English Version | Candid Camera: an interview with Cole Sprouse

Candid because it - he - is honest: both his view of the world and the way his lens captures it, and the way he approaches and talks and responds about this side of his life. This idea of ​​Cole Sprouse as a photographer is far from uncanny. It's not a whim, it's not a hobby, it's a passion that became a profession - not because he's famous, but because he's good at it. 

Hearing his name is, depending on your age group, either immediately associating him with Disney and his role as Cody on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, or imagining him as the underdog Jugghead Jones on Riverdale. But it’s not because of any of his infamous characters that Cole Sprouse appears in this edition with added privileges or is the main subject of this text. In fact, his prominence here isn't even about his fame in front of the cameras, but rather his talent behind them. Sprouse, recently awarded Role Model at the MOTY Awards 2022, by GQ Portugal, does not receive the accolade for nothing: never resting in the shadow of a fame that came to him (way) early and with him grew and solidified, the man who could live off instagram likes and the brands that harass him, preferred to take control of his life and his happiness and, against all the judgments that could arise from that, decided to embark on a field he knew from afar: photography.

It's curious, because the genesis of his story in this area begins with a plot twist: surrounded by lenses pointed at him over the course of 30 years, moving to the other side of the camera brought him a paraphernalia of added value and a fulfillment that probably changed the course of his life, not only professionally, but above all, personally, forever. He doesn’t shy away from saying that photography took him out of a dark place where he had let himself be taken: “does anyone really know how they get into a dark place?”, he returns the question to us when we inquire about the origin of this somber episode. Though he does know exactly how he got out of it. “I think, it was just one of those moments that we bump into in certain times of our lives and I think the arts always help you out of those. I think hobbyism is one of the greatest cures that we have available to us and I also think the arts is one of the greatest cures… I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in many people’s darkest moments, we turn to the arts.”, he explains. Something that’s also true for acting, a métier that he loves equally, in its most practical essence, something he never tires of underlining throughout a much larger and more comprehensive conversation than just these photographic valences of his, confirming that it was in photography that he found that outlet to regain control over some instability in his life. Incidentally, it’s not by chance that it’s in this evasion that he finds his definition as a photographer: “[I consider myself] Escapist. Or, like, magical realist, I would like to eventually go into. It started as escapism, for sure. I think what I was seeking at the time was some serenity and some sort of natural cathedral away from humanity and I guess I was using photography as an excuse to drag people to really interesting locations. And it worked,” he recalls. “and I think, as I’m getting older, I realize what I actually fancy is very unique spots in the landscape, it’s like an uncanny valley, it almost feels so absurd you have to be wary of it. It’s like there’s certain spots you see on the landscape, it’s… yeah, it’s very strange, it’s uncanny. It’s magical. There are these magical places that exist and I know this sounds so woo-woo-wuuuu, but there’s some serenity and peace that exist in these places and I really like them as subjects. And I believe humans and the landscape can exist in a kind of simpatico that you can really find a nice thing in. And then fashion gets involved and then you have to make sure your credits are met and that the client is happy and all that sort of stuff, but that’s a different conversation. But for me, it’s like this sort of magical realist quality is interesting." A description that is all too palpable in the editorial he signs for this issue of Vogue, Curiouser and Curiouser, which took him, Maggie Maurer and the rest of the crew to Parque da Pena, in Sintra, materializing in that landscape the essence of Sprouse's vision about what he’s looking for behind - and in front of - the lens. “It's about control.” He is quick to respond when asked what he likes most about photography. The answer comes in the wake of a speech he makes, in that same interview (available, in full, soon, at gqportugal.pt), about the erroneous idea that an actor has total control over what he does on stage/set - as an actor, he manages to have control over his performance, which he does in an excellent way, but the list of decision makers who later have the power in choosing and editing such a performance means that many variables of the representation are outside his domain. In photography, although there are some nuances that are greater than and beyond his control, the story is different: “I have far more control in photography and showing the final images of something that I want than I do in acting. At least, right now. But take into account I’m speaking from a very commercial acting place”. One that lay dormant for a few years - and just as well, because it allowed Cole to focus on other interests, such as Archaeology. A course he took in college that led him to digs that would inadvertently plant the seed of Photography in his mind—and in his heart: “[Photography came into my life through] Archeology. I was studying archeology at the time. And I brought it around with me ‘cause I thought I was going to do one reportage stuff at the time. But I was so green to it. In very many ways ways, I taught myself through some trial and error. But I did take a couple of courses when I was in college, and then i started working for Condé Nast, funny enough. (…) And I got in there [a meeting with Traveler] and it was very clear to me at first that everyone was like ‘who’s this actor that’s trying to do photography’… so, I just said: ‘I’m planning on taking this little train trip from the west to the east coast… I’ll just give you the story. As long as I can write whatever I want in it, you guys can have the pictures. They’re yours’. So, I did that with Traveler magazine. And I did a couple of stories with them. And then, as a consequence of being in New York, a lot of my photo friends were getting wrapped up into fashion, and I got wrapped up into fashion and then I got introduced to Glenn [Wassall], who’s sitting over there in the corner, looking at me, with big British eyes….”, he jokes, something that is a constant trait in his way of being. "and, as a consequence of that relationship, it started moving pretty fast."

