Last night, Matt Bomer pulled up to the Academy Museum in LA for the premiere of Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s buzzy Leonard Bernstein biopic, in a suave, throwback ensemble: a dashing glen plaid sport coat over a trim black turtleneck. The look felt like a nod to the film’s decade-hopping story as well as the actor’s other recent decade-hopping project—the epic Showtime series Fellow Travelers.
In head-to-toe Tom Ford styled by Warren Alfie Baker, Bomer was the picture of New Hollywood elegance, rocking a jacket with big swaggering lapels and slightly flared trousers, à la Three Days of the Condor-era Redford. The pattern of his jacket, meanwhile, conjured the mod movement of Swinging London. And the icing on the cake? A perfectly heeled boot that lent the fit just a touch of rakish rock ‘n’ roll swagger.
“I always love Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Sidney Poitier for a great ’70s reference,” Baker told GQ via text. “Throw in George Best for some flair!”
At 46, Bomer is having one of the best years of his career. Since its debut in October, Fellow Travelers has gained universal acclaim for its powerful dramatization of the fight for gay liberation in the second half of the 20th century as well as its unapologetically erotic sex scenes between Bomer and co-star Jonathan Bailey. The series has since been named one of the best TV shows of the year by The New Yorker and The Washington Post.
Just last week, Bomer—who both starred in and executive produced Fellow Travelers—picked up Critics’ Choice Awards nominations for Best Limited Series and Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television. On Monday, he also received twin nods from the Golden Globes, nabbing nominations for Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television and Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television.
Bomer has, of course, been a star since the early 2010s, when he broke through with the hit TV show White Collar, and he’s had subsequent success in film and theater. But the triumph of Fellow Travelers represents a new milestone for a star who has always been honest and proud about who he is.
“I choose just to never look back in anger about anything,” Bomer said, in his recent GQ Hype cover story, about projects that he might’ve missed out early in his career because of his sexuality. “Ultimately, my career is a lot richer because I decided to be open with who I am.”
An afternoon in the West Village with the stars of this year’s horniest historical epic as they talk divas, dreams, Catholic guilt and gay liberation.
