EVA SERENY SHARES THE STORIES BEHIND SOME OF HER MOST FAMOUS PORTRAITS
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Brando, Eastwood, Redford and more are captured at their peak in Eva Sereny’s new book.
On assignment for such magazines as Paris Match and Harper’s Bazaar, Eva Sereny often photographed the world’s most recognizable actors, and she always tried to find the humanity behind their public images. “It was an exciting experience discovering what makes the celebrity special apart from what they’re known for,” Sereny tells Closer. Now many of her greatest shots have been collected in a book, Through Her Lens: The Stories Behind the Photography of Eva Sereny. “I always try to create a friendly atmosphere between the person I’m photographing and myself,” says Sereny. “That helps me understand more about their personality and brings out the real person in front of me. That’s what I want to see through my lens.”
Sereny shot Sigourney Weaver in Paris just as her career was skyrocketing thanks to 1979’s Alien. “I thought the Centre Pompidou would make an interesting background, considering the modern architecture,” Sereny explains.Marlon Brando (on the set of 1972’s Last Tango in Paris) initially told Sereny that he didn’t like photographers, but ultimately, “I was able to gain his trust in me and my work,” she remembers. “What a great feeling!”
Clint Eastwood invited Sereny to Carmel-bythe-Sea, Calif., “so he could show me around the new beachfront property he’d just purchased,” she recalls. “Years later, he’d serve as mayor of the city!” Sereny says Clint was as proud of the site as she is of this photo: “It’s very natural.”“He’s a very intelligent guy — very down-to-earth,” raves Sereny of Robert Redford, whom she photographed on the U.K. set of 1974’s The Great Gatsby. “He’s such a natural actor. There is no method acting in his performance.”