You have a production company in Brazil, right?

BRAGA: Yes! Exactly. I have a production company [Los Bragas] with Felipe Braga.

MOURA: Now my best my friend, thanks to you.

BRAGA: I take that credit! For those listening, I introduced you guys and now he's writing your first feature. My other brother. But because I've been working [in the U.S.] a lot, a bunch of people assume that I won't work in Brazil anymore. For the past few years, the past two years especially, I've been kind of struggling and talking to our agent in Brazil to help me out. She says, "You're always traveling, so some people think they cannot get you." I'm really trying to change that. In Brazil they say, "Oh, she's an international actress," and honestly I'm not international; I'm an actress who works abroad. I really want to have the chance to work with [the Brazilian] directors I admire and love. There are so many good directors doing amazing work there. I not only want to do it, I want to support it, even producing to support our industry. Brazil where I come from and where I want to go back to always, so I hope they give me more jobs.

MOURA: They will. Brazil is in such a horrible moment right now. But it will pass.

BRAGA: It will. The good thing is that we're not quiet. That's the most important thing.

MOURA: There are a lot of people that are denouncing what's going on now, and it's good for people to know that it's a horrible rupture with democracy. But that's such a sad subject—let's change it. Let's talk a little bit about Elysium. So suddenly we found ourselves living in the same building and working together in Vancouver.

BRAGA: What are the odds? [laughs]

MOURA: I have three very strong memories about that. Memory number one is the day I thought I was going to die and you literally rescued me in a hospital in Vancouver. Whenever I talk about you, my mum cries. You became a saint to her.

BRAGA: I adore her. I do remember that day very clearly. I remember it being a day off and just relaxing. I was going to have dinner with my manager who was in town and then you called me saying, "Hey, what are you doing?" "I'm just having drinks and dinner, would you like to join." "No, it's fine. I'm going to go to the hospital." And then I met you and we went to the hospital. You had a horrible fever and no one could figure it out.

MOURA: I had pneumonia and I was about to die. It was the worst. You're the one that took care of me.

BRAGA: Aw, but I love you. I was afraid because no one from production... [laughs]

MOURA: I hope they're going to read this interview. I'm not going to say names, but I called production, it was 11:00 PM, and I was like, "I'm dying, can you please take me to the doctors?" They sent a driver to pick me up and the driver took me the hospital, but not inside the hospital. He opened the door and said, "Good luck." It was snowing and I walked and I remember thinking, "I don't know if I'm going to survive this walk to the hospital," so I called you. You saved my life. You bought food for me. My mum loves you. I love you.

BRAGA: You're my brother. You live in my heart. I had to do it. And we were living at the end of the world anyway with Elysium.

MOURA: The other strong memory that I have is the day we drove a long way to go to a beach outside Vancouver, and it rained for five days.

BRAGA: [laughs] And they were the only days that we had off.

MOURA: We had five days off and we were happy. We rented a car and I got to know you a little better because we spoke a lot.

BRAGA: I always talk a lot. But I do remember you trying to tell me a story and I kept interrupting you and you never finished the story. Do you remember that?

MOURA: It was a poem that I recorded with my band. I wanted to say the poem myself and you interrupted me, like, six times: "Do you want to hear this or not?" [laughs]

BRAGA: When we're done with the interview, I need to hear the poem.

MOURA: It's beautiful, but you'll never know it because it's too late. I'll never say that poem for you. The third one is not a memory, because I really don't remember what happened. We went out, we were supposed to have dinner, but instead of eating we had three bottles of wine and I don't remember we got back to the building.

BRAGA: I took you there to eat the cheesecake.

MOURA: We didn't eat anything!

BRAGA: [laughs] And the next day I went hiking.

MOURA: And I stayed like a snake in my room, "Ughhhhh." Dying.

BRAGA: I only remember one flashback, we were arriving at the hotel and you realized you had lost your glasses, so we had to go all the way back but it was hard to walk. That's what I remember about the night.

MOURA: The people in the restaurant, they were so mad at us. I don't know what we did exactly, but they were not happy with us. Who are your favorite artists? Who are your idols that you would want to work with or that you would faint if you met at some point?

BRAGA: It's ridiculous because every time someone asks me, "Who did you work with who changed you?" and you are the first one on my list because of Lower City. People that inspired in my in my journey, Diego Luna was special, because it was the first film I did abroad and he was such a strong actor in the sense of young, but with so much knowledge because he was an actor since he was a kid.

MOURA: I remember we had a lot of fun with Diego in Vancouver as well.

BRAGA: And remember that you didn't speak Spanish. Every time I talk to someone and they love your Pablo [Escobar], I keep remembering, "He didn't speak Spanish!" You kept imitating me and Diego in that Japanese restaurant.

MOURA: At some point Diego said, "Dude, just speak Portuguese, please. Don't try and speak Spanish." There was this film that you did. I'm not going to say which one, but you know. You have a very beautiful scene in the end, and you don't say anything, you're just walking. [Braga laughs] And I asked you, "What were you thinking when you did that scene?" And you said, "I was thinking about the things I have to take and where I'm going to spend my New Year's Day." I think about that answer every time I'm doing a scene and really not thinking about it and it makes me laugh out loud. You were like, "You know, the beach in Brazil. I can't forget the sunblock." So my final question is where are you going to spend your New Year's Day?

BRAGA: I was thinking either Bahia or Costa Rica.

MOURA: Let's go to Bahia.


QUEEN OF THE SOUTH AIRS THURSDAYS ON USA.

The voice. That delivery. Those ... ooh, signature moments of, of, of seemingly stumbling as he, uh, uh, gathers his thoughts and then launches into a cascaaaade of thrillingly articulate and comic lyricism ... Uh, uh, yeahhhh, Jeff Goldblum is the best. Maybe even too good. Like other famously distinctive performers—theWalkens of the world—Goldblum is probably, definitely, underrated as an actor: Something so deliciously delectable can't also be good for us, right? But we needn't think too hard about it; we just know he is a delight to watch.

And the feeling seems to be mutual. Since his earliest days, working with Robert Altman, Paul Mazursky, Philip Kaufman, and Woody Allen in the '70s, through his breakout in Lawrence Kasdan's artful dramedy The Big Chill in 1983, Goldblum has always seemed to be having the absolute time of his life. Whether he is playing the oddball leading man in David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) and the two Steven Spielberg-directed Jurassic Park movies (1993 and 1997), or a vividly eccentric character in Wes Anderson's movies and in the alien attack epic Independence Day (1996)—or, even, during his weekly gigs in Los Angeles with his jazz band the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra—Goldblum looks to be ever-in-the-moment, giddily improvising, and digging the way it's going down.

And why not? At 63, with a new young son, domestic bliss, and at least one mega blockbuster on the horizon—Independence Day: Resurgence hits theaters on, well, right around Independence Day (news of his upcoming role in Thor: Ragnarok came at press time)—Goldblum is like an advertisement for the good life. As he tells his friend, the musician, writer, and actor Fred Armisen, it really is that good.


FRED ARMISEN: Where are you, Jeff?

JEFF GOLDBLUM: I'm in L.A. at my house. Where are you?

ARMISEN: I'm in Santa Monica at a hotel. We're doing a writers' retreat forPortlandia. I broke away for a little while.

GOLDBLUM: I think you live near where I played last night at Rockwell in Los Feliz, where we play every Wednesday. And you're cordially invited if you'd ever like to come by. I play that jazz gig every week when I'm in town.

ARMISEN: That is so exciting! Yeah, I just moved to Los Feliz, or Los Feleez, or however they pronounce it. That's how it should be; I should be able to go down the street and watch you play. That's one of the great things about Los Angeles, that people just play music, and it's all very welcoming and welcomed.

