Skyler Gisondo on His Style Evolution, Landing His First Fashion Campaign With Bonobos and Playing Ariana Grande’s Fiancé in ‘Focker-in-Law’

A lot of great things have been happening to Skyler Gisondo lately.

The actor, who has been at it since he was 6 years old, just scored his first major nomination with a Gotham Awards nod for his work opposite Robert Pattinson in Lance Oppenheim‘s Primetime for A24. He just wrapped a role reprising his work as Jimmy Olsen in the sequel Man of Tomorrow; is in production on The People vs. Gorilla Grodd, a spinoff featuring that same Superman character; and next hits the big screen in a matter of weeks in Focker-in-Law opposite Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller and Ariana Grande.

When The Hollywood Reporter caught up with him on Friday, he was fresh from another great thing that happened last week when he was honored with a Breaking Big honor from the SCAD Savannah Film Festival in Georgia. But wait, there’s more: Gisondo also landed his first fashion campaign with Bonobos by starring in the popular brand’s new holiday campaign, “Dashing Through the Holidays.” The video portion of the campaign puts Gisondo’s comedic timing to work as he plays through a variety of holiday-themed scenarios that don’t go exactly as planned.

From the back of car cruising through the streets of New York, Gisondo talks about landing the Bonobos campaign, how the clothes fit his personal style, what it was like to reunite with his Night at the Museum dad Stiller on Focker-in-Law and how Primetime changed his life.

Congratulations on your first fashion campaign. That must feel pretty good.

It feels cool. It’s awesome — a real pinch-me moment. Growing up, I saw actors I liked doing campaigns and wearing the clothes, and then getting to do that myself was really fun. I think they did a great job with the creative. It felt like me; the scenes felt like they were in my voice. I also got to steal a bunch of clothes afterward, which was a big plus.

What was your relationship with Bonobos before the campaign?

I knew the brand because I liked it. I already had Bonobos stuff. I just turned 30, and I feel like I’ve only recently started figuring out my style — what I like and what feels like me. You spend your 20s trying on a lot of different hats, and then you look back and think, “Man, what was I thinking?” Bonobos feels comfortable to me. The pieces in this campaign feel timeless and classic. The point of clothes, for me, is to look how you feel — to feel like people are perceiving you the way you perceive yourself. I felt like myself in these clothes.

I did some real investigative reporting by searching Getty Images to look at all the public appearances you’ve made over the years …

Oh no.

No! It was great. You seem to have long gravitated toward classic looks. How do you describe your personal style and the evolution over the years?

I’ve always gravitated toward simpler, more classic things. I’d look at guys like Harrison Ford in the ’90s, Paul Newman or Robert Redford and think, “That’s what I like.” But it’s one thing to develop your taste and another to execute it. For the past couple of years, I’ve been working with Evan Simonitsch, who’s become a friend. We’re really aligned. It’s a balance of wanting timeless clothes and getting the confidence to try things. When I look at the [Bonobos] campaign photos, I think, “That’s how I’ve always wanted to look.” There’s no substitute for time and getting there on your own time.

There was one photo on there from your SCAD trip and you’re wearing this vintage tee and cool glasses, and I wish I could pull off something like that.

Oh, thanks man. I appreciate that because I wasn’t getting dressed for an event. I’d just flown in and wasn’t planning on doing anything but Lance texted me. I really like vintage. So much of the joy of clothing is the stories it can hold — wearing a workwear jacket from the ’60s and wondering who wore it before you, what was happening and where they were in their life. I found a jacket at a vintage place in Atlanta. Mothfood is another great vintage place; [Tommy Dorr] has shops in L.A. and New York. Over the last few years, I’ve found myself going further toward vintage because so much of it fits right, hits right, sits well and lasts. That’s also what attracted me to this campaign: Some of the outerwear felt classically vintage.

The campaign puts you in a series of very fun, sometimes awkward holiday scenarios. How did those come together?

It was very collaborative. I liked the idea because it felt close to home and very much in my voice. These are scenarios and feelings I’ve experienced — navigating those awkward little holiday-family moments. They were open to input, and it was fun. We had a blast; the day flew by.

