Meet the hottest things in Tinseltown

We explore the depths and shores of Hollywood with photographer Alana O’Herlihy, profiling the rising, surprising and enterprising names you need to know.

Taken from the new print issue of THE FACE. Get your copy here.

Dominic Sessa, 21, actor

You know him from: The Holdovers
Big quote: My name is asses’ backwards”

Where are you from? New Jersey, a town called Ocean City – a shore town. I grew up on the beach, surfing and stuff. Not as warm as over here in Los Angeles.

Have you ever stolen anything? A lot, cause I went to boarding school, so if you run out of shampoo, it’s free game. The watch I was wearing in The Holdovers – I did take that. And they gave me this really nice coat. Because it was cold out.

The Holdovers is an awards season favourite. Have you been to a lot of Hollywood events? These past two weeks, it’s been the most I’ve done, at least in this short period of time. It’s crazy.

What did you want to be at age seven? A hockey player. That was my big sport growing up. That’s when I used to go to the gym. I haven’t been since.

What famous person’s phone number would you like to have? Jack Black’s. I would probably sing his hit that he was nominated for [at the Golden Globes], Peaches [from The Super Mario Bros. Movie]. I feel like he would respond to that. Or maybe just hang up and be like, you’re insane”.

Gabbriette, 26, model and musician

You know her from: singing with Nasty Cherry to being a fashion it-girl
Big quote: Don’t let me forget my vape”

Where’d you grow up? Orange County. Like Gwen Stefani. Which is the only thing that’s cool about Orange County.

What’s your go-to meal to cook at home? Steak or roast chicken. Or a puttanesca. Or roasting vegetables that you can have throughout the week. But honestly, babe, I eat eggs for dinner. Sometimes I get disgusted by all food.

Which Hollywood A‑lister do you want to start beef with? Martha Stewart. No, I don’t think I can take her – I would absolutely be shattered. But she’ll have a lot to say about my cooking technique.

Quen Blackwell, 23, internet star

You know her from: being GOD of the internet” (her words)
Big quote: For my birthday, I’m going to a darkness retreat”

Which A‑list celebrity would want to fight you? Because I’m so hot and cool, probably supermodels after they age out of their prime. But I think Jacob Elordi would be a little scared of me if I ever saw him. Because I make very scary videos about him. I want it.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Make a tea with cream and sugar and I’ll read a chapter of a book. Sometimes half a chapter.

What are you reading right now? All About Love by bell hooks. Because I have a boyfriend and I love him. And I’m a mean person to date, so I want to cultivate a really healthy relationship with him.

Whose phone number do you want most in this world? Gabbriette’s, currently. My opening text? Let’s serve cunt together.”

Devon Lee Carlson, 29, fashionista and entrepreneur

You know her from: her brand Wildflower Cases
Big quote: Myself in one word? Perfect! No!”

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I had a lot of dreams: gymnastics teacher, veterinarian, dancer – the classics. But in my wildest dreams, I was always dressing up in beautiful gowns and doing photoshoots.

What do you eat for breakfast? My dream breakfast is fresh pastries, a really strong matcha and a bowl of whatever fruit is in season. And then, perfect soft scrambled eggs with crunchy sea salt flakes and pepper. But then also a breakfast burrito.

Did you always love the Hollywood lifestyle? I was intrigued by it. The Simple Life was my favourite show. Or The Girls Next Door, or Hannah Montana… [Basically] the story of a girl who’s living a double life. I always wanted to see what was going on behind the curtain. Like, how does the machine work?

Do you practice your red carpet poses in the mirror? I never used to until I was working with [stylists] Chloe and Chenelle. They made me practise! They were like: We want good pictures, so don’t fuck this up.”

Duke Nicholson, 25, actor

Duke wears top and jeans GUESS USA, shoes PRADA and belt stylist’s own

You know him from: the cover of Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell
Big quote: I’m not really interested in current pop culture”

Describe Hollywood in one word? Enticing.

Do you practice red carpet poses in the mirror? Not at all. But my pose these days is just grabbing onto my girlfriend [Devon Lee Carlson, previous page]. Being a nice piece of arm candy.

What’s your favourite thing on TV? I watch sports more than anything. I’m a better. [But] I’m a pussy when it comes to betting – I put in a hundred bucks, 200 bucks, every week. Then I hardly ever win. [But] the rush is just so good.

Describe your personality? I’m pretty shy. I would say shy.”

