When British actor Nicholas Hoult is not filming or walking the red carpet alongside Hollywood’s finest, he’s marvelling at the intricacies of a finely made watch. He speaks with us about this other passion, and how the guiding principles of fine watchmaking really isn’t entirely different from crafting a great film
Fashionably lean and towering at over six feet, with a look that is dreamy but a touch mischievous, it’s rather hard to imagine that Nicholas Hoult is the same actor who played Marcus, the charming but also painfully awkward tween with a bowl cut in the 2002 film About A Boy. Yes, he was that boy.
Now a dad to a one-year-old baby boy and with a string of blockbuster and critically acclaimed films to his name, Hoult is one of the most sought-after actors of his generation. On top of landing a major role in the X-Men franchise, he went on to star alongside Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone in the award-winning film, The Favourite. And he’s just warming up.
Hoult is currently working on a number of film projects that will certainly bring him to greater heights, and perhaps, an Academy Award? Why not.
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Hoult was also tapped by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2015 to be its brand ambassador—another role he’s taken on with gusto. Earlier in the year, he travelled to the brand’s manufacture in the small town of Le Sentier in the Vallée de Joux in the Swiss Alps, where he met and observed the watchmakers and master artisans behind Jaeger-LeCoultre’s finely made watches. And just a few months ago, he joined the brand at the Venice Film Festival to celebrate its 15th year as a major supporter of the annual event.
He took some time between his engagements at the festival to speak to us about the parallels between watchmaking and filmmaking, and the importance of preserving cinema’s heritage to ensure that it continues to thrive. Here are some highlights from that interview: