Liam James
ABOVE: LIAM JAMES IN NEW YORK, MAY 2013. STYLING: MIGUEL ENAMORADO.
Liam James is looking forward to the summer before his senior year of high school in Canada: some relaxation, a bit of off-season studying, and trips to New York and Los Angeles for the premieres of the new movie he’s starring in with Steve Carell. “The premieres are going to be awesome,” says the 16-year-old Vancouver-based actor, who appears in the new comedy The Way, Way Back. “I’m going to miss my social studies final—I’ll have to do that in August. It’s going to be awesome to have an extra two months to study for it.” James, though, got one of the best master classes an actor of any age could hope for, working alongside Carell, Toni Collette, and Sam Rockwell in the film about a teen (played by James) who is tormented by his mother’s boyfriend (Carell) and finds camaraderie in the form of a water-park manager (Rockwell). “I can’t believe I actually got to work with them,” James says. “I shot half my scenes with Steve, which were very bitter; then he left, and I shot half with Sam, which were more upbeat. It was almost like shooting two different movies.” James also did all of his own stunts: “I ride a miniature bike. There’s a little bit of singing, a little bit of dancing. I guess if I were actually good at singing and dancing, I’d be a triple threat.” James got his start working as an extra and body-double for his mother’s casting-director friend. Much auditioning followed, which landed him a few indie movies and a plum role in AMC’s The Killing. This month, James returns to television for his third season on the show as Jack, the sullen son of lead detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos, one of TV drama’s biggest standouts). While The Killing is unrelentingly dark, in his spare time James leans more toward the sentimental, wearing out his DVDs of Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Forrest Gump (1994), and Big Fish (2003). “I’ve seen Fried Green Tomatoes too many times,” he says. “I love life stories told in flashback.”
PHOTO: SUIT: DIOR HOMME. POLO: MARC JACOBS. EAR CUFF (WORN AS LAPEL PIN): ANNELISE MICHELSON. WATCH: LONGINES. GLASSES: DOLCE & GABBANA. HAIR PRODUCTS: RENEÌ FURTERER, INCLUDING VOLUMEA VOLUMIZING FOAM AND NATURIA DRY SHAMPOO. COSMETICS: M.A.C, INCLUDING PREP + PRIME BB BEAUTY BALM SPF 35 IN EXTRA LIGHT. STYLING ASSISTANT: LUCA GALASSO. HAIR: CECILIA ROMERO FOR RENEÌ FURTERER/ART DEPARTMENT. MAKEUP: WALTER OBAL/ATELIER MANAGEMENT. PROP STYLIST: DANIEL GRAFF/ MARY HOWARD STUDIO. SPECIAL THANKS: SUN STUDIOS.
