Jim Sturgess – Better late than never
After an illustrious acting career, starring in films with Anne Hathaway, Ray Liotta, or Billy Bob Thornton, among many others; Sturgess speaks to us from his East London house, full of wistful charm and humility.
Words Oliver Corrigan Creative Direction Katie Eary Photography JC Verona“When you're lying on your deathbed I would have been like: “I wish I'd just at least fucking tried.”
Full look MM6
It is in London where Sturgess’ passion for music ended all-too-prematurely as a young adolescent - pinpointing the realising moment of its demise, “Everybody went off to University and I was like, “Ohh. OK, right. I guess we're not going to be doing this forever.” Yet where one passion decayed in London, another would bloom and blossom within Manchester, specifically at the University of Salford.
“It was just a big melting pot of possibilities, my head started spinning”, regales Sturgess, in his depiction of enrolling in the interdisciplinary HND Media and Performance course there. At the outset, he seemed a lost, kindred soul yet, given time, quickly became a flourishing student with a natural gift for the arts. These formative years proved a vital entrypoint into this world, and, ultimately acting - a pivotal moment of experimentation and chuck-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks, “You could try anything, there was this fearlessness about it and a youthful hunger that a lot of us had.” After collaborating with various students and art forms, Sturgess eventually settled on performing a 3-night run of a 1-man self-written play which was eventually picked up by an agent, careening him back to his home city of London.
Jacket: Talent’s ownShirt: Hugo Boss. Jeans: Levi’s. Shoes: Stylist’s own
Full look: Talent’s own
Settling in Camden, Sturgess once again found himself at the artistic mercy of an expansive, lawless music collective or, as he describes the background of the burgeoning music scene, “the complete opposite of what was really going on in Camden.” After a short cameo featuring in a Pizza Hut commercial directed by Edgar Wright (known for the inimitable Cornetto Trilogy), Sturgess’ acting career seemed stagnant and squandered. That was until the leading role for Across the Universe (described at the time as “a Beatles musical”) was beckoning auditions, which perhaps went against his natural affection for the rock group, “it didn't sound particularly rock 'n' roll…”. Yet when things came to fruition for Sturgess’ leading role, the film signified another pivotal moment: alighting his acting career as the stars aligned all-too perfectly, “All the stuff that happened to me in Manchester; all the bands that I'd been in; it all came together in this one moment.”
Since then, Sturgess’ career has sky-rocketed, starring alongside Anne Hathaway in One Day; befriending the stoic likes of Ed Harris and Billy Bob Thornton (noted as “old American Cowboys”); now featuring alongside Julia Garner in Apartment 7A, the upcoming companion prequel to Roman Polanski’s 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby. Set in New York City, shooting in fact took place in London, specifically in his local area of Hackney as Sturgess recites with a wry, hubristic smile spread across his face, the convenient proximity of it all, “I was just rolling out of bed and going to work.”
Over recent years, however, life hasn’t been as straightforward. Reciting a difficult time in his personal life, such musical urges constituted a saving grace for Sturgess, “I'd moved house and suddenly my piano was in a room that I walked past every day, sitting there looking at me.” Confounded to seize the moment before his aforementioned nightmare-deathbed scenario, Sturgess decidedly sat down at the piano ruminating, “Okay, here we go: Try and write an album.” This proved to be the genesis of his musical moniker, King Curious.
Jacket: 3.paradis. Shoes: Diego Vanasibarra.
Denim Jacket: 3.paradis. Blazer: MM6. Trousers: Stylist’s own.
Denim Jacket: 3.paradis. Blazer: MM6. Trousers: Stylist’s own. Shoes: Stylist’s own .
What came next were months confined within a modest recording studio in Brighton, “It was brutal: It was the winter, they had no heating in their studio and it was fucking freezing”, eliciting the sleeping arrangements of squeezing himself into a kid-sized bunk bed each night. Whilst recording had been wrapped up by the time the Pandemic gripped the world, it brought an abrupt halt to the mixing and mastering process to the record as he became stranded abroad in Vancouver for a total of 17 months.
Whilst Sturgess struggled with the record during this stilted period, he instils excitement when asked about the inspiration behind it all, “It’s a real mix of all the influences that have passed through my body over the years.” In his debut single, ‘Premonition of a Lonely Soul’, notable musical nods to singers Jack Jones and Tom Walker can be found, reverberating the bass tones of Sturgess’ voice, brewing an atmospheric cauldron of foreboding and, ultimately, premonition. Collaborating with his friend, director Ruffmercy (Thom Yorke, Nirvana, Run the Jewels), the visuals reinstall an artistic curiosity in Sturgess, enacting psychedelic, colourful visuals underpinned by the darker, brooding tonalities beseeching the musical landscape. What’s more, he remains tangibly ecstatic at the given prospect of leashing control over his own body of work, “It's a chance to bring your own creative universe out to the forefront”, a seldom-seen opportunity for the actor / musician enjoying a new lease on his artistic life.
For what’s next beyond the release of his debut album in early 2024? Sturgess elusively abates any premonition of live performances and leaves it to the behest of a higher power, “I just want to make this record and let it tell me what it wants to do…Honestly, I wish I’d written an acoustic record and then I could easily have gone and played it.” Perhaps the best is yet to be seen from the aspiring musician who’s already made his name in the bright lights of Hollywood. Surely the same can be done beneath the scrupulous spotlight of his home city? Above all, at least he’ll say “I tried” on his deathbed.
Blazer: Zara. Jacket: Talent’s own. Trousers: Maison Margela. Shoes: Diego Vanasibarra.
Team Credits
Words Oliver Corrigan
Creative Direction Katie Eary
Photography JC Verona
Film Timothy N. Heinrich
Fashion Juanjose Mouko Nsue
Grooming Lachlan Alexander Wignall
Set Design Katie Eary and JC Verona
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