There’s one scene that finds you approaching the door to meet in-laws, and it reminded me, obviously, of Focker-in-Law, your new movie that comes out in a few weeks. I caught an early screening of it, and you’re so great in it, such a funny movie. What was it like to reunite with Ben Stiller?

It was really great. The first time we worked together, on Night at the Museum 3, I was 17. It was an incredibly formative experience — my first time being a bigger part of a big movie. We filmed in London, New York and Vancouver over several months. Ben was already a hero of mine, and he took me under his wing. Here we were, 12 years later, reuniting on Focker-in-Law. We already had a connection and warmth, which I think helped the movie. I’d see Ben doing things before takes and realize they were things I’d picked up from him more than a decade earlier. It was fun to do it again, a little older, with a different kind of father-son relationship. I’m happy we got the chance to do it again.

I know you’re going to be asked this a million times in the coming weeks because so many of your scenes are with Ariana Grande, but what was it like to work with Ari?

Ari is unbelievable. I’ve grown up watching her become one of the most famous and talented performers in the world. She has an operatic vocal range, she’s an incredible performer and dancer, and she’s effortlessly funny and charming in this movie. One day on set, after she played some of her unreleased music, I told her, “Nobody should be able to do this.” She works so hard and cares so much about what she’s doing, and she’s such a perfectionist. She’s also wonderful, kind to everybody and collaborative.

There was many times when we were working on a scene and I would sort of defer to her, and she’d say, “No, no, whatever you want.” I’d be like, “You’re Ariana Grande, whatever you want.” She’s terrific in the movie, and I’m really happy for people to see her in this way.

I happened to be at the Venice Film Festival for the world premiere of Primetime, which you are phenomenal in. Congratulations on the Gotham Awards nomination, by the way. I noticed something that’s been happening ever since that premiere with your co-star Merritt Wever championing your work in that film. Actors love her, she’s basically a legend. What has her support meant to you?

You’re right — she’s a legend and a total actor’s actor. Whenever her name comes up among actors, we’re all in awe of her, which is why it means so much. She has championed me so generously and gone above and beyond at every opportunity. At Venice, the question wasn’t even about me, and she went out of her way to highlight my performance. I almost got emotional. I keep texting her, “I love you so much,” whenever I see a mention, and she won’t even accept the gratitude. When I got the Gotham nomination, I told her, “I can’t help but feel like you set this all in motion at Venice.” She said, “You did with your performance.” She’s such a special performer and person, and it was a privilege to share the screen with her. Other than my mom, I don’t think anybody has championed me more in my life. I’m so grateful.

You recently spoke to one of my colleagues, Seija Rankin, and shared a story about getting the gig in Primetime and how excited your agents were at the time as they hoped it would get you in front of more auteurs. But you said, “Let me do the job first, and we’ll go from there,” or something. What are the conversations now? Are projects starting to trickle in yet?

A lot of things are coming in, and I’m reading a lot. The big difference is that I’m getting sent things earlier, which gives me the opportunity to be a bigger part of the creative process. I’m having conversations with filmmakers about the material and the character, and also about the movie as a whole. I really enjoy that. Making a movie is collaborative, and it’s fun to help shape something from earlier in the process.

For so many years as an actor, you don’t have the luxury of being overly selective; you just have to work. You think, “I’ll just show up, I’ll do my part,” and if there’s things that you don’t understand or questions you have, it can be a little bit scary to raise your hand. Now it’s an incredible privilege to read great material and be thoughtful about what comes next. Primetime was the most formative experience of my career. It lit a fire under me, seeing the way that Rob works and Lance works, the way that Rob thinks about acting. What made that the most gratifying experience in my life was how challenging it was and how it was unlike anything else I had done up until that point. What I’m chasing is work that scares me — things that seem challenging, where if production started tomorrow, I wouldn’t know what to do or how to go about it. That’s exciting to me.

Interview edited for length and clarity. The Bonobos campaign is now online.