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Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere Trade Questions on Books, Clowns, Leather Pants and Bad Teenage Fashion

Vogue · ▶ 13:15 · 11 min read
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Overview

In this installment of Vogue's "Off the Cuff," Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere, the magazine's September cover stars and co-stars in The Shards, interview each other across five rounds: icebreakers, personal questions, career, style, and a lightning round. The format is playful and loose, but it covers how each of them came to acting, how they see their characters in the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, and several of their more embarrassing fashion moments.

11 min read

Icebreakers: Songs, Trivia and Press-Tour Chaos

The opening question was the last song each had listened to. One of them had checked just before filming and admitted they had hoped it would be "Horse Girl," but it turned out to be a track by Metric (transcribed as "Six Sexy"). The other said they were shocked it wasn't "Horse Girl."

On who would win a trivia competition, the two insisted the other would. Kaia pointed to Homer's college education at an Ivy League school, noting that she herself did not go to college. Homer countered that Kaia only left high school because she had finished every class available there, which Kaia confirmed: the school "did run out of classes" for her. Homer added that Kaia is very well-read and could "destroy" him in literature. Homer also mentioned that a particular book, apparently the novel behind their show, was probably the first fiction he had read in quite some time, since college.

Asked about the most chaotic thing that had happened on a shoot or on tour, neither had been on tour, and Homer noted this was his first project and first press tour. They concluded that the most chaotic press-tour moment might be the one they were living through at that moment.

Canceling Plans

For the go-to excuse when canceling plans, one of them said they usually claim to have accidentally double-booked, which they described as not entirely a lie because the second booking is with themselves, not wanting to go. The other observed they are busy enough to pull that off. The other initially said they would have to go with something like being sick, but was corrected: according to their co-star, they don't make up excuses at all and simply text, "Actually, I don't feel like it anymore," an approach the co-star said they respect and love. One of them added that they found this inspiring because they are always coming up with elaborate lies.

Getting Personal: Music, Humor and Lighting

Asked what he would tell his 16-year-old self, Homer said that playing a musical instrument is really cool, and he should have "just suck[ed] it up and do the time." Kaia assumed he played guitar. He said he only seems like he does. He had played drums in jazz band until seventh grade, and Kaia noted he had also been the lead vocalist in a band, "front man through and through." Homer joked that he had, in fact, been "on tour."

Kaia said the most common wrong assumption about her is that she has no sense of humor, particularly about herself. She said she doesn't lead with it, and her dryness can read as having no personality. Homer disagreed, saying she shares some of the most "off-the-wall" memes. As someone who is off Instagram, he said the bits of internet culture he gets through Kaia are "out of control." He also revealed that she has a secret meme account, which she confirmed.

The hill one of them would die on was overhead lighting. They said they will leave any room lit from above and want lamps, side lighting, and "small pools of light." They credited their mother for that taste and argued that anyone who disagrees hasn't experienced it the right way. The other promptly pointed to the lighting on set, and the request followed: "Dim the lights, please."

Clowns, Latex Suits and Other Fears

The most irrational fear raised was clowns. The person who named it said they "lived my nightmare" at the Upfronts, where they were taken to the stage in an elevator holding 16 clowns who were there for American Horror Story. They said they had a panic attack and tried to hide it, but "it was really not okay." The other said they found the clowns less frightening than the 16 men in latex suits, described that as a normal day, and said they had worn that latex suit themselves and loved it. They added that these weren't ordinary clowns but ones with sharp teeth. The clown-fearing one maintained that all clowns are scary. Other fears offered were "being perceived" and nuclear war. The second drew the response that it was actually very rational.

Career: Alternate Paths and Bad Advice

If one of them had to change careers for a year, they said they would want to build furniture, as a designer or carpenter. They had also recently had a "pipe dream" of going to massage school as soon as The Shards wrapped, which they said was still possible through part-time programs. Their co-star called them "so strange." The other said they would be a librarian but basically already live like one.

The worst professional advice discussed came from acting classes: don't do anything unless your scene partner makes you. The speaker said this isn't always helpful in film or TV. Sometimes a scene partner is "a little sleepy" and doesn't give much, which is fine, but you still have to watch your own back. The two then complimented each other as generous scene partners.

Homer said he was told throughout his childhood that he would of course become an actor, but he answered that he was playing baseball. That changed when a close friend was casting a short film at Brown and he auditioned. It was the first job where even a 14- to 16-hour day didn't feel like work, which he took as "a pretty good sign."