GOLDBLUM: More than New York, even? I mean, when we played in New York, we played at the Carlyle Hotel, but that was a different thing. And in Portland, I'm sure you can play every place you go. But I like it out here. And I particularly like that section of L.A.—Los Feliz and all around there. So, this retreat, you're writing the next season?

ARMISEN: Yeah. It's a nice way of rounding everybody up—Jon Krisel, Carrie, our other writers, Karey Dornetto, Graham Wagner ... How's your life going? How is your family? What is your daily life like?

GOLDBLUM: Well, we played the gig last night—which is my one later night. Usually I go to bed early because I have this young son, who was born on the Fourth of July this last year, named Charlie Ocean Goldblum. And he has a very structured routine. We, the three of us, get in the bathtub at about 6:20, and then we usually order food in because our kitchen is being remodeled right now—really, the whole house has been benefitting from our nesting instinct. So every night we're ordering in from Pace ... Do you know Pace, up in Laurel Canyon? That's our go-to place these days. Last night I ordered the chicken parmesan, which was a special, and she got this tuna thing and this cauliflower vegan soup—very nice. But last night I gave him a bath and went off to play the gig from 8:30 to 11, came back, and went to bed later. Usually, we go to bed at like, 8, 9 o'clock, get up when he gets up, at 6:45ish, 7 o'clock. I get up, feed the dog, and take the dog out. We've got a big, red-haired standard poodle named Woody Allen. We call him Woody mostly. And then the baby gets changed and fed, and then we sit in the playroom. He's got a little safe-area playroom where we just watch him play and develop. He's starting to stand up and just started to say "da-da" this last week. He's very thrilling. Then I sit with him on my lap and we play piano a bit. And then I get my stuff done. I usually run through an hour-ish of piano and singing time for me. It's not unrelated to what we do at the gig. And then I've got a kind of a gym here in the house, and I do my routine and try to get my 12,000 steps—the beginning, at least, of my 12,000 steps, because we've got a couple of treadmills side-by-side. Sometimes we walk around the neighborhood, too, with Charlie and with the dog. And that's about it. That's kind of my homework. Then I go over my script. I'm working on a movie that I can't really talk about because they haven't said what it is; the people doing it haven't said, but I work on my part every day. I like to, if I have enough time, not cram anything, but just kind of touch it every day. That's my homework, and then I'm free. And now, very specially, I'm talking with you.

ARMISEN: I can hear how happy you are. Like, you like this. What seems like a routine is actually very varied. It's this really colorful life. And I'm very happy for you. When you're playing music, do you feel like it's a separate part of your brain? Do you do it for the audience who's there? Do you get better every night?

GOLDBLUM: I like the idea of being a student, and I play with very good musicians. So playing with them allows me to get better. My aim is to get better, but I really love it for its own sake. I've got an old Fender Rhodes that I like a lot, and then a Yamaha baby grand. I can't pass them without playing. I just like to play, and it changes my day. Thank goodness my mom gave us all lessons, because it really has changed my life. This last, I don't know, 15, 20 years of playing out and about has been a new chapter and a horizon-enhancer of life and music. It's very interactive and it's improvisational. We really don't rehearse as a group, but I get these great musicians, and we jam, and I don't know what we're going to play until they start to play it. And then I do a lot of talking, playing with the audience, but I don't really know what that's going to be. Somebody kind of feeds me cold. He gives me these kind of cold games that I play with the audience or quizzes that I do with them. We worked out this way to have maximum surprise for me. So the whole evening is a very enjoyable—for me and, it seems, for them—kind of a group "happening."

ARMISEN: That's wonderful.

GOLDBLUM: You're a drummer, and you have that group. I'd love to hear you play, and I'd love to play with you. I know Devo was an early inspiration to you. Have you been over to Mark Mothersbaugh's studio on Sunset—you know that one that's kind of green, looks like the Forum?

ARMISEN: I've been! Mutato Muzika. It's so cool. It's like a little playground of instruments and keyboards and all that.

GOLDBLUM: We had a great time there. I was just Wikipedia-ing you today, and I never knew that your original name was, uh, how do you say it? Fereydun?

ARMISEN: Yes! Fereydun, that's my dad's name. My grandmother, my dad's mom, when she was pregnant, she was dating a man from Persia, a Persian gentleman. It wasn't his child, but he was still very supportive and said, "Hey, this is a great name," and so it stuck. So that's what she named him. I was a junior. He called himself Fred, and then I called myself Fred, but only now I'm thinking, "Boy, I should've held on to that name." But in a way, the name is still a part of me, so who cares what's on paper?

GOLDBLUM: Sometimes I think that people's characters get forged, at least in part, from their names, and it's interesting that you have this exotic, unusual name—I've never even heard it before. Maybe that's why you're as special as you are. I mean if Crispin Glover were named, you know, John Glover, he might not have become the interesting and unusual fellow that he is.

ARMISEN: I love that theory. It's like an early imprint on everything. And, as a side note, now that we're talking about Crispin Glover, what a great person we have in our lives—Crispin Glover. That is the kind of person that I'm just happy exists. I've always been immediately entertained by him.

GOLDBLUM: Definitely. I think my favorite Crispin Glover moment is the bit inWild at Heart [1990] where Laura Dern's character says she found Glover's character, put "one big cockroach right on his anus." [both laugh] I like that line. Hey, but you played drums for the Blue Man Group, and when I worked with Tim and Eric [on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!] they did that sketch about the GoldBluMan Group, so we have kind of a connection there. And we both didCrank Yankers.

ARMISEN: We're connected. We've got a few bridges. I have a question for you about being on set. What is the part of the day that you feel is the most work? Meaning, is it being on camera? Is it in between shots? For me, I'll say it does feel like the in-between stuff is the work part of it. What's a permanent part of it where you're like, "Yeah, this is the work part of it"?

GOLDBLUM: I think it changes. I'm thinking about this Independence Day movie this last summer, and sometimes the days would go long—like, 16-, 17-hour days. And so if my energy flags, it feels like work to manage it and to figure out if I need to take a nap or sit down or eat some more—because, you know, I like to eat every two or three hours. And they give you that breakfast, which I love—boy, do I love that truck. That's a very nice situation. And the lunch is usually good. But sometimes there's five or six hours in between, so figuring out how to procure meals gets a little work-y. But, most of the time, as much as I've done it, it always feels like a special privilege that I'm terrifically grateful for. I think of it as work-slash-play, because it's the work of play. It's a playtime. And I like how time goes on set. It's almost like time on an airplane or something where people are together. It's a different, very trippy kind of time, I find, because you're together in imaginary time where you're out of time. You're called upon to be present and honor what can happen in the moment. And the whole day can go like that. The whole day can be a kind of meditation.

ARMISEN: That's a good comparison. Like being on a flight. And I agree with you so much about the gratitude of it. I still feel lucky whenever I hear a director say, "Action!" Because then I think, "Whoa, I'm really in the movies. This is a real thing happening." I've never not been enthralled by that. I still love it. I still love hearing it, and I feel really lucky all the time.

GOLDBLUM: We have another connection. I went to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and for the first time, I met Barack Obama!

ARMISEN: No way!

GOLDBLUM: He was lining up with Michelle; the two of them were making themselves available, very generously. It seems like a challenging part of the job. A hundred or so people in this room, and they stayed for an hour or so and took a few moments with each one and took a picture. I love them, but, of course, you do great impersonation of him. Have you met him?

ARMISEN: Yeah. It was the same situation a couple of years ago: the White House Correspondents' Dinner. It's really amazing that, in your life, you've met a president. It's a pretty huge life experience. I'm imagining you talked to him a little bit?

