Creating spaces for marginalised communities is more than just a mission for Riccardo Simonetti, who wears got2b on his Schön! digital cover. It’s his call to arms.
As the second digital cover star for Schön! 43, Simonetti is using his platform for awareness, empathy and a complete deconstruction of what it means to be a ‘man’ in 2022. “Growing up, there was only one ideal of masculine beauty, and if you didn’t fit into that you were not beautiful. As a young boy, I really thought that the version of a man that I wanted to become was not possible but when I grew up, I realised that I can be the man that I am today… I think creating your own ideas around beauty is not listening to society’s idea of what you should look like but creating your own.”
As a TV presenter, activist and icon, Simonetti understands the importance of seeing every face, body, gender, sex, and more in public spaces. It’s why, through his partnership with global brands like got2b, he ensures there’s diversity that is authentic and representative of the people that make up the world. “Teaming up with a huge brand like got2b, that’s in so many drug stores, creates an incredible amount of visibility,” Simonetti adds. “I would have loved as a teenager to have seen a man who looks like me so visible in a shop… I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”
But teaming up with brands is not the final goal for Simonetti. The Riccardo Simonetti Initiative, a platform spearheaded by the man himself, to continue making changes needed for the LGBTQIA+ community across Europe and the world. “We spread awareness by lending our Instagram channel to different people so they can speak about their marginalised backgrounds. We’re currently preparing a free booklet for high schools that explains the entire LGBTQIA+ alphabet. Even if it only affects one person in the class, I hope it will make ten other people more sensitive.”
Discover the full editorial and our chat with Riccardo Simonetti in print in Schön! 43. You can download your issue with this digital-only cover exclusively here.
left.
full look. Amiri
vintage bracelet. World Vntg
ring + necklace. Maor
loafers. Gh Bass
right.
shirt. Dolce&Gabbana
jacket. Dolce&Gabbana
pants. Second/Layer
boots. Jimmy Choo
In life, it’s often the small, seemingly trivial choices that shape our biggest moments — the butterfly effect, as chaos theory names it. For Belmont Cameli, a young actor navigating an industry of constant pivots and resets, that idea feels personal. It’s fitting, then, that his latest project, Until Dawn, plays directly into this — a time-loop horror film where every decision, no matter how minor, triggers a new outcome.
When Schön! connects with Cameli, he’s sitting in what he describes as his “workstation.” Behind him, a wall of vinyl records catches the eye. They’re not just decoration but an active passion for the Illinois-born actor. “I collage record covers,” Cameli explains, smiling. “Wherever I am, I’ll go to the dollar bins, grab as many as I can just based on the artwork, and then I glue them down, frame them, or just pin them up. I’m working on a really big one for my bedroom right now.”
This space, filled with records he’s deemed too scratched or dusty to keep spinning, is where Cameli relaxes, creates, and occasionally makes music — a drum set lurks nearby. “The records I actually spin are downstairs next to my player,” he says. It’s a grounding space for someone whose professional life has been anything but still lately.
“It’s been a really good time,” Cameli says with genuine warmth. “In the past two months, I had Alto Nights come out, which I did with Barry Levinson and Robert De Niro — that was really special, especially sharing it with my friends back home. And then Until Dawn just came out last weekend, and promoting that has been so much fun, especially with the cast — all four of whom are like my best friends.”
He’s aware, though, that every upswing comes after a climb. “I’ve been through multiple lulls in my career, including the pandemic,” he says. “I got out to L.A. at the end of 2019, so I’ve known a lot of ups and downs. Right now, I’m on an upswing, which is great, but mostly I’m just staying present and enjoying myself.”
Throughout his career, Cameli has resisted being typecast. After his TV debut on Empire in 2018, he landed a starring role in Netflix’s Along for the Ride. “I’ve always wanted variety,” he says. “I find myself somewhere between the leading man and the character actor categories, and I love that space. Comedy, romance, period drama, horror — they all teach you something different.”
He speaks affectionately about Saved by the Bell, where he got his first substantial television role, and about reconnecting with cast mates like Josie Totah,Dexter Darden, and John Michael Higgins. “John Michael Higgins is basically my comedic north star,” Cameli says. “I love him so much. It’s been really meaningful to see how we’ve all grown and stayed connected over the years.”
For those unfamiliar, Until Dawn is a beloved horror game that has now been reimagined for the big screen. And for Cameli, it’s his first full plunge into horror — a genre he’s long admired. “I’m a huge fan of horror and I have been ever since I was a teenager,” he says. “I don’t remember how old I was, but I snuck out of the house and went to the theatre to see Sinister with Ethan Hawke. Someone told me they did research on what’s the most disturbing horror film that raises your heart rate the most, and apparently, that’s it. It was the first one I saw, and I sat in the front row. I’ll never forget how exhilarating that experience was.”
