For i-D’s freshly minted digital relaunch under Editor-in-Chief Thom Bettridge and Bedford Media, Nicholas Hoult headlines a new cover story photographed by Ilya Lipkin. Styled by Bettridge himself, the wardrobe draws on relaxed tailoring and vintage references—short-sleeve knits, boxy stripes, and soft suiting.
Nicholas Hoult for i-D
As part of i-D’s “Unknown Issue,” Hoult considers how public exposure has evolved across generations of fame. “The ‘90s was just a different era,” the “Superman” star says. “There was something more unknown about the stars then, probably because there wasn’t access to everyone.”
Hoult is pointing to a time when actors weren’t expected to maintain a constant digital presence, when mystique wasn’t marketed but preserved. Now, even the most private faces are photographed through car windows or cropped into Instagram grids.
Though Hoult had already made his mark in “About a Boy” and “Skins,” “A Single Man” marked the beginning of his long-running connection to the fashion world—thanks to director and designer Tom Ford.
Hoult admits he didn’t grasp Ford’s stature at the time. “I searched his IMDb, and all that came up was him appearing in ‘Zoolander’ as himself,” he recalls. “I remember sitting down with him, so jet-lagged, and being like, ‘So, how did you get into directing?’”
Only later did the full picture come into view. “The first thing that popped up was him on the cover of Vanity Fair.” That film would lead to Hoult fronting multiple Tom Ford campaigns, solidifying a relationship that bridged film and fashion in a way Hoult hadn’t anticipated.
Now 35, Hoult carries his fame with humor, even when it veers into confusion. “The other week, I was at some event, and someone was like, ‘Oh, you, you’re so good in that film.’ I just assumed they were talking about ‘Nosferatu,’” he says. “Then they mentioned something else, and I realized they’d gone to see ‘Babygirl.’”
The fan had mistaken him for Harris Dickinson. “Harris and I don’t really look that similar. He’s a great actor. So I said, ‘Thanks!’”
But admiration comes from all directions. At the Venice Film Festival, Brad Pitt approached him after watching “The Great,” the satirical Hulu series in which Hoult played a wildly unhinged version of Emperor Peter III. “I was definitely star struck,” he says. The role—equal parts charm and absurdity—earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a new wave of recognition.
Despite the accolades, Hoult tends to chart his career in quieter, more personal ways—through the props and mementos that travel home with him after each shoot. “I have the wrist strap and chain that tied me to Tom Hardy in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ and my fluffy feet from when I played Beast in ‘X-Men,’” he says.
Hoult continues, “I’ve got lots of fun stuff from ‘The Great’: a fake version of my head, a portrait of me as the Emperor that’s hanging in my bathroom, and a bunch of quill drawings of characters doing obscene things.”
These keepsakes aren’t trophies so much as time capsules. In Hoult’s world, fame isn’t about permanence. It’s a collection of passing roles, mistaken identities, and things worth keeping.