GOLDBLUM: A little bit. I talked to Bill Clinton at one point. I think it is an amazing thing, and I don't take that for granted either. It'll be a highlight of my life. And speaking of your impersonations, I was thinking of Prince, of course.

ARMISEN: Aww.

GOLDBLUM: I got a chance to see him once. Oh boy, I miss him. I liked that last memorial show where they showed a compilation of your Prince impersonations. Jeez, I loved what you did. Did you get a chance to meet him?

ARMISEN: I did. I met him and I'm so glad I did. I saw him play many, many, many times. He's been a huge part of my life since I was in my first year of college. I never thought it would happen. I wasn't prepared for the day when I would get news like that. I'm still in a little bit of disbelief. I'm still not over it. His life felt very present tense to me.

GOLDBLUM: I never saw him play live. I only saw him on one occasion; it was at some awards banquet. I was at a table with Paul Rudd, whom I really like. We were chatting away. And a hush came over the room as Prince floated by our table within arm's reach. Paul Rudd and I looked at each other and were wide-eyed and speechless. It was breathtaking. I adored him. I wish I'd seen him live, and I never talked to him, but that happens. It's happened more than once recently where somebody dies and you go, "Oh, I didn't know they were going to die! I wish I'd done this or that." But I guess there's something teachable in that: Anybody can die, everything is fleeting, and you've just got to make sure that you catch up on what you can catch up on, right?

ARMISEN: I know. It's all so fragile. Whatever the circumstances were, he was still a functioning, touring musician. He wasn't 80 and, you know, that's how easily it can all happen.

GOLDBLUM: I had a brother who died early on—he was 23 when I was 19. And, boy, I certainly didn't expect that. That was utterly shocking. Recently, Garry Shandling died and I loved him. We were pals and I was shocked that he died.

ARMISEN: Aw, Jeff, I'm so sorry. I'm remembering your scene from Larry Sanders just as you were talking about Garry—I think you were both trying to date ... Was it Gina Gershon? I think you were giving her a foot massage. [laughs]

GOLDBLUM: You're right! It was Gina Gershon.

ARMISEN: The both of you were smiling and trying to sort of lay down the boundaries, God, that was so good! This was before I knew you, and I was already affected.

GOLDBLUM: He was wonderful to work with, and that was a fun show. I just saw Gina Gershon recently, on a boat trip. Paul Allen has these big yacht trips—I went once, 15 years ago or something like that, to Alaska and then on another one to Saint Petersburg. But a few weeks ago, we went for ten days to Vietnam and Malaysia and Singapore, and Gina Gershon was there and a bunch of other interesting people. He's a musician, Paul Allen, and we jammed with him a couple of nights. Stevie Wonder came on the boat, and Rufus Wainwright was there, and Chrissie Hynde was there and played. Jim Watson was there, one of the guys who discovered the structure of DNA and who I played in a movie [The Race for the Double Helix, 1987]. Daniel Dennett, one of the esteemed writers on atheism, was there, very interesting guy. Quentin Tarantino was on the boat, Tom Stoppard. It was a very interesting experience. And Gina Gershon and I talked about Garry.

ARMISEN: That sounds incredible. I can't believe this. Did you all sleep on the boat? Did you all eat breakfast on the boat?

GOLDBLUM: Yes! Paul Allen rented this whole yacht, and everybody had a little cabin, and we slept over there for ten days straight, and then would anchor for a couple of days, and we would have little excursions into Ho Chi Minh City and different places like that. It was really incredible. And then with that group of people! We'd have dinner and then have a jam session every night with these different musicians. The last night was with Stevie Wonder. On the boat! Because these big yachts are, you know, five-star hotels. They not only have a gym and all kind of things, but they'd have lectures about where we were going and a big theater room, and then a kind of an after-hours place where I played, and where Stevie Wonder, after he did his show, also played. It was an amazing, trippy kind of blast.

ARMISEN: It sounds bigger than a yacht.

GOLDBLUM: It was like the Love Boat. I guess it's not a yacht—it's a cruise ship; 200, 300 people were on it. You should've been there. You would've had a high time, I'll bet. They would've loved to have you there. We could've played music, oh boy. And the people, the conversations ... incredible.

ARMISEN: Your whole life sounds so great. I don't know anyone else who loves performing as much as you do. And the love is always evident. I always see it in your performances.

GOLDBLUM: I plead guilty.


FRED ARMISEN IS THE CO-CREATOR OF THE PEABODY-WINNING IFC SERIES PORTLANDIA.

Whatever its constituent parts-talent, sure; charisma, definitely—the combined quality Hollywood moguls and gossip columnists used to refer to as "it"-ness (as in, "So-and-so has it") remains ineffable, mysterious, almost occult in its indescribableness. Whatever "it" is, Idris Elba has it in droves. Enough to fill a room, a movie, a long-running series, a planet probably.

Whether he's on set, at a party, or at the Met Gala, which he co-hosted this past May, and even when surrounded by all the sparkliest stars in heaven, it is his gravity that draws all the eyes, his dusty baritone all the ears, and his easy, frequent laughter, more of the same. In person, the Hackney-born Elba, 43, seems taller than his 6'3" frame, even a little hunched to get through doorways, to hear us Lilliputians.

Onscreen, Elba's presence is greater still. Which is probably why directors so love to restrain it, to set an obstacle course for him to shine through. As the legitimate-facing member of a Baltimore gang in HBO's The Wire, his Stringer Bell was always torn between the straight and outlaw worlds, left exposed to the slings and arrows of both, and unable to find comfort in either. Then again, as the long-suffering but brilliant detective on the BBC's Luther, Elba seemed hardly ever able to sleep. His John Luther was haunted by the ghosts of personal tragedy and by the very real criminals tearing London to bits around him. But, by far, the worst of all lots assigned to Elba was that of the warlord commandant in Cary Fukunaga'sBeasts of No Nation. Running a child army in a chaotic war through some unnamed African state, Elba's unnamed character was heavy on the Colonel Kurtz scale, oversaturated by the horrors around him and within him, a force. But it was the ease with which Elba inhabited him, the natural command he filled him with, radiating at times with the kind of quirky charisma of a mystic guru or a cult leader, that made the performance something altogether new. As if that weren't enough, Elba nearly died during production when he slipped walking behind a waterfall and only lived to tell about it because a security guard caught him.

With all this suffering around, it isn't hard to see why fans are clamoring to have Elba finally let loose, to see him indulged, to watch him turn that charisma up to 11 and be cast as the next James Bond—fingers crossed. In the meantime, he is loading up on fantasy and CGI, playing the squid-y antagonist in Star Trek Beyond, and the gunslinger Roland Deschain in an adaptation of Stephen King'sThe Dark Tower books, out next year, as well as reappearing as Heimdall in the next Thor installment. Also in the works is Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game, not to mention a bubbling DJ career, and even a fashion collection, in collaboration with Superdry. It's a lot. But as Elba tells his pal and director of the recent The Jungle Book, Jon Favreau, he's got a lot more where that came from.


IDRIS ELBA: Hello, Jon. What a nice surprise.

JON FAVREAU: Well, I fancy myself the modern-day Andy Warhol, so Interviewmagazine... How are you doing down there?

ELBA: I'm good. We're making a very big movie, and I'm doing long hours, shooting guns and whatnot. I'm enjoying it.

FAVREAU: When I worked with Daniel Craig [Cowboys & Aliens, 2011], he said that dressing up and playing a cowboy is universal, not just an American fantasy. Is it something that was appealing to you?

ELBA: [laughs] Yeah, I mean, I used to watch Bonanza. Do you even know what that is?

FAVREAU: Yeah. I guess it took a while for our programs to get to you, because that was before my time.

