Luther Ford’s start in this industry began with a teasing dare from his relatives.

The Londoner was already an admirer of the craft. He was studying film editing at a university in Bournemouth, on the U.K.’s south coast, but had never dreamed of being in front of the camera. Until four years ago, when a small Netflix series called The Crown — you might have heard of it — launched a country-wide casting call for the role of an adolescent Prince Harry.

“I did [it] as a joke,” Ford says through giggles to The Hollywood Reporter. “My brother’s wife sent it to me like, ‘You’re ginger. Get out there.’ And then I got the part.” Three weeks after that self-mocking self-tape, a Mercedes-Benz was waiting outside one of Bournemouth’s student accommodation blocks. Ford, with nothing but a well-timed resemblance to the redheaded royal, was due on set.

“The Crown was scary,” the 26-year-old recalls. “That’s a hard place to start because you’re literally learning while you’re doing it. It was so visible.” And yet, without any formal acting training, Ford’s taken that high-exposure Netflix credit and run with it. He secured an agent and landed supporting roles in 2024’s Keira Knightley-starring spy thriller Black Doves and last year’s historical miniseries King & Conqueror. And now, the young actor has pulled off a feat that will almost certainly render his university peers speechless: Ford is making his feature film debut in Ira Sachs’ heartrending, musical drama The Man I Love. “This film definitely feels like the first time I understood the creativity of acting,” he ponders. “[And] it’s definitely the pinnacle of being in a film, for me. There’s nothing more I would like to be a part of than a film like this.”

To have reached one’s career pinnacle within just five projects is, the newcomer concedes, a real blessing. It began with an audition that Ford nearly passed on — his impressive run of form has come with plenty of rejections, too — and a Sachs movie, he felt, was bound to be a real dogfight. Soon, Ford was face-to-face with the American filmmaker, a recent rewatch of Passages in his back pocket. “We spoke for two hours,” he says. “Talking about films, my local cinemas. And then [Sachs] was like, ‘What do you think about the film?’ We had a nice conversation about that. Halfway through, he was just like, very casually, ‘So, yeah, I’d love you to do it.’ He’s never seen anything I’ve done to this day.”

The Man I Love stars Ford as Vincent, a young British bachelor who’s moved into the same building as the popular, charismatic performer Jimmy George (Rami Malek) and his partner, the stoic, elusive Dennis (Tom Sturridge). Backdropped by New York’s ’80s AIDS crisis, the film sees Ford’s character develop a painstaking infatuation with Jimmy, despite the latter’s declining health. Sachs, in fine form, comes to the Croisette with a feature that asks his audience to peer into the space between life and death, and contemplate the sanctity of art in doing so.

Ford, in his first interview about the film, is still formulating his thoughts on it. “For Vincent, it isn’t a coming out story. He’s not someone who’s discovering that he’s gay, but he is discovering love — his version of love — which I think is really interestingly contrasted with Dennis’ version,” he says. “We always talked about him like he would have been from the suburbs of London. Maybe he’s never really left home, and is coming to New York for experience. He finds this person who maybe represents something so different, which is so exciting to him … It becomes this obsession where it’s almost like he wants to consume [Jimmy], and prove to him that his love is bigger than the stakes of death.”

The shoot took place last summer on location, Ford awed by colleagues Malek, Sturridge, Rebecca Hall and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. “That is kind of my favorite thing about the film,” he tells THR. “My first thought watching it was like, ‘Fuck, [Malek]’s really so good.’ Everyone is really good.”

Admittedly, Ford himself was a little shy among such seasoned players. His closest relationship was with Sachs, and securing the director’s trust was a buoying experience. Thus far, even with a Cannes photocall next to Rami Malek and Ira Sachs imminent, Ford has taken a lot of comfort from his unconventional showbiz start. “Being naive is really quite good, because you actually don’t understand how hard the industry is,” he says. “At times, you need to be fairly guarded and cynical to enjoy it. It’s very hard to feel a sense of security until you’re extremely successful,” he adds with a smile. “It’s such a psychological job.”

One thing’s for sure: This is absolutely his job now. He’s got a TV show in the works that he can’t talk about yet, but that’s a conversation for another time — here, in Cannes, Luther Ford has already peaked. “It looks deeply glamorous. It looks chaotic,” the Gen Z star says about what to expect from his first major film festival. And then, suddenly, all royal etiquette goes out the window: “I’ve been looking at pictures of the [Louis Lumière Auditorium]. It’s fucking huge!”

EXCLUSIVE: New York Asian Film Festival is celebrating its 25th edition with the North American premiere of Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony as its opening night film. 

Yeon’s zombie thriller, which is receiving its world premiere here in Cannes’ Midnight Screenings section, stars Gianna Jun (My Sassy Girl) as a biotechnology professor attending a conference where a terrifying virus breaks out. Korean studio Showbox has already sold the film to more than 120 territories, including Well Go USA for North America. 

In addition to screening Colony at NYAFF, Yeon will also present a new 4K restoration of Train To Busan, one of his first films to reinvent the zombie genre, in celebration of the film’s 10th anniversary. 

Well Go USA is releasing both films theatrically later this summer, beginning with the 4K re-release of Train To Busan on August 14, before Colony arrives in theaters on August 28.

NYAFF is taking place July 10-26, 2026, at the Lincoln Center, SVA Theatre, Look Cinemas and Korean Cultural Center New York. 

“Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony introduces a new physical grammar for the zombies, formally revolutionary and viscerally tense, and unlike anything else in the genre right now,” said NYAFF President Samuel Jamier.

“Opening NYAFF’s 25th edition alongside a 10th-anniversary 4K restoration of Train To Busan, both courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment, this event marks the most contagious moment for Korean genre cinema in New York since Train To Busan first arrived a decade ago.”

Doris Pfardrescher, President and CEO of Well Go USA Entertainment, said: “As NYAFF celebrates its 25th anniversary, there’s no more fitting way to honor the festival’s legacy than by showcasing one of the defining filmmakers in modern genre cinema.

“We’re thrilled to have the North American premiere of Colony alongside a special 4K revival of Train To Busan, a landmark work that forever changed the zombie genre. For 25 years, NYAFF has championed bold, visionary Asian cinema, and these two films represent exactly the kind of unforgettable theatrical experiences the festival was built to celebrate.”

Presented by the New York Asian Film Foundation in collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center since 2010, NYAFF has evolved into North America’s leading festival dedicated to Asian film culture. Starting out as a genre-focused festival, championing the early works of then-rising filmmakers such as Johnnie To and Bong Joon Ho, it has grown into the largest Asian cinema showcase in North America, with more than 20,000 attendees.

In recent years, the festival has also screened the work of internationally acclaimed contemporary auteurs, as well as introducing emerging filmmakers from developing countries and underrepresented regions across Asia. 

Last year’s edition featured eight world premieres, more than 75 North American premieres, and 17 filmmakers making their directorial debuts. Guests at the 24th edition included Tadanobu Asano, Heo Sung-tae, Ekin Cheng, Lisa Lu, and rising star Natalie Hsu, with more than 30 filmmakers participating in post-screening discussions throughout the festival.

The festival’s Uncaged Competition – which highlights visionary filmmakers challenging cinematic conventions – last year handed its top award for Best Feature Film to Family Matters, from Taiwanese filmmaker Pan Ke-Yin.

The Way We Talk, from Hong Kong’s Adam Wong, won the Audience Award, while Skin Of Youth, from Vietnam’s Ash Mayfair, received the Special Jury Award.

NYAFF will announce the full line-up for the 2026 edition, including special guests, anniversary screenings and restorations, in coming weeks.