Asked whether modeling or acting comes first, Kaia cited Meg Stalter, who said she was stepping away from acting for music unless someone sent a self-tape request, a script, or a job offer, in which case she would be acting again. Kaia said her own approach is the same. When no acting work is coming in, modeling comes first. As soon as a self-tape request, meeting, or role arrives, acting takes priority. Homer called her an opportunist, and she agreed: "Absolutely."

The Shards and Their Characters

Asked for three words to describe The Shards, they offered "scary, sexy, fun," along with joking extras like "Ryan Murphy Productions" and "Brown University," which were quickly flagged as more than three words.

Kaia said she and her character, Susan, are more alike than she would like to admit. In high school she was very aware of how temporary that period is and always thought about being an adult. She sees Susan the same way: already acting like an adult and very maternal, which Kaia said she was toward everyone on set. She added that Susan "makes googly eyes at Robert, and so do I." Homer said he had sensed the match from the start, but what clinched it was seeing Kaia's handwriting and how she takes notes, which were exactly what he had imagined for Susan in the book.

On differences, the answer centered on leather pants: Homer doesn't own any, yet wore them for six months straight on the show. He said the decision was made about two days before shooting and that he developed something like Stockholm Syndrome toward them. Kaia said they fit him very well and he could still move in them.

For favorite Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, they settled on American Psycho as a classic. One had rewatched it about two weeks earlier and called it "unbelievable," praising Christian Bale's performance as unsurpassed. They then allowed that the top spot might go to The Shards, admitting their bias because "we're winning."

Style Round: Guessing the Photos

In the photo segment, Homer recognized a picture of himself in a hat in Euphoria on the Friends couch. He said he didn't know whether it was the real couch or a replica, and that he shot on the Warner Bros. lot playing the Warner Bros. lot, which he found very cool. Kaia recalled him saying "This is Hollywood." Homer clarified that he had actually said, "This is Sam Levinson," and Levinson replied, "Babe, this is Hollywood."

Kaia identified her Little Edie Halloween costume from Grey Gardens. Homer said he knew Grey Gardens mainly through Documentary Now!, the Bill Hader and Fred Armisen parody, and Kaia said that version was exactly her inspiration. She did the costume with their friend Graham Campbell, who went as Brad Pitt.

Another Euphoria photo showed Homer at a fake movie premiere, where he got to be "a rock star" for about an hour and a half while a staged crowd screamed his character's name. Kaia asked whether, now that he has walked real carpets, doing one in character was easier than doing one as himself. He said "100%," because he was playing a character, specifically "the most famous actor in the world."

The final photo showed Kaia in what she feared was "a skirt that I wore once." She confirmed it was a Topshop skirt worn with a hat at the opening of Dylan's Candy Bar in Los Angeles, when she was probably 13 or 14. Homer said he had a birthday party at Dylan's Candy Bar in first grade.

Style Influences, Eras and Regrets

For someone whose style they admire, they named castmate and friend Jordan Roth, less for his red carpets than for what he wears to set, which one of them contrasted with their own "sloppy" arrivals. Homer also named his mother, who grew up in Colorado and is a ceramicist he described as "very artsy crunchy." He said he would wear the male version of what she wears.

Kaia said the costumes in The Shards made her long for the 1980s, specifically 1981, and that she has started dressing a bit more like her character. She credited costume designers Lou and Josh with pulling real vintage from the period, which she called beautiful and chic. She said she clearly did not dress that way in high school, as the Dylan's Candy Bar photo had just shown.

The trend one of them said they would never wear was loafers. They didn't want to say "never," but they "don't get" them. If they are not wearing sneakers, they said, they are not ready to run and deal with whatever life brings. The trend one of them quietly participated in and would now deny was Vineyard Vines. Around ages 14 and 15, after moving to a high school where everyone wore the preppy whale-logo long sleeves and shirts, they said they needed to fit in, and some friends still haven't forgotten. The other hadn't heard of the brand, which prompted the question of whether it was "that much of an East Coast thing." The other suggested bringing it back ironically, adding, "I want you to have a good time."

Lightning Round

The rapid-fire answers included:

  • Spontaneous over pre-planned trips
  • Vintage over new season
  • "Early riser optimistically, night owl realistically"
  • Both LA and New York
  • Answering every message "dutifully" rather than muting or leaving chats on read
  • Red carpet over paparazzi photos, though ideally neither
  • Texts over camera roll being made public. The question was changed from DMs after Homer noted he doesn't have social media.
  • Book before movie
  • Subway over Uber, "obviously"
  • Front row over backstage

The final prompt, "Yes or no?", drew an "Ew" and the observation that "no" is apparently one of their favorite words. The session ended with Homer introducing himself one last time as "the most famous actor in the world" and a joking goodbye: "Homer, right?"

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