Celebrities Reveal Their Public and Private Personas in Intimate Double-Portraits

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Amy Adams
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Celebrities often have very different public and private personas, and we rarely get an intimate look into who they really are. We try, certainly—just look at paparazzi and tabloids—but photographer Andrew H. Walker had another idea. While at the Toronto Film Festival, he asked 51 A-listers to share two sides of themselves in front of the camera. One demonstrates how they are in public while the other peers inward towards a side they might not show.

The settings for Walker’s diptych photographs were sparse. They “were given nothing but a bare table with a mark of tape,” which was the dividing line between their two selves. Once they crossed it, they could transform, and each had their own way of interpreting Walker’s request. Some, like Jeffrey Tambor, seemed nearly the same and simply removed (or put on) his glasses. Other actors showed great contrast. They would get up from their seats, turn their back towards the camera, or slump in their chair—all while their other side appeared friendly.

“In a bigger sense, I think the project spoke to actors in general,” Walker told Daily Mail. “For them it's a constant struggle to figure out how they live their life outwardly and inwardly at the same time—and how they rectify those two places.”

We’ll never know which persona represents the public and private side of a celebrity. Walker didn’t tell them which side of the photograph was which—we’re instead left with the mystery. It forces us to reconcile that despite the revealing portrait, the actor will always remain unknown to us.

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Anne Hathaway
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Jeffrey Tambor
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

John Legend
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Parker Posey
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Rachel Weisz
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Richard Gere
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Rami Malek
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Lupita Nyong'o
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Oscar Issac
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Jeremy Renner
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Pharell
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Jane Lynch
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Elisabeth Moss
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Sigourney Weaver
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Miles Teller
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Andrew H. Walker celebrity personas

Ewan McGregor
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Taraji P. HensonPhoto credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Taraji P. Henson
Photo credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Here's a behind-the-scenes look into Walker's project:

Andrew H. Walker: Website | Twitter

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Krystina Puleo.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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