After leaving “Skins,” Nicholas Hoult was cast in designer Tom Ford’s debut, “A Single Man.” He was cast two weeks before shooting, after another actor left, according to an interview with Tribeca Film. “I came out, I met Tom, I had dinner, and then it was like, get a visa, get spray-tanned, cut my hair, work on the American accent: shoot! Go!” he recalled.
Hoult plays a college student who catches the eye of a closeted, gay, grieving professor (Colin Firth). His work on the film impressed its director, who told The Guardian that the star even insisted on working while injured. “Nick performs in a way that seems effortless, subtle and honest. He has a maturity and depth that are remarkable,” Ford said. Befitting of a film directed by a fashion designer, Hoult told Vulture that the pink sweater he wears in much of the film required constant maintenance on set. “It definitely had a life of its own,” he said. “It got a lot more attention than me, most of the time, whereby it would frizz up under the hot lights and need to be hair-sprayed down.”
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Thanks to his role in the film, Hoult was nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award. He remained humble about the nod, telling BBC Newsbeat (via DigitalSpy), “It was a big surprise …. I don’t really feel as though I’m in a position to be nominated for it particularly… It feels fantastic.”