Owen Thiele, 26, actor

Owen wears jacket, jumper, shirt and tie GIVENCHY

You know him from: Theater Camp. Or, even, Theatre Camp
Big quote: I’m obsessed with being awake. That’s a true narcissist”

How did you decide that you wanted to be an actor? I probably just got high from people looking at me. And then I was like: how can I monetise this? I could be a porn star, or I could be an actor. But I didn’t have the body to be a porn star.

What are you working on right now? My new thing is, I only want to work with friends. I don’t know if it’ll actually pan out, but I’m trying to make a TV show, and I’m trying to make a movie. That all comes out of just loving these people.

Favourite current movie? Anatomy of a Fall. But here’s the thing: I’m an actor who doesn’t watch movies unless somebody drags me to them. Then, once I’m there, I’m like: this is why I’m an actor. I’m not a cinephile and I need to be.

Geraldine Viswanathan, 28, actor

You know her from: Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls (and from replacing Ayo Edibiri in upcoming MCU film Thunderbolts)
Big quote: Hollywood is wackadoo. Kooky town”

What’s the first app you check in the morning? My sleep score on my Oura Ring [to see] if I got a little crown. To see if I’ve slept enough. I got it as a gift and it’s actually changed my life.

Do you consider yourself a Hollywood girl? Couldn’t be less of a Hollywood girl. But when I’m in Hollywood, the Hollywood pops out. When I’m at home in Australia, it couldn’t be further away.

Are you currently in love? No. I really want to be. I was like, it’s not important to me. Now, I’ve been without it for a long time, and I think it could be fun. But what is love? I have no idea, actually. Is it a warm feeling?

What would you do to somebody who ghosted you? I think about it all the time. I dream about running into them and saying: Hey, what’s up, bitch?” [laughing] And then pouring a drink on his head… No, no, no, no, that’s too far!

Benito Skinner, 20, comedian and actor

Benito wears top talent’s own

You know him from: being funny on the internet
Big quote: Hollywood is heartbreaking”

Have you heard any celebrity gossip that you’d like to share with us? So many people have told me [certain] people are gay, and now it’s just getting to a point where I’m like: That’s the least gay person I’ve ever met. There’s just no fucking way. Like, what are you talking about?”

Fuck, marry, kill: Ben Stiller, Benjamin Franklin, Benedict Cumberbatch. Kill Ben Franklin, [because] he’s already dead. I’d have to marry Ben Stiller because I’ve seen more of his projects – you can’t marry someone and not have seen their projects. And then I guess a really crazy fuck with me and Doctor Strange. I’ll show you something strange, my love!

Do you have a photograph that’ll haunt you forever? Oh my God, yes! There was one where I didn’t know there was a red carpet, at a random [film] screening. And I’m so pale in the photo and the pants are wrinkled. I look so bizarre, like I got lost and ended up on this red carpet.

Kathryn Newton, 26, actor

Kathryn wears jacket and skirt LOUIS VUITTON and hat stylist’s own

You know her from: Lisa Frankenstein, and from playing Reese Witherspoon’s kid in Big Little Lies
Big quote: I post so much that it becomes irrelevant”

Who’s your celebrity lookalike? I get tagged a lot in pictures of Sabrina Carpenter. She’s really sweet. And I don’t mind it. We have the same haircut right now.

What TV are you currently watching? I’m doing a Girls rewatch at the moment. And you know what’s funny? I’m watching it and buying every single book that comes on screen.

How celebrity” are you? The truth is, I go to Erewhon with my dog and I think people are taking a picture of me, but they’re just taking a picture of my dog. Very humbling. My dog is a big star. Actually, I have three dogs – poodles: one small, one medium and one large.

What decade do you most identify with? Right now I’m definitely into the 80s. I’ve always loved the music. Big hair’s coming back, and I’m wearing my big glasses. Lisa Frankenstein is set in the 80s. So [in the film I had], big curls, teased… But my hair can’t handle that. So we did this red-brown wig. Wigs are fun.

Jake Picking, 32, actor

Jake wears both jumpers FERRAGAMO and necklace talent’s own

You know him from: Top Gun: Maverick
Big quote: I wanted to be a cowboy when I was little”

Do you go to a lot of LA parties? I’ve tried not to. I find that my mind relaxes when I can see as far as my eye can see, and it lands on water, mountains… I go to the beach a lot [in] Malibu, or on rogue hikes. Lone wolfing it out in nature.

