“ PRADA'S ELEGANCE IS BASED IN CRAFTSMANSHIP. I LIKE TO THINK OF MYSELF AS A CRAFTSMAN TOO, CONSTANTLY BUILDING NEW TOOLS.”

— KELVIN HARRISON JR.

Meeting Kelvin Harrison Jr. feels like catching a rare glimpse of the architect behind the scaffolding. He’s famous for total immersion that leaves very little of himself on the surface once the cameras start rolling. Whether he’s disappearing into the "unapologetic" ghost of Basquiat for the highly anticipated Samo Lives or stepping into the established shoes of a character like Beetee Latier in the upcoming Hunger Games, he doesn't just play a part. He builds it, piece by piece, from a "pot of random influences."

To Kelvin, the world is one giant, chaotic mood board. He’s an intellectual scavenger, mining "genuine slips" of emotion from reality TV and studying the way a young Leonardo DiCaprio handled early press just to build a scaffolding for a character. Even his Instagram is a laboratory; he spent his time as The Disappear’s Raf Night posting shirtless gym selfies and "global movie star" posturing just to see how the persona felt on his skin. It wasn’t exactly a success, he tells me with a laugh, but that’s the point. We meet in a moment of transition; what he calls "practicing continuation." He’s a Prada ambassador who still feels like a "kid from New Orleans," a man who values his privacy but understands that his career is a "sacred moment between me and the mirror." Behind the accolades and the "method" intensity is a person surprisingly preoccupied with the mechanics of trust and the weight of responsibility. As he reflects on fatherhood, his own heritage, and the "razors" that sometimes come with being a true artist, Kelvin reveals that his most compelling role yet might just be the one he’s still learning to play: himself.

“ THEATER BROUGHT ME BACK TO WHAT I LOVE ABOUT ACTING: TAKING THE ORIGINAL CHARACTER AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO FLESH IT OUT.”

David Gargiulo __ I’m so excited to talk to both of you together. With the success and relevance of Industry, this feels like such a cultural moment. But before we get into the themes of the show, let’s go back to the beginning. When you first met, what did you think of each other?

Myha’la Herrold __ We met in 2019. I thought Ken was a legend. Still do. I thought he was so cool and chill. Experienced. Like he had everything figured out. I was explicitly told, “He’s the adult on set. Go to him. If you need answers, mentorship; he’s your guy.”

Ken Leung __ My first impression wasn’t that we were meeting for the first time. It felt like we were meeting again. There was something familiar. Maybe it was the way you said hello; it felt like, “Oh, hello again.” I didn’t expect that, and it relaxed me. I had anxiety about starting a new project. We were in Wales, I’d never been there before. Even though I’d done a lot of work, it still felt new. So that unexpected familiarity really grounded me. 

DG __ It sounds like you have a calming effect on each other. Which feels necessary on a show as intense as Industry, where power is constantly shifting between your characters. How do you think about power? Is it something that’s taken, earned, or given?

KL __ I would say it’s taken. Because even if it’s given, if you don’t take it, you don’t really have it. Like just now. The way I answered first when Myha’la was thinking. I could’ve let her keep thinking, but I had something to say, so I took it. I trusted she’d be okay with that.

MH __  I’m actually not okay with it. That was so rude. How dare you. I’m taking it back. I’m reclaiming my power. [both laugh] I do agree. I also think power is, to some degree, perception. Money is powerful, but it’s also perceived as powerful. When Ken and I first met, I perceived him as having power in that situation. So in a way, I gave it to him. But that was just my perception, it wasn’t necessarily what was actually happening. You can make people believe you have power whether or not you do. People do it all the time, for example governments do it. There’s a perceived power that sometimes turns out not to even exist. You can give power away as easily as you can take it. It feels like an acting exercise. It’s about who’s more convincing.

KL __ Which is funny, because if someone is going out of their way to show they have power, it usually reveals that they don’t.

DG __ Interesting. Do you have an example?

KL __  It’s a bit of a minefield. But we’re living in a time when a lot of people are making a particular kind of noise to influence how we think. And sometimes the more they do that, the more they reveal the opposite of what they want us to believe.

