Celeb photog's seen it all

Tom Hanks

 

By Madeleine Marr1/17/2011

Greg Gorman isn't star struck. He couldn't be, after more than 40 years photographing celebrities for publicity stills, magazine features and movie posters. You name an A-lister, he's done 'em. In 1968, Gorman borrowed a friend's camera to photograph a Jimi Hendrix concert in his hometown of Kansas City and was hooked.

He started making bold-faced contacts in the 1970s while doing head shots for actors. "I got to spend the day doing something I really enjoyed and still putting a few dollars in my pocket." See a retrospective of his favorite shoots starting Wednes- day through March 18 at the Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach.

Gorman discussed some of his subjects.

Robert De Niro: "He was great to photograph, a really nice guy, but I think Bob is more comfortable having a low profile. He's not a schmoozer."

Leonardo DiCaprio: "He's so relaxed in front of a camera, just a really focused person by nature. And he has a great sense of humor. People who are humor-impaired aren't very interesting."

Keanu Reeves: "I asked, ‘What do you want to do?' He said, ‘I'd really like to ride my motorcycle.' So we drove like an hour up to the Hollywood Hills . . . he starts changing his clothes [with no underwear] and kept saying, ‘Shoot it, shoot it!' It was kind of wild, but really fun, spontaneous and loose."

Meryl Streep: "A class act. There's a cool picture of her in the exhibit. Her with her eyes closed, with her hands underneath her chin. It's a big head shot. I like to get very in close, to get in their psy- che." Johnny Depp: "He's dynamite, with a wicked sense of humor. We both share an extreme passion for wine."