It’s hard to believe that Henry Cavill, international superstar and Man of Steel, was once dubbed as the “unluckiest man in Hollywood” (for closely missing out on the leads in Twilight and Bond). Today, he’s working more than ever. If being Superman isn’t enough (as we speak, Batman v Superman has just hit the big screens and he’s about to start filming Justice League Part One), Cavill recently wrapped Sandcastle, which follows a group of soldiers during the occupation of Iraq.
One would think that during a brief break from filming, the 32-year-old actor would be kicking back and enjoying some down-time, but no, he’s been keeping himself busy as the brand ambassador for Huawei’s latest smartphone. We meet on a sunny day in Battersea Park, to talk about working with Scarlett Johansson and Mario Testino and what he really thinks about Marvel films.
You’re the face of the new P9 Series of phones, with a campaign shot in Shanghai. Had you been there before?
Yes, it was shot on a Hollywood film set and in Shanghai. I had been through Shanghai a couple of times for press, but it was my first time actually leaving the hotel!
In the campaign, you and Scarlett Johansson compete to take the best picture. So, who wins?
You could debate it either way. Scarlett is supposed to have won, but the way she went about it… I would argue against that.
So, she might have cheated?
I would never use such a strong word (laughs).
Photography / Barwerd van der Plas
Photography / Barwerd van der Plas
Credits
So, what’s so special about the phone and its camera?
Without going into the deep science of it, it’s a dual-lens camera, where you have monochrome and the colour and you blend those two things together. It’s essentially Leica technology installed in a smartphone, which is the first time it’s ever happened. The quality of the photos is genuinely extraordinary.
Are you a bit of a technology geek?
I am a bit of a tech geek. My house is filled with all sorts of gadgets and I live my life by computers and watching the high end TVs and stuff.
Mario Testino shot the campaign stills. What was it like working with him?
Fantastic. When it comes to me doing still photography, I tend to get a little stilted and stiff because it’s not my natural way of telling stories. I tell stories through acting and scenes. I don’t really know how to be myself in front of a stills camera. And so, Mario is very good at pulling out that personality and making me feel relaxed so I can be myself, while taking a beautiful shot as well. Mario’s one of the best photographers out there, and you’ve got Scarlett, one of the best movie stars.
Photography / Barwerd van der Plas
Photography / Barwerd van der Plas
Credits
What was it like working with Scarlett? Did you know her before?
I did not know Scarlett before and meeting her was a real pleasure. She’s a lovely girl. She’s gone from strength to strength and grown and managed to maintain her own life at the same time, her own, genuine, real personality.
As well as competing to take the best picture, in a way, you’re also competing superheroes.
The one thing I have always stood by is that the two universes, Marvel and DC, aren’t competing. They are very different universes and if a Marvel movie does well, I’m very, very happy. I love when they do well. I love to go watch their movies. If their movie’s doing well, that means people want to see more in the way of superhero stories. I love the stories about superheroes and I want to keep on seeing them on the big screen.
For more information on the P9 Series, click here.
Barbour and Crocs are breaking boundaries: their first-ever collaboration proves that function and fun can go hand in hand. Launching today, the limited-edition collection blends Barbour’s heritage with Crocs’ playful spirit, featuring an oversized wax jacket, two footwear styles, and a set of customisable Jibbitz charms.
The Barbour x Crocs OS Bedale Wax Jacket takes Barbour’s classic Bedale — first designed by Dame Margaret Barbour in 1980 — and reworks it with a boxier fit, brushed silver hardware, and tartan-accented pockets. A nod to Crocs’ signature style comes in the form of Jibbitz-friendly chest pockets, making this the first wax jacket that can be accessorised with charms. A packable waterproof hood rounds off the design, keeping practicality at the forefront.
For footwear, the collection introduces the Barbour x Crocs Classic Clog and the Barbour x Crocs Wellington Boot. The clog gets a waxed cotton trim, belt detailing inspired by Barbour’s outerwear, and a tartan print lining. Meanwhile, the Wellington boot keeps things practical for rainy days, featuring the same house tartan, a PVC logo patch, and space for Jibbitz charms.
Ian Bergin, Director of Barbour Menswear, describes the collaboration as a natural fit: “By reimagining the timeless classics both brands are known for, we’ve created something entirely new that can be fully personalised.”
