“Faye Dunaway was the odds-on favorite to win an Oscar for her performance in Network. I struck up a friendship with her a few weeks before the awards ceremony and I knew that I wanted to create an image of this beautiful and talented actress in the wake of not only a career-defining moment, but a life-changing event. The morning after the awards, Faye arrived at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool with her Oscar, ready to shoot at 6:30am sharp. I wanted to capture that state of utter shock that Oscar winners feel; where they go to bed thrilled, then overnight, it dawns on them that they’ve just become a star. I moved Faye around the table a bit, zoomed out so you could see the palm trees in the distance and waited for her to look away, and then I got the shot.

The Beverly Hills Hotel was the perfect location for this shoot. I love everything about the place, especially the Polo Lounge, where I can still order the best corned beef hash. It’s always been filled with characters, too, like the pool manager Svend Peterson, who was there for this shoot. Whenever I hear Hotel California by The Eagles, it takes me back there.

There is nowhere in the world quite like Los Angeles. I first went to LA when I was 24 as a freelance photographer. I did incredibly well there as I used 35mm film, which no one else was using in Hollywood. LA felt like a small town then; it was incredibly glamorous and much easier to navigate as there was no traffic. I’ve lived there on and off ever since, and always go back to my favorite haunts in Laurel Canyon, which is a fabulous place to explore with its incredible musical history. I like old-school restaurants such as the Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica and, as a jazz enthusiast, I always make the pilgrimage to the bars in Century City where great artists like Zoot Sims played.”

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