Kris Van Assche Of Dior Homme’s People To Meet: Actor Lucas Hedges

Posing off the silver screen was unexplored territory for the young thespian, but under the supervision of Van Assche and photographer David Sims, it was a valuable learning curve, he says. “Validation is something I struggle with because I never want to rely on it for my sense of self-worth, but it can also be a blessing if you allow it to be. I’m not very comfortable doing photo shoots, but knowing that Kris chose me to do this gives me more confidence,” he admits. “Knowing that makes me feel like I’m not some awkward-looking person who doesn’t belong in front of the camera. And I am grateful for that confidence, whether it’s superficial or not, and anything that makes me feel more comfortable in my body. This campaign has done that for me. I also love the Dior Homme aesthetic, so it’s a double blessing.”

Hedges was born in Brooklyn in 1996 and had several film roles growing up, before finally deciding to set sail for an acting career in high school. “He is what I consider a role that Dior Homme has to play, which is discovering new talent at a very early age. So that’s what happened – it’s about being there really early,” Van Assche says. “I very much like his personality. He’s super-intense about acting and he takes it extremely seriously, although he’s actually quite light-hearted about it at the same time. It’s not like he’s excusing himself to be an actor. He definitely wants to be an actor and he’s working it.”

Hedges, who will star opposite Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe in Boy Erased next year, says acting is second nature to him. “For me, it isn’t really a profession. I see myself as someone who gets to play around and look within, and take care of my body and my mind. I see my work as healing and as an opportunity for mindful confrontations with myself and others.” His first campaign experience wasn’t dissimilar. “It was definitely more of a role than my natural Lucas self. It’s hard for it not to be when you’re wearing such different clothing. And also it’s just more fun to disappear into another reality and get swept away. I was very struck by how kind and gentle Kris is. When we were shooting, he was watching one of the monitors and, out of the commotion of David shooting and other people moving around, I heard him say very softly but clearly, ‘It’s beautiful.’”