The crowds attending Magic Mike screenings have been getting almost as much press as the film has. Have either of you snuck into a cinema to experience the film with a real audience?

Channing: I had someone send me pictures of a guy standing up in his boxers in the movie theatre getting tips and the girls are going bananas! It was genius. He’s the smartest guy out there. “Go where the money is, buddy!” Not even where the girls are, go where the money is.

Dallas [Matthew’s character] has one of the most memorable strip sequences in the film. How did you prepare for that scene?

Matthew: Man, it was so nerve-wracking, I’d never done anything like it before. It was like de-virginising, man! Even though you know what you’re supposed to do and you’ve prepared for it, you’re a little bit numb; you don’t really hear. You think you’re going to be able to follow the music but all I could hear was ‘boom, boom’. In my head I was thinking ‘if you miss something, don’t retreat!’

C: I made sure I was always there on at least everybody’s first time just to make sure they weren’t freaking out because it’s a really weird thing, putting yourself out there like that. All you can do is just jump, that’s just it. You can prepare for it as much as you want but your first time, you probably won’t remember much of it.

Channing, do you remember your first time on stage as a stripper?

C: I remember very, very vividly. It was nightmarish.

M: How did you do?

C: To be honest, I don’t really remember. I did a boy scout routine and that was horrifying thing number one. Number two was my sister sitting in the front row.

M: Your sister? That’s a hell of an initiation! Did you invite her?

C: No, I didn’t invite her! “Hey Paige, what’s up? Wanna come see me get naked?” No!

Was she amused?

C: She literally couldn’t meet my eye. All her friends were laughing and pointing, all these girls I’d grown up with my entire life. It’s like that horrific nightmare you have, that all of a sudden you’re in class at school and the next thing you know you’re butt naked.

Certain aspects of Dallas’ character could be seen as a send-up of your public persona, Matthew. Were these elements already in the script or did you add them? Like the conga drums…

M: I’ve heard that and I’ve read a few things where people have said ‘Oh, did you see there was a parody of 1999 when you got arrested playing the congas wearing what God gave you’, but I actually didn’t even think about it because I still play. That was my most popular concert, even though it was the one where I was by myself!

Steven Soderbergh has talked about retiring from film and has cited Magic Mike as one of his last projects. Have you tried to talk him out of it?

C: Personally, I think he should take a break. He’s been churning out films at a pace that’s unprecedented for any director. I think he should take a break, clear his mind, cleanse the palate and just do something completely different that will give him a new perspective on it when he comes back.

Like a Magic Mike sequel, perhaps?

C: I would love to. Would you come back Matthew?

M: I’d come back for the right sequel, yeah.

C: For the second one, we think we might want to go even more fun – flip it on its head and just make a broad comedy.

It definitely has an edge we weren’t expecting from the trailers…

C: We really wanted to make Saturday Night Fever. That was the plan. Make a powerful, modern version of it. Soderbergh said, “Everyone wants to make seventies films that didn’t make any money”. People always name some beautiful, obscure film that no-one went to see in the seventies so Soderbergh was like, “Let’s just pick the seventies film that actually made money!”

Words: Frankie Mathieson

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One of your first roles on TV was in The West Wing and now you’ve come full circle with a lead role in The Newsroom. What’s working with Aaron Sorkin like the second time round?

That was a great experience but working on The Newsroom has been a dream. As an actor, the chance to say the words of a writer like Aaron Sorkin don’t come along very often so you learn to relish the opportunity should you be lucky enough to get one. Fortunately, I’ve been very lucky!

You’re perhaps best known for your Broadway roles – what convinced you to take the leap from theatre to television full time?

Actors in New York don’t always get the chance to even be considered for these kinds of projects. Most of them are cast heavily out of L.A. but it just so happened that Aaron Sorkin, Alan Poul, Scott Rudin and Greg Mottola were at the helm of this pilot. Several of them are New Yorkers and theatre lovers with backgrounds in writing and producing plays so I think they were very game to come and meet with actors more accustomed to working on stage. I struggled at first with the potential of spending so much time away but working with that calibre of talent and for a network like HBO ended up being a no-brainer, and I’ve loved every second of the result.