Crocs’ Vice President of Global Marketing, Matias Infante, adds, “This collaboration brings together two icons, blending Barbour’s rich heritage with Crocs’ spirit of self-expression. By reimagining classic designs from both brands, we’ve created something fresh and fully customisable.”
Completing the lineup is a set of nine Jibbitz charms, inspired by vintage Barbour patches and dual-branded logos. A mix of metal and PVC, they add a touch of nostalgia while giving wearers the freedom to make their footwear their own.
The Barbour x Crocs collection is now available via the Crocs app, in-store, and online.
Before the ink was even dry on the contract, Emily Bett Rickards set to work on becoming Mildred Burke. Transforming her body and shifting her mindset to the ring, Rickards started her research with Queen of the Ringby Jeff Leen. Using the book as a bible and basis to guide her, the research went beyond that, digging past the surface to find a woman who, not only helped pave the way to make female wrestling a viable and profitable sport for women in the 1940s and 50s, but powered through a world who told her ‘no’ at every turn. Continuously inspired by Burke, the more she found out about her, Bett Rickards was enticed and entranced by the wrestler’s passion. Something she tapped into for inspiration. Burke’s seemingly unquenchable tenacity, determination, and fire made her such an incredible character to portray.
From the depths of Starling City to the ring, Bett Rickards traded in Felicity Smoak’s keyboard for the ring. Putting her body through a strict regime to gain muscle quickly, she recollects to us the difficulty of it but cites how Mildred’s story made the pain worthwhile. As our chat continues, there’s a passion of her own that shines through, an enthusiasm to share the importance of a story like Mildred’s. Queen of the Ring is a film that, in today’s society, deserves to be put on a pedestal, not for fear of her story being forgotten, but for showing us what the strength of resilience in the face of adversity can do.
In conversation with Schön! Magazine, Emily Bett Rickards discusses Queen of the Ring, her relationship with the source material, how she physically prepared for the role, what she hopes the audience takes away from the film, and how history should remember Mildred Burke.
Can we talk about the research aspect of Queen of the Ring? How deep did you go? What was a fact about Mildred you found particularly fascinating?
What was awesome about Mildred is that even though we’re limited to the era, she was in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Since she liked to be in the spotlight, there’s quite a bit of information on her.So that was very helpful [laughs]. There are a lot of photos. Luckily for me, she had the persona, the dream of being a show woman in a sense. What attracted me to her was this sort of aspiration that she had against all odds, right? She had never wrestled before and hadn’t seen much wrestling as a woman. She wasn’t even allowed at the shows. So, the fact that she had gone to one wrestling match and was like, “That’s what I want to do,” is just extraordinary.
It did feel like any time someone, or society was telling her she couldn’t, she transcribed that in her body as fuel. She was very good at pivoting and making something her own.The script was based on a book called Queen of the Ring:Sex, Muscles, and Diamonds by Jeff Leen. It’s fantastic. There’s so much more about her life in there, so that became my Bible. The internet has many wrong and good things, but it is definitely a lot to dive into. There are a lot of photos of her as a wrestler. Even more importantly for me, there were photos of her with her son, which seemed to show two different sides of her. A big part of the research was also putting on this muscle because her body was different than mine.That means she walked around the world differently than me. Finding out how that muscle influenced her spine and her navigation. Those things really became a part of her personality, I found.
Talking about the muscle, I was going to touch on the physicality of the role. What was the most challenging thing about getting into the ring for you and putting on that muscle? What did that transformation process look like?
Even before contracts were signed, I called my friend, Thomas Taylor, who’s out here in Vancouver and had been a trainer of mine for a while. I said, “Listen, I have to put on muscle.I have to put on muscle fast.” [laughs] We had three months before the camera. I think that was just over two months before wrestling rehearsals.I needed to do something pretty drastic. Tom also knew that I needed to be supplemented with nutrition. He brought on board Dr. Diego Botticelli, who framed out what type of food was needed to do that.It was more food than I’d ever eaten. It was more carbs than I’d ever eaten and more protein than I’d ever eaten. It was extreme.
It taught me a lot about how food builds the body, but food for longevity moving forward. It opened up my eyes. As a woman, I discovered what we need when we’re exercising and how we can have the foundation of our bodywork within the parameters of what we’re asking it to do. I think what was challenging off the bat was making sure I was getting into that routine.