Not without a couple of mishaps, namely, the judgment of others. Taking on something when you're already so successful in another artistic movement most likely brings in more hardships than privileges, and Cole Sprouse knows both sides equally. “Absolutely”, he confirms about the difficulty that others have in taking him seriously because he is a famous actor, revealing the advantages of this starting point. “And I also think that there’s a personal ego that we all go through with that, too. Which is like… I am juggling a set of privileges when I entered into photography that were the consequences of me working since I was 8 months old. I had a built in audience of people that were already looking at the work I was doing. And I’ve never shied away from saying that. I was exposing the kind of imagery I was making to a much larger audience - thanks to social media, at the time -, than a lot of young photographers that were starting out. And I used that. I used that because I realized it was a tool that I had, in vary many ways, worked for for a long time. And I sad, ok: either I can get caught up in this condescending ego of this all and be like “I don’t deserve this” or I can do something that can really help getting me out of this spot in my life and actually use it for something that’ll help me in the long run. And I think people will have their own predispositions, but I really do think if the work stands for itself, people are willing to look past that. The work always has to speak for itself. And if it does, it will”. And it did, if this collaboration with Vogue serves as an example. Not that he would ratify any kind of praise for himself: “I can like [my work] for like a week. Really." He is his biggest critic, he confesses several times, but he also believes that, in the case of the arts, this comes with the craft. “But I’ve never met an artist that’s like: 'aren’t I the greatest?' Welll, actually, some. I mean, there are some artists that do that, but i think that it’s a front.”, he reckons. "I’ve never met an artist I respect that doesn't hate their work."

Speaking of artists he respects, which photographers does he most admire? “I look up to all of the reportage photographers, and landscape photographers, mostly. It’s funny, I don’t really look at fashion photographers too much. But like, Sebastião Salgado is a great example of someone, Steve McCurry is a great example of someone. I like the guys that have managed to capture a very human experience. Or people that have fetishized the landscape to a degree that make it feel human. Which is a very hard thing to do.”, he admits, and there is no doubt that this is where he moves his work towards. Able to transform any background into a kind of enchanting realm, with more or less proximity to reality, it is the escapism and evasion that served as both his genesis and philosophy that seems to manifest itself in a vivid and palpable way in his portfolio. One that is based on the more organic side of the world, but to which Sprouse seems to confer his transcendent, dreamlike quality. It’s no wonder that he repeats the word magic several times when referring to different dimensions of his vision, even the type of hardware he prefers: “I don’t know, I’m going back and forth [between film and digital]. I gotta be honest, I love the versatility of digital. I love knowing that if something quickly and spontaneously happens that I can find a way to capture it. But digital can’t capture every picture of the natural world, and that’s why I think film lives so magically, you can take something that feels mundane and it can really have this sort of added magical quality to it. And I love that.” And now that he has printed this passion on the pages of Vogue Portugal, he adds another favorite dimension to the act of photographing - or rather, the act of creating: “I think the most it means to me is that I’ve spent the last two days with you guys and it’s very obvious to me that you actually care about the stuff that goes into your magazine. Which then, to me, it makes me feel honoured. That’s what it makes me feel. Because, to be honest, I’m gonna create, regardless. The real privilege in life is to create with people that are like-minded. And with people that have a similar idea of the act of creation. Because the truth is, sometimes creation doesn’t work, the way that you intended it. You know, speaking of serendipity, when I was younger I used to think that a lot of the work I was doing that I really loved was just kind of a happy accident. And then I started realizing what I was actually doing as a technical method, was I was trying to get the most qualified people to join in on the collaboration as possible, reducing the chance of failure to its absolute minimum - if you have a great location, great styling, great hair, great makeup, great subject, awesome location and the sun is shining!, you’ve reduced your chances of failure, to take an image, to its absolute minimum. You know? If all the right ingredients are in the dish, the dish is probably gonna taste pretty good. If they’re all collaborating, you know? What you guys have shown me is that you guys like good food. I don’t know, I’ve come to this conclusion, like, four years ago, which was that… it’s a privilege to work in the arts, because you have the opportunity to go to places like Portugal. I get to travel. I get to meet interesting people, I get to work with people otherwise I would not have and, ideally, we all get to make a little baby. And it can be cute. And even if it doesn’t turn out the way we want it, exactly, we can all go like, ‘Do you remember that time we were all at Sintra and we made that thing? And nothing is going to remove the power of that memory itself. Glenn and I have experienced this, but we went to Iceland and it was pissing sideways, I mean, it was raining for 5 days straight. Sideways. Winds… there’s a reason there are no trees in Iceland, because the wind would rip them out of the ground. It was the worst weather conditions you could ever have. But it was so tumultuous, that we couldn’t help but laugh the entire 5 days. It was so absurd what we were going through, and we still ended up doing something we were proud of. Would it have been better if the sun was shining? Who fucking knows? We get to be outside in interesting locations, making beautiful work, and that is a privilege. That is a real privilege.” Speaking candidly, the privilege is also and all ours.

Translated from the original on "The Velvet Touch" issue of Vogue Portugal, published december 2022.Full stories and credits on the print issue.