CAMERON MONAGHAN, the bold undertone behind Ferragamo’s Bright Leather
CAMERON MONAGHAN,
the bold undertone behind Ferragamo’s Bright Leather
ISSUE ONE
Photography BENJO ARWAS Talent CAMERON MONAGHAN Creative Direction INÉS ABOUCHARD Styling ALYCIA COHEN Grooming CANDICE BIRNS Video ALEJANDRA HINOJOSA Production ELLA CEPEDA Editor-in-chief STEPHANIE AROUESTY Art Direction ALEXIS LÓPEZ
What does American actor Cameron Monaghan have in common with Ferragamo’s Bright Leather fragrance? Learn more about it here.
Ferragamo’s Bright Leather is the most recent interpretation belonging to Ferragamo’s olfactory collection. Created by renowned perfumer Antoine Maisondieu, its balanced composition is made up of citric tones such as bergamot, tangerine, and grapefruit. At the heart of it, the basil’s herbal tenor intertwines perfectly with rosemary, while leather winks at the fashion house’s characteristic know-how. Lastly, cedarwood and the earthy patchouli and musk undertones forcefully seal the new fragrance with dynamism and power.
The Ferragamo man, especially the Bright Leather olfactory version, is already considered within contemporary perfumery an icon of modern masculinity. The same can be said for actor Cameron Monaghan, the protagonist of the story captured by Israeli photographer Benjo Arwas and shot at Topanga State Park near Los Angeles, California.
Together, Monaghan and Bright Leather are the epitome of the strength and energy that current times describe as vibrant. In an exclusive interview for L’Beauté, Cameron tells us about his biggest interests, his ongoing projects –which include a promising movie soon to premiere alongside Juliette Binoche and Morgan Freeman–, and all the things he is yet to achieve.
INTERVIEW BY INÉS ABOUCHARD
L’Beauté: Who is Cameron Monaghan?
Cameron Monaghan: I am an actor and performer, an L.A. guy. I’ve been living here for 18 years, but I’m also somewhat of a globe trotter and one of my favorite things is to try new things, to travel, and visit new places. That’s also something that I’m able to find in the art I do for work: it’s always about exploring new sides of things that I don’t understand or about discovering something about me. I think that, aside from being a performer, I’m somebody who likes to observe and ask questions.
LB: What events boosted your passion towards acting?
CM: I suppose that me being an only child –and my mom being a single mother who had to work a lot–, resulted in me not having much growing up, that led me to letting my imagination fly. I spent a lot of time with myself as a kid, I learned to play on my own and to tell stories. I also participated in many extracurricular activities and that sort of stuff; at that time, I really enjoyed being part of the theater program at my school. I think that if I hadn’t had those theater experiences, I wouldn’t have developed a passion for it as I grew up. I’m sure that there were a million little things that influenced me along the way, but that was probably the basis from where it all came from.
LB: Where do you think the importance of wearing cologne lies at?
CM: Everybody likes someone who smells good, but I also think that the good thing about wearing perfume or cologne is that you can create your own essence or identity; an aroma that you feel represents you. It’s an important choice and, in a lot of ways, it’s one of the first impressions that people get from you. So having a particular scent be your signature is wonderful.
LB: What do you think makes a particular scent have a personal touch?
CM: Taste is something very specific that adjusts to your own palette and personal preferences; in my case, I think smells are woven to memories. Certain smells immediately take me to different times or places, and that’s very meaningful. So, I think that smells that we’re attracted to, whether they be dry or sweet, tend to give us little flashbacks to small moments or periods of our lives, even if we’re not fully aware of them.
LB: Define beauty in three words…
CM: Individuality, expression, and personality.
LB: What is your biggest obsession?
CM: Cinema, it has to be, it’s something I can talk infinitely about, and something to which I’ve committed my life to study and understand. I love art in all its forms of expression, but something personal and something I’ll never stop obsessing over is cinema.
LB: If you had to choose one to live in, would you choose Old Hollywood or the current one?
CM: Old Hollywood, simply because I’m very nostalgic and I feel like there was magic in using actual film and not knowing what you actually had until seeing it afterwards. Although I’m not somebody who thinks that all new things are bad, there are still amazing stories being told that I love, aside from all the diversity and accessibility that new technologies can bring to the table. The fact that young filmmakers can have access to these tools, and that some of them can even have them on an iPhone and still be able to create something meaningful and beautiful. I believe that’s very special because there used to be a big entrance barrier to get in, and I’m glad that that obstacle isn’t as strong today. Nowadays you don’t necessarily have to go through a big studio to be able to express yourself, and that’s awesome.
LB: What can you tell us about your next movie?
CM: My next movie is called “Paradise Highway”, in which I act opposite Morgan Freeman and Juliette Binoche. We filmed a year ago in Mississippi, and it’s about how Juliette Binoche’s character –who’s a truck driver who smuggles illegal merchandise for his brother in jail–, finds out that the next package she must deliver is a 12-year-old girl being trafficked for sex, they develop a relationship while the girl tries to run away. In this story, I play an FBI agent trying to locate her, and Morgan Freeman is an advisor and former FBI agent trying to help me find the missing girl. It’s a beautiful and sensible story told by a new filmmaker and an incredible crew. I think it’s a very special movie, and I’m excited for people to see it.
LB: If you weren’t an actor, what would you be?
CM: A purse thief (laughs). I don’t know, I’m just very thankful of having been able to find from a very young age something that I enjoy doing, and something in which I believe I’m good at and that I’m still able to explore.
LB: What’s next for Cameron?
CM: At this moment, I’ve been trying to find myself artistically in ways that go beyond acting. Lately I’ve been working on different things to acting: 10 years ago I went to college to learn how to write, for example, because in a way, writing has always been a second passion; I would also like to begin directing. I began learning how to paint recently too, namely Renaissance painting; it’s something very new to me and, even though I’m terrible at it up until now, I’ve been enjoying it. I also enjoy taking dance lessons and playing music. There are certain things that I like doing not because I think somebody else should see them, but because they are things that you do for yourself.
