Something's Gotta Give
Dinokeng, South Africa - 2025

This is Thor - the lion that I am most wary
of in the world. He is a rare white lion
who lives under the loving care of Kevin
Richardson (The Lion Whisperer) in his
sanctuary in South Africa. I have known
Thor for 10 years, but neither his age nor
familiarity have led to a mellowing of his
behaviour; he would kill me in 10 seconds
given half a chance.
I am always in a cage when filming Thor
and more recently a cage within a further
cage. We made this extra defence as last
year he tried to dig under the cage to get
to me. It’s not a comfortable experience.
There is a calm countenance to this
preconceived portrait that is at odds with
his basic instincts and the reality of the
situation.
It does not take top percentile visual
sensibility to recognise the splendour of
white lions and my goal on this set was
to celebrate every detail of his face. In
this kind of light, there is every chance,
provided Kevin, with his unique ability,
can facilitate the engagement.
I loved the film Something’s Gotta Give
and it’s not a bad title for this portrait.
I often think of that beach house in the
Hamptons and its emblematic cocktail
of whites and creams. I think Thor would
have fitted into those interiors seamlessly
from a visual perspective but may have
impacted the calm serenity of that
rarified stretch of Long Island.