The learning process of it, became second nature, but I really was weighing all my food, and trying to get more protein in a day was pretty hard because you can supplement with powders and stuff, but I do like to eat as many whole foods as possible. I think it’s a real honor to be able to have done this. We should all strive to be healthier and eat how our bodies want us to, but please keep in mind, that I was fueled by the passion to find out who this woman was, it made the process easier. As a side effect, I got to learn a lot. I hope that empowers people. I hope that if you’re looking at changing your life you fuel it with passion as opposed to feeling like it’s a chore because I think that’s the only way we move forward.
Emily wears
coat + gloves. MARGARET
opposite
Emily wears
top. KkCo
trousers. THEO
shoes. Jeffrey Campbell
bracelet. Christine Bukkehave
Emily wears
coat + gloves. MARGARET
opposite
Emily wears
top. KkCo
trousers. THEO
shoes. Jeffrey Campbell
bracelet. Christine Bukkehave
Credits
Mildred Burke was a trailblazer for the sport, and she broke boundaries for women. Why do you think a movie like this should exist in our current political climate?
It speaks for itself. There’s something about Mildred specifically in the story we tell that really focuses on bringing people together and making us stronger.When we start picking at each other, we’re only dividing ourselves. We’re not learning anything. We’re not growing as individuals, but we’re definitely not growing as humanity. There will always be a challenge or an evil to overcome. But the point is that we have to do it together, not divided. There’s so much division in the world. There’s so much violence. There’s so much tragedy happening that when we think about coming together, it feels impossible.
Mildred was a woman of her era. There were things she wanted to challenge, right? There were norms that weren’t allowed, and she challenged that. She’s like, “Well, if I can tell myself that I can do this, I have to be able to believe that you can do it too.”That is what was so cool about her. When you believe in yourself, you have to be able to believe in someone else as well. Cause you can’t just give yourself the right, you know? Maybe there’s something in there that we can learn today.I really do think there is, and I hope everybody can metabolize it in a way that puts it into action in their lives.
How would you say that Mildred’s story changed you as a person and as an actor?
There’s definitely something in her that propels me forward. If I have self doubt, she’s the voice that comes into my head now.She says, “No, get up. Like, let’s go. You can deal with this. Not only can you deal with this, but you can also make this into fuel.” She’s made me more of an understanding person. There are all these things that we talk about; self-love and self-forgiveness and self-care. Those things are hard, but they’re more important because not only when you give them to yourself, you’re immediately giving them to other people. It’s almost infectious, you know? I’m so grateful for that lesson.
Moving a bit away from the film for just a moment, I read an article by Comic Book Resources that the Arrowverse fandom prepared you for the passionate wrestling fans.Is there a particular fan interaction that sticks out to you in recent memory, whether it’s around this film or the Arrowverse?
I’ve talked to people about it, especially the Arrowverse, and they have ideas for a certain season that has passed, I’m always like, “That’s such a genius idea!” They’re always good ideas. So, I think that when you love something, you have the right to be passionate about it.I think you have the right to have opinions on it, for sure. There’s always a vice and virtue to the same thing. Your virtue is your vice. Be careful with who you divide outside of that, because I think the best part of being passionate about something is bringing somebody else in, right? That’s what I was welcomed into with wrestling. It’s also what I was welcomed into with comic books.
With wrestling, though, this was a world I knew nothing about. Now I feel like I’m indoctrinated in a way that is a part of my cellular being.I’m so grateful for that, because I do feel like it is a world of passion. I’ll have the chance to welcome somebody else into something I’m passionate about in the future in the same way.
You’re the second person from the Arrowverse to enter the ring with Stephen Amell’s role in Heels. Did he reach out to you, or did you reach out to him for advice?
[Emily shakes her head]
No?
Such a missed opportunity.
For sure.
I hope we get to talk about it in the future, now that the movie’s out.
I think you will. Between you and I, who do you think could complete the Salmon Ladder fastest?
[laughs] I don’t know what type of shape he’s in, but I was also never able to do the Salmon Ladder, so he’s got muscular memory that I don’t have. He has the upper hand, you know?
I mean, fair, but he’s also filming or was filming Suits: LA, so I think you could take him.
I could definitely take him. I just don’t know about taking him in the Salmon Ladder.
With the film all said and done, and out in the world, what’s the first thing you did once you finished filming?
I went for a run.
Really?
I went with my partner, who’s an ultramarathon runner. I wasn’t really prepared for that. The workout I had when preparing for Mildred, the recommendation was not to do any cardio at all.