DG __ Oh boy. You are right, definitely, a minefield. We’ll thread lightly. Let’s leave it here. [All laugh] Industry suggests that in modern life, value is tied to performance. Do you think we’ve confused productivity with identity?

KL __ I think it depends on the person. Identity is how you perceive yourself. Some people tie that to what they do. Some people tie it to how much they mean to other people. So it depends on who we’re talking about.

DG __ Let’s start with your characters in Industry.

KL __ In terms of our characters, yes. I’d say they tie their identity to a certain kind of achievement and to the place they hold within the company. With our two characters, there’s also been a very specific climb. A very particular struggle, especially as people of color, and as Americans in London, within a very established system that works a certain way. They’ve had to adopt a certain toughness. A certain way of being. And if you asked my character, I think he would absolutely tie his identity to that climb, to the ladder he’s built. To the point where he’s forgotten other parts himself. He’s forgotten how to be a father. There’s an empty space where that identity should be. 

MH __ I think Harper is absolutely building her identity around success because she doesn’t want to be defined by her past. From the moment we meet her, she’s running away from something and toward a new story about who she is and what she’s capable of. If someone asked her, “Who are you?” she’d probably say, “Read the trades.” You’ll know exactly who I am based on what I do. She avoids defining herself through relationships. She doesn’t want people thinking about that side of her. So her identity becomes less about how she sees herself and more about how she wants to be perceived. Because to interrogate why she needs to be defined by her work would mean going back to her past and she really doesn’t want to do that.

DG __ Using the show as a vehicle to discuss society and the definition of capitalism. Do you think capitalism expects us to build identity through achievement?

MH __ I don’t know what capitalism expects from us. I think it expects assimilation so it can keep running. The American Dream says: buy a house, start a family, climb the ranks, and that’s what makes you American. So yes, we’ve been taught to identify ourselves through achievements. That’s very general. But individually, at least in my circles, I think people are more intentional now. When I think about my identity, race comes into it. I’d probably say first that I’m a Black woman in America. But honestly, that often feels more about how I’m treated than how I see myself. Beyond that, I’d say I care deeply about the environment. About justice. I’m fascinated by human nature, which is probably why I’m an actor. I love animals. Plants. People. That’s more how I define myself now. 

KL __ When I hear “capitalism,” I think of selling. I think part of this country’s identity is that it sees itself as a great salesman. We sell ideals. We pitch ourselves as the land of opportunity, the land of the free. Everywhere we look, something is being sold to us, consciously or unconsciously. When you’re selling, your attention is outward. You’re thinking about how you’re being received. Are you loud enough? Louder than the next person? But I think we’re in a moment now where more people are saying, “Wait. I don’t buy this.” There’s a reckoning happening. We’re starting to see cracks in the framework. We see how it can be abused. How things can be manipulated, especially the packaging of truth. So now the question becomes: what is the truth? Where do I stand in proximity to it? What is my truth? That feels new. Or at least newly urgent.

“ WE’RE LIVING IN A TIME WHEN A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE MAKING A PARTICULAR KIND OF NOISE TO INFLUENCE HOW WE THINK.”

— KEN LEUNG

BRANDS: MYHA’LA WEARS MCQUEEN, MIU MIU, ELIE SAAB, PANDORA, STELLA MCCARTNEY, CARTIER. KEN WEARS TOD’S, DUNHILL, CANALI.

LOCATION: THE STANDARD HIGH LINE. MUSIC: «GONE» BY SIERRA VEINS

Photography and Video Kevin Sinclair, Styling DaVian Lain, Interview David Gargiulo, Makeup (Myha'la) Shyanna Lundi, Hair (Myha'la) Dre Demry Sanders (MA Group), Groomer (Ken) Markphong Tram (ABTP) using Dior Beauty, Light Assistant Isaac Poole, Stylist Assistant Amira Schwerdt, Talent Ken Leung (Wolf|Kasteler PR), Talent Myha’la Herrold (Viewpoint PR), Location The Standard High Line (The Boom Room).

Below: Myha'la wears total look ZIMMERMANN, necklace CARTIER , shoes ALEXANDRE BIRMAN. Ken wears jacket and pants CANALI, shirt THEORY.