HTSI editor’s letter: Ebon Moss-Bachrach is this year’s big Thing

I love Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Mostly because I get the impression that, unlike so many other actors, he doesn’t much love us back. Or at least he doesn’t need our validation. He specialises in a type of character – most famously Desi in Girls, or as The Bear’s Cousin Richie – that is almost irredeemably awful on first introduction: loud, obnoxious, callous and self-obsessed. Having determined to make us hate them, Moss-Bachrach then delivers a perfectly calibrated performance that exposes his character’s frailties in a far more sympathetic light. 

At first I found his kinetic and exhausting turn in the multi-Emmy-winning kitchen drama unwatchable. Through the following seasons, however, Richie has emerged as one of the show’s most complicated characters and the locus of its bruised, battered but ever-beating heart. As we await a new series, I slightly dread the circumstances in which we might now find him. He’s always two steps from redemption and one towards another fall. Yet despite his epic flaws and failures, he’s the character we’re most rooting for.

It was inevitable that Moss-Bachrach would find his way to Marvel – he’s the perfect anti-hero – and July will see him make his debut as The Thing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In his exaggerated superhero mantle he’s totally unrecognisable, which is how he likes it, he tells Rebecca Nicholson. But no amount of CGI can mask that exquisite voice.

Richie has emerged as The Bear’s battered but ever-beating heart

This week sees Dior arriving in Rome for its cruise show, and the opportunity for the creative director of its womenswear collections to unveil a totally new project: a working theatre in her native home. Maria Grazia Chiuri purchased the Teatro della Cometa in 2020 when the building was falling into disrepair. Founded in the postwar years by the Italian arts patron Countess Anna Laetitia Pecci-Blunt (known as Mimì), the 233-seat theatre was once a thriving hub. Together with her daughter Rachele Regini, Chiuri has worked for four years to restore it and will relaunch the Teatro with an ambitious programme that will champion original work. Chiuri’s passion for dance has always been entwined with her collections, so it’s no surprise that this will play a central role in her newly sprung stage. As a modern patron working across so many disciplines, she is also cultivating the wider artistic legacy so well exemplified by Christian Dior himself.

More art, at Goodwood, which opens its new foundation on Charles Gordon-Lennox’s 11,000-acre estate. It is best known for its historic motor races (and dog show), but this latest development sees the Duke of Richmond and Gordon’s family estate extend its influence to the field of contemporary art. The inaugural exhibition will star Rachel Whiteread, and is set in a newly Dan Pearson-landscaped sculpture park. The main house is already in possession of some major Stubbs and Canalettos; this new chapter hopes to draw on those inspirations to create new synergies with the creative world.

Do you struggle with couscous? Done well, it’s one of my favourite meals. Cooked badly, as I somehow always manage, it’s claggy, cold and grim. I hope therefore that Laila Gohar’s instructions in this week’s How To Host It column will enable me to master this tricky ingredient. Look to her Moroccan-flavoured party too for more ideas to inspire your dinner plate. But if that sounds too complicated, may I suggest a BuzzBallz – it’s Gen Z’s favourite pre-party tipple, perfect for necking before a night out on the town. Alice Lascelles gets the lowdown, reporting direct from your local corner store. 

@jellison22

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