ELBA: [laughs] Bonanza, man. I've always wanted to try the whole cowboy feel and look, so when I took this role, I was wondering, "Are we going to bring that to life in this character? Is he a real cowboy?" And the answer was no. We had to reinvent that a little bit because the world—it's quite a fantastical world and we aren't making a Western. But there's definitely some characteristics from those great cowboy movies, the Sergio Leone movies and all. I was definitely drawn to it. I've got two smoking guns that just look incredible, and I love to pull them out whenever I can. [laughs]

FAVREAU: I remember the books, and what was cool about it was Stephen King really deconstructed the mythology. So you got all the cool gunfighter stuff, but it felt fresh and new and sci-fi, post-apocalyptic—a little bit ahead of its time actually.

ELBA: It's exciting because it doesn't feel like it comes from any other source. It's not an existing group, like the Marvel films. It feels very original. The guns and fights are really essential to the story, but our director, Nikolaj [Arcel], isn't overcooking it.

FAVREAU: You're probably a really good judge, because you've worked with such wonderful people before. I was just going through the list—Ridley Scott, Ken Branagh, Guy Ritchie, Guillermo del Toro ... These are guys I have a lot of respect for. What common thread do you see in all these wonderful directors that makes a director strong?

ELBA: The most important thing, which I always look for, is their 360 vision of their film. By 360, I mean every moment has been imagined once or twice, if not 50,000 times, within their heads, from performance to art direction and whatnot. It's been a master class for me. Working with Guy on RocknRolla [2008], he was embedded in every single detail of the film. You could literally spin him around in a blindfold and stop him somewhere and say, "What about this?" and he'll go, "Ah, that's this." And you're the same, and Ridley was exactly like that. Ridley would almost sort of cut the film [Prometheus, 2012] while he was watching the takes. Sometimes he'd do a full retake, and sometimes he'd go, "I just want to do this moment here." But I think the common denominator is that everyone really understands you. Some directors hand over portions of their movie to their head of department to the point where it's like, "I'm not going to talk to you about the costumes, but I'm going to let you talk to the expert." Rather than, "You want to talk stitching, let's talk stitching. You want to talk grade of leather? Let's." The directors [who know every detail] make films that are complete, basically. You're directing a movie, but you are at the head of a ship of people, a whole fleet of people. And being able to manage that—being able to handle yourself as a director being a leader—that's massively important.

FAVREAU: And then, of course, with Luther and The Wire, you're dealing with so many hours of entertainment that you're not going to have that same intense collaboration with one single person. It becomes more of a collaborative sport. I know The Wire better than I know Luther, but there was a tremendous level of consistency in the storytelling in that one. I think it's commonly agreed upon thatThe Wire is one of the best shows to ever air. How was that experience different? The character you played had just as much depth—probably more depth because of how much screen time there was—than the characters you played in features.

ELBA: That's true. Television is where I cut my teeth. One of my first jobs was in a soap opera, five days a week. And what I found is, although there are different directors coming in and different crews, you just lived in your character. It's the nature of the story, the ongoing story, and it can get deeper and deeper. And The Wire—I had moved to America a few years earlier. I had to get a job. And this character came about, and I jumped straight in. And it was like, "Today we're doing this scene in this part of this story line in this part of this world." You don't have the luxury like you do in films to do one scene per day. But what kept the quality control up was that the writing was so phenomenal. The guest director could just drop into the world, those characters and their environments, and start filming, because it was sewn into us. That was our world.

FAVREAU: Like special forces. Whatever the assignment, you're ready and you hit the beaches running.

ELBA: Exactly. And Luther is similar. There were no luxuries on Luther. It was a tough set; we worked six-day weeks in London, sometimes in the bitter cold. But the quality comes from the writing. Neil Cross has always been a great writer. But, again, we just plug and play, like you say. It's a task force and we get on with it.

FAVREAU: When The Wire came along, you were in the States, trying to figure out where you fit in. That was probably the same period when you were DJ'ing. Is that right?

ELBA: Yep, that was how I kept the lights on, basically.

FAVREAU: I know the DJ'ing industry has changed a lot in the time since you began, because DJ'ing has emerged as one of the most lucrative, popular careers that a lot of kids are aspiring to. It's become a full-fledged career in entertainment. And you seem to really be having a lot of fun in that world. You did some remixes for us for Jungle Book—which was great, by the way. You know, I grew up in Queens in the era when DJs were first emerging, and I was soundly impressed with what you were able to do.

ELBA: Thanks, man. I was really happy that you liked those remixes. I was nervous about you signing off on them, because I know your depth of knowledge of music. Anyway, what happened was, once I got The Wire, my life changed. I couldn't DJ as much and I couldn't take it seriously because my career as an actor was just getting to a place where I was finally making it in America. I wanted to be on American TV so much. I didn't park DJ'ing; I just sort of ended up becoming more of a studio guy. I had a bit more money and I could buy every little piece of equipment and drum machine that had just come out—I've got quite a collection now—and I continued to collect music. Then about five years ago, my career blossomed, but I really missed being out on the road, DJ'ing. So I started picking up gigs here and there, and what occurred to me really quickly was that I was going to water down my passion for DJ'ing, because the type of gigs I was getting were celebrity DJ work, and that just didn't sit right. So I made a decision about five years ago to really do it properly, to do it at that level I had never done it, but take it seriously and not ride the coattails of being an actor. It took a while because I had to take my time to introduce myself into that world: doing remixes, being taken seriously ...

FAVREAU: And you have to stay current with it, too. So you have to listen to a lot of music and listen to a lot of other DJs. It is a community. It's very similar, actually, to a few years ago when the professional poker player community crossed over to Hollywood. There are a lot of people who played, but you only got so far on being recognizable. At a point you cross over, and there are certain Hollywood guys who are good enough that they're considered poker players. I don't know if you remember Gabe Kaplan from Welcome Back, Kotter, but he was one of the guys that the poker players don't even consider an actor anymore. He's a full-on poker player. And there are some people who are somewhere in between, like Tobey [Maguire] ... Ben Affleck is a strong player. Have you been exposed to any of that with your upcoming project, Molly's Game, with Aaron Sorkin—yet another visionary storyteller?

If the recent golden age of prestige television has foisted the antihero upon us, the Golden Globe-winning, visually stylish Mr. Robot, which premiered last summer to much acclaim on USA and is now back for its second season, delivers an unreliable, morphine-addicted, paranoid protagonist destined to join the canon of TV's most memorable rebels. But this time, he lives by Occupy ideals, dresses in a black hoodie, and is set on smashing the corporate power structure. Elliot Alderson, a cyber-security engineer by day, vigilante hacker by night, and leader of the Anonymous-like collective fsociety, is the eyes, ears, and sentience of the series. Played by Los Angeles native Rami Malek with a nuanced intensity, it's the kind of role most up-and-comers would kill for—gritty, multi-layered, and a career definer.

Malek, 35, has been acting professionally for over a decade. He established himself as an edgy character actor in acclaimed indies like Short Term 12 (2013) and Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013), and has worked with the heavy-hitting directors Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master, 2012) and Spike Lee (Oldboy, 2013; Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, 2015), but as he tells his friend and Mr. Robot superfan Robert Downey Jr., playing Alderson has opened up a whole new world of possibilities, including his first leading film role, in Sarah Adina Smith's mystery Buster's Mal Heart, which he recently completed filming. Downey Jr. caught up with Malek by phone in early June, a few weeks after he visited the Mr. Robot set in New York.


ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Mr. Malek, how are you feeling? What's going on right now?

RAMI MALEK: Right now, I am home doing a bit of press. We have one of those hiatus weeks because, as you know [Mr. Robot creator], Sam [Esmail] is directing everything. He gets a week of prep before we complete season two of Mr. Robot.