Do you follow any other HBO shows? Are you a Girls fan like everyone else?

I love Boardwalk Empire and I have all five seasons of The Wire on DVD – it’s one of my favourite shows of all time.

Sorkin conducted research for The Newsroom by observing several cable networks. Did you do any behind-the-scenes prep for your role?

I didn’t have any time to do hands-on research because up until the day before I left for L.A. to shoot the pilot I was doing a play on Broadway called ‘Jerusalem’. I ended up going right from a play about rural Englanders to a show about New Yorkers working in cable news! Fortunately, Aaron is such a resource on set because of his wealth of knowledge of whatever subject he’s writing about.

Do you watch a lot of cable news now?

I can’t say I do. I find it difficult to separate the news that’s being broadcast from the often heightened and formulated personality of whoever it is that’s doing the broadcasting. I’m not criticising the format – I just follow the news online more than I do on television.

Are the characters on The Newsroom as fast-paced as their West Wing peers and if so, have you managed to master the art of ‘walk and talk’?

All of Aaron’s characters are awarded the gift of eloquence and intellect and most of them also happen to be workaholics who are operating under pressure and racing to beat the clock, so naturally they do end up talking very fast! Our set on The Newsroom is not as corridor-heavy as The West Wing so things manage to stay a bit more stationary!

Finally, are you aware of Richard Schiff’s Twitter campaign to appear on The Newsroom?

No – this is news to me! He was absolutely incredible on The West Wing and he was kind to me back in 2002 when I was on an episode so I certainly wouldn’t take any issue with him visiting ACN!

Words: Frankie Mathieson (@frankiewrites)

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You introduced London street style to Japan with your initial publication STREET. How did you 
get started?

During a trip to Europe – namely London and Paris – I noticed the difference between what people wore on the streets of Europe and what they wore in Tokyo. I knew at the time that what was happening was important and I needed to show this to the people of Japan. After I published STREET, the Harajuku kids responded to it by experimenting in their own way with fashion and created the scene I documented in FRUiTS.

It’s been over ten years since FRUiTS (the book) was published. How has the Harajuku street scene changed since then?

The ‘original’ FRUiTS fashion is completely different but the ideas and sense of style are the same. 
Arguably, the best time was when Harajuku had the ‘pedestrian heaven’. No cars were allowed and everyone came to hang out and share with each other. Unfortunately, this only lasted for a year after FRUiTS magazine came out.

Since you started, there has been an overwhelming wave of street style photography blogs
 and publications, but yours still stands out as different. What’s your take?

I’m moved emotionally when I find perfect street fashion. I consider street fashion as a kind of art, like music and photography. I feel that most blogs treat street fashion as a tool for personalities, market research and attracting customers. I’ve just started my blog ‘Pleasure of Street Fashion’ and will start another blog about Harajuku fashion soon.

What’re the current trends in Harajuku? Who, what or where is influencing Japanese teenagers today?

It’s really interesting right now. There are a lot of genres, not one thing in particular. I don’t have any interest in trends and there isn’t really just one in my opinion.

Have you visited anywhere else you think is comparable to Harajuku or is it truly one of a kind?

London in the 90s – Portobello Market was the best. Better than Harajuku then and now. It existed before the movement here.

Are there any plans for a third FRUiTS book or a Street/Tune publication?

The two books that are out now are a mix of five years’ worth of photos I shot in no specific order. Now, you can buy the iPhone/iPad APP ‘FRUiTS Mag’ and download all of the new magazines, which is really great for people in any country who can’t buy them. Someday soon we will have the back issues up for sale as well. I also plan to make a book of old STREET photos from the nineties… I wonder if I’ll get in trouble for shooting Anna Wintour without asking? I didn’t want to waste time finding out! I also have plans for a TUNE app and a TUNE book. Finally, I am shooting a new magazine at the moment that will be called STREET.RUBY and will feature the new look from Shibuya.

Words: Frankie Mathieson

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