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Ms. Ryan, what was your goal with these portraits?<\/strong><\/p>\nKATHY RYAN<\/strong> Actors get photographed all the time, so we wanted to do something different that would stand out. We wanted to take an unconventional approach \u2014 let\u2019s not photograph in a studio, let\u2019s go the documentary route. Jim is one of the greatest war photographers in history. He has an exacting eye and sees beauty. But also, in assigning Jim, I thought he would seek something else in the actors.<\/p>\nMr. Nachtwey, what convinced you to take the project on?<\/strong><\/p>\nJAMES NACHTWEY<\/strong> I\u2019m not interested in celebrity or stardom, but I consider actors to be artists, which is something I could relate to and wanted to explore. I thought it would be interesting to examine the things actors do in their daily lives to strengthen their art.<\/p>\nRYAN<\/strong> Despite being a renowned war photographer whose work covers 50 years, in some ways, this was his first time doing this kind of photography, so I respected that he wanted to do it.<\/p>\nDid any actors have a particularly strong vision for their portrait?<\/strong><\/p>\nNACHTWEY<\/strong> Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor wanted to do something spiritual and mentioned to David Carthas, a photo editor at the magazine, that she likes going to church. We thought she might pray, meditate, read the gospel or do something that would make a picture. But she was very clear that she wanted a portrait that would express her struggle in life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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When I explained that photographing something that had happened in the past would not be possible, she said she would do it through her facial expressions, body language, the clothes she was wearing. I asked her to take charge. She began to sing gospel music quietly to herself, and at one point she started to cry. It was a moment of true emotion, and I managed to capture it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n