DOWNEY JR.: Do you draw any comparisons between a director/creative partner and a brother, both essentially named Sami?

MALEK: Yeah. I actually do. They both have, in the time we've spent together, pretty much told me exactly what to do with my life. [laughs] There are some striking similarities between the two of them: They're both Egyptian, they both vaguely resemble each other.

DOWNEY JR.: It's funny how that works. Now I'm not going to start asking you about relationships, in case you were wondering. I'm in this odd position of realizing that it's somewhat a daunting task to appropriately interview somebody. What the heck is Buster's Mal Heart?

MALEK: I read this very experimental script on the first season we were shooting [Mr. Robot]. It was really poetic and cool, and it left so much to the imagination. So much of it was just scene descriptions, and we would improv the meat of the dialogue. That was something I looked at and was like, "Well, I'll probably never get a chance to do something like this again." I think it's done now. Sarah Adina Smith directed it and is editing it, and is probably submitting it to festivals right now.

DOWNEY JR.: Oh, I wanna see it!

MALEK: Maybe we'll screen it together. It won't be as elaborate as your Star Warsscreening, but ... Am I supposed to talk about that? Or maybe not?

DOWNEY JR.: [laughs] Listen, it's a two-way street, pal. First of all, are you in town next Wednesday?

MALEK: I'm not. What kind of fun adventure do you have planned out?

DOWNEY JR.: I had some ideas, but whatever. I guess if I want to see you for the foreseeable future, I just have to come to set again.

MALEK: [laughs] That was amazing. You turned me into a hero when you came to set. I'm not kidding. They were like, "You know him?" "How do you know him?" I knew it was very cool to know you, but the world started paying me more attention on that day on set. Maybe I elaborated on our relationship too much and started fantasizing it was more than it actually was. No, I just told them how close we were and that we hang out, we celebrate holidays together, we watch movies together, all of which is true!

DOWNEY JR.: [laughs] I mean, it was great to see you, very nice to catch up with [Christian] Slater. And, without giving anything away, I was just happy that I was able to see a scene with you and Slater that left everything to the imagination.

MALEK: Usually I look behind the monitor and it's Sam and Joe Schmo behind there. "Okay, film icon Robert Downey Jr., one of the greatest actors to have graced this planet, is watching the monitor as I deliver a slew of experimental takes before I get to one that might have possibly worked."

DOWNEY JR.: Now, let me tell you something, that first take was the take. It's probably not the one that's going to be in the episode, but it was perfect in that you were going to try what you were going to try, you were going to commit to it fully, and then you were going to not be ashamed if you were directed away from it. I thought it was brave, and vital, and awesome. Without getting into details, you made some sounds that I have never heard made on the set of filmed entertainment before. And they were appropriate to the situation.

MALEK: [laughs] I felt that was the case. You know what's funny, I remember you said, "What was wrong with the first take?" And I was like, "Yeah, Sam, what was wrong with the first take?" We were doing a scene about three weeks later, and Sam comes up to me, and I don't know if it was the light—we were losing light that day—but he gave me a couple takes, and that was it, and we moved on. I wanted one more desperately. He goes, "I was talking to Downey when he was on set ..." He asked you, I think, how many takes usually work for you, and you said something like, "The first one's pretty good. The second one's about perfecting it." So he looks at me and he goes, "Well, you know, Downey only needs two takes."

DOWNEY JR.: [laughs] Usually they're just warming up technically, too, and usually they're letting things happen that shouldn't be happening on the first take because no one really takes the first take all that seriously. But I bet that a movie comprised entirely of cleaned-up first takes would be extraordinary.

MALEK: That is not a bad idea. That's the film we do together!

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Jeff Beck recalls what it was like to see Jimi Hendrix live and discusses how he and singer-lyricist Rosie Bones wrote songs for his new LP.

In October 1966, guitarist Jeff Beck suddenly quit the English band the Yardbirds in the middle of a U.S. tour. "We were doing 600 miles a day in a bus, choked with people," Beck, 71, recalls with a bitter laugh. "And then we'd do three songs. I thought, 'We're being crushed.'" On August 10th, Beck – currently on the road with his blues hero Buddy Guy – marks his 50th anniversary as a solo artist with a retrospective concert at the Hollywood Bowl, complete with an orchestra. He also celebrates that milestone with a new book, BECK01 – a lavish, pictorial account of his twin passions for guitars and restoring vintage automobiles – and a politically charged new album, Loud Hailer, out July 15th and made with new collaborators: guitarist Carmen Vandenberg and singer-lyricist Rosie Bones. Beck is writing an autobiography as well that he hopes will become a feature film.

"The fun that I've had needs to be seen on the screen," the guitarist insists near the end of our conversation for Rolling Stone, which took place during tour rehearsals at his longtime home in the Sussex countryside outside London and is presented here in an extended version. "I like the thought of a bunch of people laughing at what I laughed at. Because my life is surreal, completely wacko," Beck notes with his own hearty laughter – something he does often during this interview. "I have to pinch myself that I'm still alive."

In recent years, you have collaborated a lot – and really well – with women: the bassists Tal Wilkenfeld and Rhonda Smith, singer Imelda May and now Carmen and Rosie. What do you like about working with women instead of men?
They look better for a start [laughs]. I met Carmen at a birthday party [for Queen drummer Roger Taylor]. Somebody told me she was a guitarist. I didn't expect what I heard. She said, "Oh, I like Buddy Guy, Albert Collins." I thought, "Wow, that's pretty cool for a 23-year-old ... chick. [Laughs]

Are women less argumentative than guys?
No, no. There is a certain atmosphere they create. It is a well-balanced outfit. Let's not forget that you do get opinionated women as well. As long as I'm the boss, so be it. Either obey or get out [laughs].

There is a surprising, topical anger in new songs like "The Revolution Will Be Televised" and "Thugs Club." Are you a news junkie?
It's a recent thing. A lunatic lifestyle on the road doesn't permit you to get too hip to stuff as you should. I had a concept for the record. And it was a daily thing. I would go online and find something disgusting that was going on in the world. I was feeding Rosie with the vibe, and she ran with it.

I go on YouTube. I look for lies, and I look for the truth. When you examine facial expressions – politicians, commentators – you can replay the clip and see the lines in their faces. I've become very conscious of how easy it is for people to lie.

I would show Rosie what I wanted to say, and she would sit there quietly writing away. She didn't show me anything for the first couple of days. Then she put a guide vocal on one of the tracks that blew me away. It was exactly what I was going to say.

It sounds like we actually spent some time on the album, but it came together very quickly. The construction of the songs was about two weeks, maybe less. The rest was all messing around with other things. The core of the album was done in about three or four days.

One song, "Scared for the Children," has strong echoes of Jimi Hendrix.
It inadvertently came out. It's [Hendrix's] "Angel – four notes [hums the lick]. There's no escape. I've never loved Hendrix more than I do now. I've been listening to some excellent stuff that I'd never heard before, a Royal Albert Hall show [in 1969] – same songs like "Red House" but unbelievable playing. Ever since I learned the chords to "Little Wing," nobody can shut me up.

When did you first see Hendrix perform?
It was probably one of the first shows he did [in London]. It was in a tiny downstairs club in Queensgate, It was a fashion club – mostly girls, 18 to 25, all dolled up, hats and all. Jimi wasn't known then. He came on, and I went, "Oh, my God." He had the military outfit on and hair that stuck out all over the place. They kicked off with [Bob Dylan's] "Like a Rolling Stone," and I thought, "Well, I used to be a guitarist."

Did you get to know Hendrix well?
As well as you could in the fleeting moments. When the Jeff Beck Group played the Scene [in New York in 1968], he was there most nights. What an education, having him come in with his guitar. One night he played mine. He didn't have his guitar. I ended up playing bass. There's a photo. Jimi's in the shot, [bassist] Ron Wood is in the background. You don't even see me in the picture.