Who’s your dream hiking buddy? Paul Newman.

Which Hollywood A‑lister would you want to have beef with? The Rock. Or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Or Tom Hardy. Obviously I can take all those guys.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Practice gratitude. I think it’s important to have that time alone first before you go to the kitchen or start checking emails and stuff. You know, see where you are.

Isabelle Kusman, 20, actor

Isabelle wears dress DOLCE & GABBANA

You know her from: Licorice Pizza, The Fabelmans and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis
Big quote: I love SoulCycle – it’s better than a club”

What’s the closest you’ve ever been to the Hollywood sign? Not very close at all. When I came to LA, that was on my bucket list, [because] everyone says hike to the Hollywood sign”. It seems like a much bigger task than it probably is.

Do you sleep a lot? I’m an insomniac, diagnosed, so I don’t sleep very well. The longest I’ve stayed awake? Probably three days, in Europe, last year.

When did you discover that you wanted to act? A few months before I moved here. I was a dancer for a long time, in St. Louis. I didn’t know that there was much else out there. But I did a school musical and I loved it. Then I made a PowerPoint presentation for my parents [and] somehow they agreed to [my moving here]. So, yeah, pretty late in the game compared to others around me.

Trisha Paytas, 35, YouTuber

You know her from: giving birth to the reincarnation of the Queen
Big quote: I consider myself an LA person”

Where’s the craziest place you’ve been recognised? It’s always in the toilet when I’m seeing a movie. I just went to see The Iron Claw and had the worst stomach pains. I kept going to the bathroom and a group of people talked to me through the stalls.

How famous are you on a scale from one to 10? I like to be humble and say one. But today I was taking a lot of pictures with people, so maybe there was a point where I was a nine. It’s hard to tell – I never leave my house.

Who would you like to appear opposite if you were acting in something? The Weeknd in The Idol season two*. It’s my favourite show.

Is your daughter Malibu Barbie a nepo baby? I would love her to be a nepo baby! Nepo babies have it all!

Before you were married, did you DM people? Oh, yeah, I would. I’d DM Zac Efron and The Rock. I would just send nudes.

*Sorry Trish, it’s been cancelled

Arrow de Wilde, 24, singer

You know her from: singing with Starcrawler
Big quote: My full name is just too much for the tongue to handle”*

Did your parents know you were going to be a rock star when they named you Arrow? I don’t think they really thought about that, because I’ve seen the list of [potential] names. They didn’t want to know the gender beforehand, and that one was the most gender-neutral. Another one was Rocky, which I thought was cute.

What does camp mean to you? Really over the top, and a little bit fake and janky, but in a polished way. I remember when that Met Gala camp thing happened – you could tell a lot of people didn’t know what it meant. Which makes sense.

What’s your best trick for getting out of an awkward conversation? After a show I’ll be like, Oh fuck, I forgot something in the green room…” Then I just don’t come back. That’s the most low-key, because it’s not like I’m being rude. They’re like, Oh, she’s just stoned and stressed.”

Do you have to do this often? There’s a certain type of creepy guy who’ll come up after a show and grab [or] talk really close to your face, and their breath smells like tuna or something. We call them punishers. That’s just what it is: you’re being punished.

*Arrow Plume Sperske de Wilde

CREDITS

CREATIVE DIRECTION Alana O’Herlihy /​AOH Studios CASTING AOH Studios and Yelena Akopian MAKE-UP FOR TRISHA, ARROW, ISABELLE, DOMINIC AND OWEN Darian Darling MAKE-UP FOR KATHRYN, GERALDINE, GABBRIETTE, QUEN AND JAKE Eden Symone Lattanzio MAKE-UP FOR BENITO Alexandra French MAKE-UP FOR DEVON AND DUKE Carly Fisher HAIR FOR GABBRIETTE, GERALDINE, ISABELLE AND OWEN Ricky Fraser HAIR FOR TRISHA, DOMINIC, ARROW AND JAKE Maranda Widlund HAIR FOR BENITO, DEVON AND DUKE Kiley Fitzgerald HAIR FOR QUEN BLACKWELL Karii Caldwell HAIR FOR KATHRYN NEWTON Renato Campora PRODUCER Dylan Brackpool SHOT AT Interwoven Studios CATERING Monty’s Good Burger ASSISTANTS Lea Garn and Liam O’Herlihy

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