Wow.
Because we were trying to build muscle that looked bigger, and the way I was eating was really to build muscle, not to sort of shed anything, in a sense.It just would have been too stressful on the body. We were trying to keep my stress at a minimum so the muscle would build. Nutrition’s so interesting because if your cortisol gets too high, then your hormones get out of whack, and if your hormones get out of whack, then everything does. Especially with women and our cycle, you want to be a little bit more delicate.
So, I went for a run, and my legs felt like concrete. My body was just tired and done, and I was pushing it literally uphill in the middle of summer in Canada. My body was done.I think I was pushing myself to do something I wasn’t necessarily listening to my body for. But I was so excited to be home. My partner and I live somewhere where the best part of the year is summer. It’s the most beautiful place to be in the summer. It was really about spending time with family and doing something that we do together. It was just a brutal reality that what I needed to do was just sit down and take a break.Even though I was doing something that I loved, but no, I had to take it easy for a few weeks.
What do you hope the audience takes away from the film?
I hope they feel impassioned. I feel like they really learn about Mildred, but they also learn that inspiration comes from everywhere. But it also comes from each other.And, you know, you asked that beautiful question about when the world is so divided, what are we doing? It just makes you think that our human existence is really to be with each other and learn from each other. And the platform I get to walk on and that we get to walk on today is because of people like Mildred. And so, carrying that torch, in a sense, and recognizing the privilege that we have of where we live, what we do, I guess, connection with other people, but also just making sure that we’re lifting each other up.
I love that answer.
I can’t see a better way to live life. I don’t think there’s another answer. Please show me. I think that’s our best way forward, to be honest. At some point we die, but I hope I get to hold your hand while we go through life.
How do you think history should remember Mildred Burke?
You know, I was thinking about her. We just did our premiere in LA, and it was our last American premiere. She died in her 70s on Valentine’s Day, and decades later, not only her story lives on, but her message lives on. It makes you realize you have a ripple effect, right? She really had a ripple effect, and it doesn’t need to be on some global scale, but your family who you interact with, your pets, like you have a ripple. I think that carries on decades after you die. She was a woman, she was a wrestler, and she was a person with a dream.But I think she would want to be remembered as a wrestler; that’s her bones, baby.
My last question, Emily, is what’s next for you?
I’m awaiting the next character that’ll kind of wake me up again, just like Mildred did. Something is prickling right now, but we’ll see if it lands.
Fresh off their collaboration on Handlebars,Jennie is the latest star to front the Chanel 25 handbag campaign, joining Dua Lipa, who was announced as the face of the collection earlier this year. A longtime Chanel ambassador since 2017, the BLACKPINK singer brings her signature style and energy to the French house’s latest creation.
For Jennie, the Chanel 25 is the perfect companion to her fast-paced life. “The Chanel 25 handbag symbolises freedom of movement,” she shares. “It adapts to my various situations and lifestyles, offering flexibility and comfort while allowing me to express my unique style in a different way.” Whether travelling abroad or heading to work, she describes it as a practical yet essential piece.
Captured through the lens of New York-based filmmaker Gordon von Steiner, the campaign film follows Jennie as she moves through the electric streets of Manhattan and a photo studio, set to the unmistakable beat of Fine Young Cannibals’ She Drives Me Crazy. “With this iconic ’90s pop song, it feels like a short music video capturing the streets of New York. I hope everyone who sees the campaign feels a sense of freedom and positive energy,” she says.
Accompanying the film, David Sims’ minimalist photographs highlight the handbag’s effortless versatility. Quilted leather, chain detailing and multiple pockets nod to Chanel’s timeless codes, while its relaxed attitude makes it a modern staple. Designed to be worn over the shoulder or carried by hand, it comes in classic black, denim, and bold colourways, proving its adaptability for every occasion.
Dua Lipa, who describes herself as “obsessed” with the bag, praises its functionality: “It’s the perfect kind of bag for me as someone who’s always on the move and likes to carry around everything, especially because it’s got these great pockets for all my favourite things. There’s a place for my books, a place for my sunglasses, maybe a notebook or two, and even a place for my crystals.”
With Jennie and Dua Lipa leading the way, the Chanel 25 campaign captures the spirit of movement, spontaneity, and self-expression — qualities both artists exude naturally.
Fresh off their collaboration on Handlebars, 