Everything I've read about your exit from the Yardbirds in the fall of 1966 suggests it was an impetuous decision.
It was. I got tired of getting sick. With all those changes in climate [on tour], my throat was in havoc. It was the sore throat from hell. I couldn't swallow. And the tonsils kept getting ulcerated. I had them out in L.A., and they carried on with Jimmy [Page].

Also, we were being crushed into this ridiculous package show. If you didn't have a hit, you just had to do what you were told. Jimmy had just joined, so it was a bit of a blow when I left. I went back to L.A., and the girl I was with looked after me for awhile. My mum said, "What the hell are you doing, staying on?" Well, sunshine. [Laughs] But I ran out of time on my visa. I got a telegram from the U.S. government, saying "Get out of the country."

The Yardbirds, 1966. Jeff Beck, Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja, Jimmy Page and Keith Relf (from left).Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Did you have any idea what you wanted to do next, as a solo artist?
All of a sudden, you're a nobody. You're not a Yardbird anymore. Maybe a couple of places in the papers said, "Jeff Beck's left." But because the band was able to carry on [with Page], it was almost like I was airbrushed out of it. I had to find Stewart, and that's when it started up again.

There are fantastic photos in BECK01 of the Jeff Beck Group with Wood and Rod Stewart. Have you tried to reunite that band?
It's the biggest comedy of errors. I see Woody at a lot of Christmas parties – at Mick Jagger's and some friends of ours. I said, "There's a big opportunity coming up next August." He went, "Wow, I'll tell Rod." He said, "Rod is thrilled." Months go by, and he's playing Vegas on that night [laughs].

Rod did want to do it another time. But I think he just wanted to do a quick album on a weekend. I wanted to do a meaningful move forward in blues-rock. But it would have taken too much time for him.

What is it with you and singers? You've worked with great ones like Stewart and Mick Jagger but never for long.
I did once say singers were all a pain in the ass. Of course, they aren't. But they weren't central to the concept. I wanted to play the guitar. Someone once said to me, "Your show is not a rock concert. It's a recital." But I like having vocalists to play off of. Somebody said it was like a [Harold] Pinter play with the rapport going on between Rod and the guitar. It's thrilling. With a vocalist, you're part of the concert, and you're an audience as well.

You've always had an animated, vocal quality to your guitar playing. Do you find that there is only so much you can express on the instrument?
No, especially with a Stratocaster. There is so much variable in the tone, especially because of the whammy bar. Originally, it was intended for maybe the last chord of a song [makes rubbery-chord sound and laughs]. But little did Fender know what was going to happen. The spring-loaded bar became a part of me. It enables me to do unlimited bends, like having a pedal-steel guitarist.

But I've always liked to play melodically. Otherwise, there's nothing there, just an ugly sound. Listen to the great guitarists of the Fifties. They didn't do that nasty sort of industrial distortion. They played musical compositions as solos – Scotty Moore, Cliff Gallup, Django Reinhardt. There wasn't a bad note in any of those solos. I listened to that and stayed with those rules.

"I've always liked to play melodically," Beck says. "Otherwise, there's nothing there, just an ugly sound." Stephen J. Cohen/Getty

BECK01 documents your double life in guitars and classic cars. Aren't you worried about doing harm to your hands when you get under the hood or a chassis?
I am more dangerous in the kitchen. I was cutting a carrot length-wise, and it rolled to the left. The knife went sideways on my finger. I'm not allowed to cut carrots anymore. Grinders – no problem. It's second nature to me. I've picked up the wrong end of a welding rod, burned holes in the hands. I just get on with it. I've been doing it since I was 16.

What got you started?
My uncle used to take me out on weekends in this sporty car, an MG. It was the biggest thrill – not so much in the winter, because I froze. He refused to put the top up. But when you're six or seven, you need to be hardened. If he was overhauling an engine, he'd say, "Right, I'm pressing this spring. You press that spring, and push the can in." When I bought my first car and it konked out, I knew straight away what to do.

The fun started when you buy tools. You build up a tool collection and feel a sense of empowerment. It saves you money, and you get a kick out of that. Then I got into cutting and welding, and it built up from there.

Is it purely the mechanics of the car? How much do you enjoy the driving?
When I know they run well, that's it. It's a bit of a sad ending. That's when I'm finished. When a car handles real well, I will drive it. The fun is in the build.

On the new album, in the song "O.I.L. (Can't Get Enough of That Sticky)," you actually play a solo on an oil can. Please explain.
It's a guitar made out of an oil can, a metal old-style gallon can. It was standing in a dressing room when I came back from a gig. There was nothing there except a sofa, the drinks cabinet, some refreshments and right slap in the middle of the floor was this oil can with a neck on it. I went, "Oh, my God, that's gotta be Billy Gibbons [of ZZ Top]." And sure enough, the note said, "Enjoy. Love, BFG." I thought, "Is this playable?" I plugged it in, and it played like a charm.

It's gotta feel weird to a guy used to Strats.
The neck is braced so that when you tighten the strings, it doesn't flex forward. It plays great. I tuned it to a regular chord, and played a regular slide on it. The song was about Texas oil – we were having a little dig there [laughs].

Another thing I noticed in your new book was a letter from the great jazz bassist Charles Mingus. He was congratulating you on your version of his composition "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" [on Beck's 1976 album Wired]. Have you kept a lot of memorabilia from your career?
I am a hoarder unfortunately. And the bigger the house, the more stuff you can put in it. That letter – I had it and knew I wanted to keep it. I stuck it in a photograph album, so it survived. But a lot of other stuff, all these pictures and treasures, things that only mean anything to me – it just gets put away somewhere. Like, I've got a letter from Barbara Streisand.

What did she want?
I can't tell you [laughs].

Oh, c'mon. It's gotta be good.
It was very complimentary, very nice.

You keep touring regularly. Do you have health concerns? Eric Clapton recently told me about hand and back issues that may affect his roadwork.
I'm fit as a fiddle. Eric's got a nerve complaint. It sounds horrible. It would be so sad if it impairs his playing. I did sprain my wrist, carrying something heavy. And I have a bad back. They had to operate in the lower back. As long as I rest every so often – lie flat – I'm fine. But I keep lifting stuff.

Like engine blocks?
[Laughs] Yep.

JULIA STILES IN NEW YORK, MAY 2016. PHOTOS: JUSTIN HOLLAR. STYLING: ANNA KATSANIS/ATELIER MANAGEMENT. HAIR: NATE ROSENKRANZ/ HONEY ARTISTS USING ALTERNA HAIR CARE. MAKEUP:AYA KOMATSU/BRIDGE ARTISTS. MANICURE: YUKO WADA/ATELIER MANAGEMENT USING DIOR VERNIS. STYLING ASSISTANT: ERICA PITNICK.


When Julia Stiles first signed on to play CIA employee Nicky Parsons in The Bourne Identity (2002), she was a college student at Columbia University. A native New Yorker, Stiles had been acting professionally since she was 11. Thanks to roles in teen movies like the pithy comedy 10 Things I Hate About You(1999) and emotional drama Save the Last Dance (2001), she was something of a thinking-teen's idol at the time.

For a rising star like Stiles, Nicky was not a particularly large part—she was supposed to die at the end of the film and it wasn't until filming finished that director Doug Liman recut her final scene—but Stiles was intrigued by star Matt Damon. "He wasn't the obvious choice at the time," she recalls over the phone. "I remember pausing for a second wondering if I was going to miss too much school­, but I quickly ignored that and decided that it would be more fun to go to Prague and Paris."

