Richie Talboy shoots the kind of images that don’t obey reality — surreal, cinematic, a little chaotic. Just look at his recent shoots: Amanda Seyfried for British GQ, Role Model for VMan, Emily Ratajkowski for NY Mag. Two years ago he moved to LA, which dredged up a buried memory: at fifteen he’d come there for a talent competition, chasing teen TV stardom, before he dropped it for a camera. Lately he’s been living in the version where he’s turning automatic sketches into photographs and automatic writing into a novella and inventing a character along the way: himself. Here he gets into his alter ego and the life that brought it back.

Three places you’ve felt inspired by.

Idaho of course, Los Angeles, and Burbank. There's this strip club in Chicago with a lit dancefloor that feels like such a movie set.

What can't you stop thinking about?

A lot of my latest work has been dealing with fame, specifically how much shame and embarrassment one has to go through to achieve it. I think there’s a lot of tension between public humiliation and public admiration, and a clear pipeline between the two. The road to fame is littered with embarrassment at every turn. Public humiliation is kind of the only path into it – degrading oneself for the entertainment of others until ultimately they remember and recognize you and give you a chance to create something that lasts. You have to be annoying. Cringe.

Who is your forever inspo?

Miles Aldridge

What’s an item you can’t live without?

My sketchbook.

Write us a fortune cookie message.

Be cringe. Be free.

Follow Richie on Instagram and Cosmos.