Alex wears
blazer, shirt + trousers. AMI Paris
shoes. Grenson
socks. London Sock Co.
If ‘Before Sunrise‘ stumbled out of a pub at closing time and wandered through London’s backstreets till dawn, it might look something like ‘A Night Like This’. The film captures 24 hours between two strangers, Oliver and Lukas, as they drift through Greenwich and Deptford’s late-night maze of bars, bridges, and unguarded confessions. It’s messy, tender, and quietly profound; a meditation on connection that feels at once universal and deeply queer.
At its centre is Alexander Lincoln, whose performance as Oliver crackles with restless energy and emotional honesty. You might know him from ‘In From The Side’, a bruised, beautiful portrait of queer intimacy, or from ‘This Bitter Earth’, his stage turn that explored love and grief in the margins. Here, he trades heightened emotion for something more reflective — a kind of late-night stillness, where meaning flickers between cigarette smoke and city lights.
When we meet on a half-sunny Monday in East London, Lincoln is in the thick of press day chaos. He’s charmingly self-aware, laughing about how “standing on the wrong side of the escalator” is his biggest pet peeve, and admitting his “guilty pleasure song is ‘Never Ever’ by All Saints.” There’s an easy openness to him — the kind of actor who quotes Brian Cox when talking about the meaning of life (“You are the universe experiencing itself,” he says, eyes lighting up), yet will, in the same breath, tell you he once checked if his feet were on WikiFeet — and found out they were. That balance of humour and depth mirrors ‘A Night Like This‘ itself. Lincoln portrays Oliver not as a romantic ideal, but as something messier: human, hopeful, and occasionally lost. “I’m famously a pessimist,” he confides later, “but there’s something beautiful in the search for meaning, even if it doesn’t exist.”
Schön! sits down with Alexander Lincoln to discuss the film, approaching the character of Oliver, and more.
jacket, shirt, trousers + tie. Cloth Surgeon
shoes. Grenson
socks. London Sock Co.
opposite
jumpers. Kenzo
Growing up in Surrey gave you insight into Oliver’s more obnoxious sides. Walk us through building him. Beyond the guitar-strumming extrovert, what makes him tick? How did you step into his shoes?
The beauty of the script and the nuance of the characters stemmed from the different backgrounds they came from. But ultimately, there’s a levelling of everyone throughout the story. There’s innate humanity in how we all experience joy, loneliness, sadness, and anger. The central theme of this film comes from the idea that we’re not so different.
We all feel lost sometimes, not knowing what we want from our lives. The dichotomy with the characters was really easy from the start. Jack and I got on really well, and Diego gave us a lot of space to rehearse beforehand and delve into it a bit more, how we wanted to interact and things. But a lot of it came out of the natural chemistry we had. There’s something disarming about how Lincoln talks through his process. There’s a sincerity in his approach to intimacy and vulnerability, just like Oliver.
After years in the industry and several successful projects, how has your approach to choosing roles evolved? Do you chase what resonates personally, or gravitate toward the ones that push you out of your comfort zone?
It’s both, really! Early on, you say yes to everything that comes your way. You have to! But as more challenging scripts find their way to you, you choose more critically. I look for projects that challenge me but also hit something deeper, something almost spiritual. That tension is what drew me to acting in the first place. When I first read ‘A Night Like This’, I immediately recognised pieces of myself in Oliver. But there were gaps too and parts of him that I didn’t understand. The real work became bridging those spaces, finding my own way into who Oliver is while honouring what the script demanded. That push and pull made it irresistible.
full look. Dolce & Gabbana
opposite
full look. Fendi
How did ‘A Night Like This’ come to you? Was it love at first read, or did the project have to win you over?
It was from the get-go! From day one, Diego [Scerrati, writer], Jack [Brett Anderson, who plays Lukas], and I spoke about these characters and their dynamics and how they come together as a whole. But there’s a personal angle too: I’m from Surrey, and I know plenty of people like Oliver. That’s partly why I felt so compelled to bring him to the screen. There’s this assumption that everyone from that world is a trust fund brat. But some of them are genuinely decent, or at least more complex than people give them credit for. I wanted to show that nuance.
This isn’t your first time exploring chance encounters and queer intimacy. Your 2022 film ‘In From The Side’ and Soho Theatre’s ‘This Bitter Earth’ had similar themes. How did you approach authenticity, push boundaries, or dodge clichés?
There’s a vulnerability with the queer community that, at least with straight male characters, is rarely explored in film. There’s real beauty to queer writers and directors being unabashedly forward with the complexity of their characters. This film doesn’t show two people immediately being like that. There’s a performative aspect to it. But they do share far more than most would. For me, it’s never about their sexuality; it’s the layers to the characters I play.
jacket, shirt, trousers + tie. Cloth Surgeon
opposite
shirt + trousers. Dries Van Noten
shoes. Grenson
What lights you up outside of acting? Books, music, daily rituals? Is there a secret South London gay rugby team we should know about?
I’m trying to do a lot more, actually. In London, not a huge amount apart from playing guitar. I’m starting a yoga course soon because I really want to get more grounded spiritually. Outside of London, I love hiking, going away to the countryside, camping and roughing it.
Writing has been my mainstay as well, although I’ve not done much this year because it’s been quite busy. A lot of it’s been poetry, but scripts too. I’m working on a few scripts at the moment, which I’ve always enjoyed. I’m just trying to take time with myself, because London can get very hectic. I’m trying not to let that busyness affect my drive.
‘A Night Like This’ was shot all over London. What’s your relationship with this city? Any favourite haunts you snuck into the film’s world?
I grew up in London, but more southwest. I’d been to Greenwich and Deptford, where we filmed, but never properly explored the areas, certainly never after hours! Diego was very adamant about these places. When he came over as an Italian immigrant, he frequented them, so there’s an autobiographical aspect to it.
Most locations were Diego’s original ideas, and it was beautiful. It’s wonderful around there, especially at night in winter when there’s no one around. I love that London is its own character in the film. There’s a fable, dreamlike quality you don’t see anywhere else. It complements the loneliness of the two central characters.
full look. Fendi
opposite
jumpers. Kenzo
Was there a moment during filming that changed you personally, a fresh perspective you didn’t expect?
I’m famously a pessimist! But there’s this beautiful thing Brian Cox has said, which resonates with me. He’s asked about the meaning of life and says, “What more do you want? We’re essentially particles of dust hurtling through space for millions of years, then suddenly assembled into a physical being. You are the universe experiencing itself, which is incredible. Then you die, and those atoms go hurtling through space again.”
A lot of Oliver’s ideas about the cosmos and meaning are very much like mine, which is serendipitous; I didn’t put that in. But I love that about the film. These characters aren’t trying to tell people how to live. It’s two people experiencing life and making sense of it in real time. That’s what we’re all looking for, isn’t it? Not that there necessarily is any meaning, but in that search, I find something quite beautiful.
TV, film, theatre… what’s calling you more right now? Where can we expect to see you next?
The next thing out will most likely be TV. I just finished shooting ‘Geek Girl’ season two for Netflix, which was a beautiful experience. So much fun!
full look. Dolce & Gabbana
photography. Dean Ryan McDaid
fashion. Andrew Burling
talent. Alexander Lincoln
casting. Emma Fleming
grooming. Alexis Day using Shiseido + MonPure London
photography assistant. Martin Buckley
special thanks. Jad Lian + Andaz Liverpool Street
location. Andaz London Liverpool Street by Hyatt
interview. Gariyashi Bhuyan