Fourteen years later, Stiles is the only actor except for Damon himself to appear in all four Jason Bourne films. In Jason Bourne, the franchise's latest installment,out today, Nicky is something of a new woman: determined and mature, she's no longer just a government pencil pusher. "She's become quite ideologically driven," says Stiles. "She launches the whole movie...it was nice to see her not be obedient anymore."

Later this summer, Stiles will move to Nice, France to begin working on a new Neil Jordan miniseries called Riviera. "Neil's idea was that behind every great fortune is a great crime, and I play an American married to this billionaire," she explains. "It's a very glamorous setting, but underneath there's a lot of corruption and dirty deeds. In the first episode, [my character's] husband is murdered," she continues. "In inheriting his estate, she's discovering the ways that he lied to her and the things he was covering up."


EMMA BROWN: Nicky has more to do in this film.

STILES: Yeah, this time was a turn for Nicky. She was in hiding when we left her in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and in the eight years that have passed since then she's been running for her life. She's become more defiant and she's turned into quite a dissident. She's been disillusioned by the agency she's devoted her life to and wants to do something about it. In order to put a stop to it, she's decided she's going to leak information she has about the operations that they're running.

BROWN: Did they tell you that she was going to have a different role in this film before they sent you the script or was it a nice surprise?

STILES: I found out they were doing another one and I was waiting for the script. When Paul [Greengrass] was writing, he'd send me story ideas that he had. He was particularly interested in social movements and revolutions that had been happening all over the world, and how computers and the internet had helped those movements. He encouraged me to read a book about Anonymous, the hacker group called "white hat" hackers, meaning they're driven by ideology and social disruption as opposed to just greed. Then I was happy when I read the script—the first version they sent me—to see that before, there's some humanity too. She tracks Jason Bourne down because she really cares about him and wants to share personal information that she thinks might help him. It was nice that there was a reference to the relationship they have and the fact that they're allies in a world where they don't have any other allies. It's very subtle—it's actually without dialogue. It's up to each viewer to interpret for themselves, but there's a moment of recognition between the two of them. I do think it's powerful even without words.

BROWN: Did it feel like you were getting back into a character or, because of the things she's gone through in the last eight years, did she feel like a new character?

STILES: It felt like revisiting a style in terms of delivery and how these people speak and the world that they live in. It did feel new to me because I wasn't taking orders anymore. She's a lot less reactive. She's a lot more proactive. Also, she has nothing to lose; she's in hiding and she's willing to risk her life. She's a lot tougher and more fearless than she's been in previous movies.

BROWN: Are you someone who likes to do more takes if possible?

STILES: Yes, but the thing with the Bourne movies is that they're so big in scope and the production value is so high and it takes so much organization. In the opening sequence, for instance, the safe meeting place Nicky chooses is in the middle of a riot in Athens, Greece. The idea is that in the middle of that chaos and violence, they have a safe cover. The amount of work that goes into organizing something like that makes it so that you don't want to be the one person to mess it up. They shoot quite quickly, these films. I do think that the more takes you have the more opportunity to experiment [but] at a certain point, there are diminishing returns. There's only so much variety you offer.

BROWN: I actually saw you onstage in London a long time ago in Oleanna with Aaron Eckhart. I didn't realize you had did the play again a few years later in New York.

STILES: I did a different production with a different director and Bill Pullman. Oleanna­—the one you saw—we were doing right after Bourne Identity or right after it came out. Years had passed, and when they were going to do a production of it in New York and asked me to read for it I thought, "Why would I want to do this play again?" It's because I never felt like I got it right. It's rich, but there's a lot of room for interpretation, surprisingly. Just by virtue of having a different actor in the opposite role a lot changes. Bill Pullman is older than Aaron Eckhart—although I was older too—and the age difference changes the play. My perspective on those issues had changed a lot. Without going into nerdy details about that play, there was something that still stuck with me. I still had the same joy in that dialogue and David Mamet's rhythm in terms of his writing. I felt like there was still something to explore.

BROWN: Have you felt that way about other plays or movies? When you finish a project, do you generally feel like, "I've got it; I can move on"?

STILES: I think really only with theater. With film, so much is in the director's hands. Once something is cut together—unless you're in the editing room—you don't really remember what the alternatives are. The exercise in theater is night after night you are doing the same play, but you have another opportunity to explore. It changes nightly even because of the audience and your day going into the evening of the performance. With film it's much more controlled.

BROWN: Did you go to the theater a lot when you were growing up in New York?

STILES: I did. My grandmother took me to a lot of theater. I was exposed to performance quite a bit—everything from Broadway to off-Broadway and dance and music as well. I was very lucky that way. It was a very rich childhood.

BROWN: Do you remember the first performance you saw that really resonated with you?

STILES: I remember seeing Janet McTeer in A Doll's House. My grandmother took me and we had seats in the very back row, but her performance was so powerful—it was very accessible. I felt like I was much closer than I was.

BROWN: You started acting when you were quite young, was there ever a moment in your career where you felt like you became an adult actor, or you decided again that this is what you wanted to do as an adult?

STILES: I think it's been in the last few years. I did a run of a play over the summer in a really tiny theater in New York and that was rejuvenating for me. I directed a short series for Hulu called Paloma and being in an editing room, I learned a lot about acting. It gave me a new bolt of energy in terms of my interest in filmmaking because it made me realize how collaborative filmmaking can be and also that you're not just limited to one job. Actors can write and produce too. Then when I was working on Jason Bourne­—having had that experience—instead of going back to my trailer and being separate from everyone else, I would sit behind the monitor and watch Paul Greengrass work and be much more included in the process. That was new for me and really enriching.

BROWN: What, ideally, do you want out of a director? Do you want someone who gives you really specific feedback?

STILES: I like a director who is very observant and is watching what I'm doing and noticing what I'm doing, but is giving me time to figure it out. They don't jump right in and give you a note before you've had time to really search on your own with how to do a scene. I like a director that encourages me to be playful. I don't really like being restricted or controlled by a director.

BROWN: Do you feel like you're constantly getting better as an actor?

STILES: In my early career, I look at that time as a series of trial and error and learning as I go. Now I feel like I have a skill set, but every experience is different and there's always room for improvement.

BROWN: Do you have a fear of women in their mid or late 20s, because you know they're going to gush about 10 Things I Hate About You?

STILES: I don't have a fear of it. I think it's really sweet. I think it's really special to be a part of something that people are still watching or thinking about or interested in, or remember fondly many years later. I don't think it's annoying at all.

MARIAH CAREY IN INTERVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2007. PHOTO: BRUCE WEBER.

Five octaves, 18 No. 1 singles, 200 million records sold. And the best tour rider in the biz (reportedly: 20 white kittens, 100 white doves, and a bevy of bendy straws for the Cristal). When we called Mariah Carey the world's biggest diva in our September 2007 cover story, we weren't wrong. And we wouldn't be wrong now—and, God, we still love her for it. As she wraps up her sensational yearlong Vegas residency, Mariah Carey's #1 to Infinity at Caesars Palace, and prepares to launchMariah's World, her docu-series on E!, Miss Glitter talked to Andy about Marilyn movies and Hello Kitty.

ANDY WARHOL: What did you have for breakfast?

MARIAH CAREY: Smoked salmon with capers.

WARHOL: What was your first job?

CAREY: I worked at a pet shop.

WARHOL: Who was the nicest person you worked for?

CAREY: They were all pretty bad...

WARHOL: What are you working on now?

CAREY: I'm touring, filming a docu-series, and trying my hardest to get back into the studio as soon as possible.

WARHOL: Is there anything you regret not doing?

CAREY: To quote Frank Sinatra, "Regrets, I've had a few / But then again, too few to mention."

WARHOL: What's your favorite movie?

CAREY: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

WARHOL: Do you keep a diary?