That thrill has followed him, and with Until Dawn, he finally got his own shot at scaring audiences. The production embraced practical effects over CGI, something Cameli found fascinating. “We worked with tremendous artists, especially in prosthetics. They built four or five life-size silicon replicas of my body to desecrate onscreen, which was really fun,” he says, laughing.
His character, Abe, stands apart from the main group. “The four loyalties are between the rest of the characters, and Abe is only recently added to the group via his relationship with Nina,” Cameli explains. “He doesn’t have the same patronage to these characters. He doesn’t feel hell-bent on protecting anybody but himself. His selfish, self-involved nature actually makes it more likely he’ll survive. He’s cerebral, he thinks highly of himself — he’s a psych major — and he’s not afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings because he doesn’t particularly care about them.”
While many actors might find such a role isolating, Cameli relished the contrast — after all, his favourite from the game, Josh, isn’t really the most sociable of the group. “It was really fun to play that friction,” he says. “I think when I first read the script, I thought, ‘Ooh, this is good — I get to bring the friction.’”
The film, directed by David F. Sandberg, was shot over five months in Budapest — a stretch of time Cameli remembers vividly. “We were in the same clothes the whole time, because it’s one night,” he says. “We had probably sixty different versions of that costume. And we were constantly covered in dirt, blood, you name it. There were only maybe a handful of days where we were clean on set — and those were during the summer, so we were sweating our balls off anyway,” he laughs.
The behind-the-scenes experience was just as thrilling as the final product. Before filming, Cameli underwent full-body casting to create the film’s practical effects. “The first thing I did was go to Toronto, where they covered my body in plaster,” he recalls. “It heats up; you feel like you’re in a sauna, and you break an incredible sweat. That takes about thirty minutes. Then for the arms and head, they do them individually with blue silicone. They leave holes just for your nose. It takes thirty minutes — your eyes are closed, you can’t see anything, can’t really hear — but I found it very zen. I almost fell asleep!”
full look. Amiri
vintage bracelet. World Vntg
ring + necklace. Maor
loafers. Gh Bass
Despite the dark subject matter and intense night shoots, the cast’s camaraderie was a highlight. “I can’t say enough about how incredible these folks are, as people and actors,” Cameli says warmly. “Michael Cimino is the sweetest person alive; I love him so much, he’s like a little brother to me now. Ella Rubin is like a little sister — she went through it on this production, doing physically exhausting stunts every day. Odessa A’zion is one of the craziest, funniest people I’ve ever met. And Ji-young Yoo is the scream queen — she came prepared, knowing how to scream for sixteen hours and still carry a conversation on the ride home.”
While the original Until Dawn game gave players control over character choices, the film had to chart a new path — something Cameli embraced. “I wasn’t familiar with the game when I first read the script,” he says. “But when I reached out to my friends who game, I quickly realised how much it meant to them and how popular it was. Once we got to Budapest, production got us a PS4. We all stayed together, and the cast would come over and play. Honestly, it’s nearly impossible to play that game by yourself because it’s scary as shit — but with a chorus of opinions on the couch behind you, it’s even harder!”
full look. Entire Studios
shoes. Second/Layer
Asked what he hopes audiences take away from the film, Cameli’s answer is refreshingly straightforward. “It’s an exhilarating film to watch in a theatre with your friends,” he says. “It’s the kind of movie where someone inevitably blurts something out early on, and then it’s fair game — people are screaming, laughing, reacting together. I’ve seen a lot of cerebral, contemplative films lately, which I love. But I also love movies like this, where you walk out talking about it for the next thirty minutes.”
Looking ahead, Cameli is hungry to keep mixing things up — and yes, horror is very much still on his radar. “I have my sights set on playing a villain — that would be really fun. Next, I have something I can’t talk about yet, but I’m very excited about it. More than anything, I look forward to diversifying my characters. It’s the most fun for me to work on projects that are different from the last.”
blazer. Zara
shirt. Diesel
skirt. Bershka
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
tie. ASOS
opposite
coat. OFF WHITE
yellow top. Diesel
shirt. Diesel
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
tie. ZARA
opposite
fur coat. Jaded London
shirt. Diesel
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
left to right
blazer. Gucci
trousers. Jaded London
boots + gloves. ASOS
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
blazer. Zara
shirt. Diesel
skirt. Bershka
trousers. JADED LONDON
shoes + tie. ASOS
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
opposite
left to right
blazer. Gucci
trousers. Jaded London
boots + gloves. ASOS
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
blazer. Zara
shirt. Diesel
skirt. Bershka
trousers. JADED LONDON
shoes + tie. ASOS
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
coat. OFF WHITE
yellow top. Diesel
shorts + shoes. Zara
socks. Stylist’s Own
opposite
blazer. Gucci
trousers. Jaded London
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
gloves. ASOS
fur coat. Jaded London
shirt. Diesel
shorts, shoes + tie. ZARA
jewellery. Serge DeNimes
socks. Original Penguin
opposite
coat. OFF WHITE
yellow top. Diesel
shorts + shoes. Zara
socks. Stylist’s Own
