Two world premieres at the Venice Film Festival in one night? Easy enough for Oscar-nominated actor Kodi Smit-McPhee who had perhaps the busiest night at Palazzo del Cinema on Thursday night — aside from maybe a teary Angelina Jolie or her security guards — thanks to back-to-back screenings of his new projects.
The actor, who broke out with an Oscar-nominated turn in Jane Campion’s Western drama The Power of the Dog, turned up at Sala Grande in a glitzy black ensemble by Versace from the house’s 2024 ready-to-wear collection. The look, styled by Emma Kalfus, featured black skinny pants, an embellished jacket and movie star shades. He paired the look with a silver chain and shiny patent leather boots.
Kodi Smit-McPhee in Versace.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Smit-McPhee turned plenty of heads on the red carpet where he first appeared in support of a role opposite Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline and Sacha Baron-Cohen in Alfonso Cuáron’s Apple TV+ limited series Disclaimer. McPhee stars as the son of Blanchett and Baron-Cohen’s characters in the story of an acclaimed journalist (Blanchett) who finds out she is the inspiration for a novel that threatens to reveal her secrets.
Then in short order, he was back to face the crush of photographers for the world premiere of Maria, the biopic from Pablo Larraín starring Angelina Jolie as the iconic opera diva Maria Callas. He stars as Mandrax, an arts journalist who may or may not be a figment of Callas’ mind.
Louis Partridge, Jung Hoyeon, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kevin Kline, Cate Blanchett, Alfonso Cuarón, Leila George and Kodi Smit-McPhee at a cocktail reception at the Hotel Excelsior.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Pierfrancesco Favino, Pablo Larraín, Angelina Jolie, Alba Rohrwacher and Kodi Smit-McPhee at the Maria premiere.
Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
After turning heads for his well-received ensembles during the awards season run for The Power of the Dog, McPhee talked to The Hollywood Reporter about his style strategy and inspirations.
“I’m completely in love with surrealism, the avant-garde, the abstract. I have been ever since I could walk and talk, maybe even before. I’ve had such vivid memories of dreams throughout my life and have been very conscious in the dream state and the kind of abstract world that it is; it’s quite psychedelic,” he said at the time. ” It’s made me a very curious person, and it’s made me study various forms of art, spirituality and philosophy. I feel like I want to resemble that within who I am, and I want to represent that — but mainly with imagery, through symbolism. And fashion is that: something that doesn’t have to be defined. I have to be completely aware of my brand and how I represent myself as Kodi Smit-McPhee the actor and how the world sees me.”