CAREY: YES!

WARHOL: Do you dream?

CAREY: Sometimes I wake up laughing when I have a great dream. And sometimes I have nightmares - and I HATE them.

WARHOL: When do you get nervous?

CAREY: I still get nervous sometimes before performing.

WARHOL: What's the craziest thing a fan has sent you?

CAREY: The fans never send me crazy things. They send me things that they put so much time and effort into making, and they are so amazing. You have to see them!

WARHOL: Are you a good cook?

CAREY: Yes! I've been told I'm a very good cook, and I have several specialties.

WARHOL: What do you think about love?

CAREY: I never thought that I would have love again, but it's amazing how the universe brings love to you.

WARHOL: Do you think that it is vanity to worry so much about what you look like?

CAREY: Yes! I wish I could get over it. LOL

WARHOL: Do you dance at home?

CAREY: Oh yeah!!! LOL

WARHOL: What kind of clothes do you like now?

CAREY: Lingerie.

WARHOL: Do you do your own nails?

CAREY: I could do my own nails...I went to beauty school in the 11th grade. But why would I do that now?

WARHOL: How many tubes of lipstick do you use a day?

CAREY: I prefer gloss.

WARHOL: Do you have a dream role?

CAREY: Yes. I want to be Hello Kitty. Haha.

FARIDA BOLSETH BENOUNIS IN OSLO, NORWAY AT ØYA FESTIVAL, AUGUST 2016. PHOTOS: VICTORIA STEVENS.


Sultry R&B isn't what one would expect to arise out of Norway. Yet from among the fjords emerges Farida, poised to break down those preconceptions. Farida grew up with an array of influences—notably, the blues and the Norwegian landscape—and crafts what she calls "R&B mixed with Scandinavian melancholy." Her soulful tracks are anchored by their vulnerable lyrics and her commanding voice. An apt introduction to her sound is The 25th Hour, the mixtape she released in April 2016. It's a refreshing set of 8 tracks that embraces synths and even pop sounds, at times rousing and exuberant and at others unhurried and introspective.

Farida is currently at work on her debut LP and performed at Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway last week. When we met her on the first day of the festival, she spoke to us about her start at singing, the impact of Norway and Algeria on her music, and that time she danced on stage with Ne-Yo.




FULL NAME: Farida Bolseth Benounis

AGE: 26

HOMETOWN: Gjøvik. It's two hours outside of Oslo by train. It's the place where I grew up and I relax there. It's not that little, actually; we have about 40,000 people. It's kind of split, so you have the city, and then ten minutes away there are farms. I've lived everywhere in the town, in the city and outside. It's just the best place in the world. I feel like everyone needs to go there. It's such a tranquil feeling when you're there. At home, I feel like everything is connected, like, "Wow, this is what life is about."

BASED: Oslo for four years. I was traveling back and forth before that because I was working as a dancer and teaching here.

THE 25TH HOUR: Every song on the mixtape is written at the exact time when the things happened, which if you listen to the lyrics you'll understand. I wanted to do it that way because I feel like everything that I write at that exact time is going to come out more sincere, even through a microphone in the studio. I felt like, "I have this feeling and energy in me right now, and I really needed to pay it forward." The reason I named it The 25th Hour was firstly, because I was 25 when I made the whole thing, but I also always felt like I needed another hour because I had so many ideas. When you're creative, you lay up all night thinking, "Just one more hour!" The third is that I felt like I was revealing my whole story in 25 hours. The mixtape is not 25 hours long; it was more the feeling of revealing your whole life in just 25 hours.

PUTTING IN THE WORK: When I grew up, I was into dancing and singing, but I think every child is into singing. I knew that I wasn't born with an Aretha or Beyoncé voice. I had to work. When I was 13 or 14, that's when I started to think, "Okay, maybe I can hit a note." I did some singing shows and stuff. Even my mom was like, "If you want to do this, you need to put in work because it's a muscle." To me, it was really about always focusing on getting my voice better. I felt like in the beginning it was kind of hard because you want to sound like everyone else. You wonder, "Why can't I hit that note?" But as I got older, when I was 16, I started performing arts high school and something happened, and it felt like, "Okay, I'm going to do this and I really want to." The passion was everything. I didn't really care if I was going to make it or not. When I was starting to take the vocal lessons, as I got better, I got more motivated. It's that feeling, when you work for something—and it wasn't like running and getting muscles—it was actually inside, like, "Oh wow, this is really cool, I'm actually getting better by singing all the time." That was basically my start but it was also my focus for many years. I knew that there were a lot of people who were like, "Yeah, you can sing a little," and you don't want to hear that.

FIRST SONG: I was 12 and it's called "The Cabin." I was at a cabin with my friends and their families. I was really, really shy, and they got some visitors from somewhere, and I didn't want to go down to the other cabin because I was shy and I was afraid. My friend just went and I was really mad at her. The whole song is about, "I'm at the cabin by myself / And she just went / And I'm angry / And she just went / And I'm angry / But I'm at the cabin by myself." [laughs]

THE SOUNDS OF YOUTH: My dad, he's from Algeria, and my mother is Norwegian. My mom used to be a dancer, so we listened to a lot of different types of music. We had a lot of Frank Sinatra, I remember this one hit wonder guy, Lou Bega—that song ["Mambo No. 5"] was so dope. We listened to a lot of Craig David; I got my first CD of his when I was 11, it was the Born to Do It album. My dad, he did play a cultural drum, but he listened to a lot of blues, like Elmer James and Ray Charles. We also listened to a lot of Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone. That's inspired me with my own music and it's just developed from there. I don't think there's anything I haven't really heard when it comes to a genre. I think it's a good thing, and that's my responsibility as a musician as well to know what's out there, because I can be inspired by anyone and anything.

DANCING WITH NE-YO: It's funny because people are actually saying that I was opening up as an artist for Ne-Yo, which I did not. It was in 2010 and I was hip-hop dancing. He's really cool. It was only a few words [that we spoke], because he was on tour. We were opening up for him because he didn't have his own act [in Norway]. We were really lucky. It was so much fun and he was so hot at that moment.

DAY JOB: I only have time for two days or one day a week. It's at a clothing store for older women. To be honest, it's the best job I've had in my life. I've had a lot of jobs but just the women that I work with, they're so wise, so intelligent. Also, doing something other than music, it's important to me to keep that balance. Yes, I love to do [music] and it's my job now, it's supposed to be my job, but I need to maintain that childish approach or else it's just going to get boring and I'll stop.

IN THE WORKS: I'm working on my album. It's so fun! I love it. The reason I made a mixtape was because I really wanted to have that freedom, so the critics wouldn't say, "Oh my god, it's not a red thread." The focus now is bigger and better productions, and better lyrics, just experimenting with different elements of R&B, also taking things from my other cultural side, from Algeria, which is in North Africa. You know, trying to mix things, but still the same, but just bigger and better I hope.

NORWAY VS. L.A.: I was in L.A. in April and in June to work on different stuff for the album, but I think the difference is that I don't feel like I'm being influenced there. Here, I'm being influenced in a way where you don't shut it off. I feel like I'm creative in my own space with the people I'm working with. In the U.S., it's an American market. When I was there I was learning so much about that. I think the reason that we got the chance and have people actually recognize us is because we're different—[the music] is from here. That's what I'm getting told all the time, "Don't change that." I feel like here I'm safe because I'm actually creating in the environment that I'm in. When I'm there, it's harder because I don't have all those things around me that influence me. But it's also something that you learn as you go, to take it with you. I think you can create anywhere, I just love Norway so much.


THE 25TH HOUR IS AVAILABLE ON SOUNDCLOUD. FOR MORE ON FARIDA, VISIT HER INSTAGRAM.