The Moonlight men star in a soon-to-be iconic Calvin Klein shoot – photographed by Willy Vanderperre and conceived by Raf Simmons.
Mahershala Ali was the first Muslim man to win an Oscar last night. In the profiles which accompany the photographs, we learn that he was born and raised in Oakland, California, by his mother, an ordained minister. It was in his teenage years that he converted to Islam.
‘Even after the performance is over, I realize that you still have to service it. I’ll be in a coffee shop and someone will come up to me and just open a vein… telling me how this struck a nerve for them, what their experience was. And I really try to be present for that. I’m really thankful for that.’
This was before he received the Academy Award nomination.
Alex Hibbert auditioned, along with his entire class, for the role of Little in Moonlight. He doesn’t think he’ll study acting. ‘I pick up what the director wants pretty easily, so…’
Ashton Sanders plays Chiron in his teenage years.
‘I’m an artist,’ Ashton says. ‘All my friends are about raising our artistic consciousness. I just wanna do dope stuff with dope people, man.’
Trevante Rhodes plays the grown-up Chiron/
‘I want to win,’ he says, ‘like an athlete.’