“I was told that it’s the dressing room that Marlon Brando was in for A Streetcar Named Desire. It has hundreds of layers of paint from every performer that has had or shared that room, and so it holds within it a deep, rich history that I am honored to be a part of and to add to, even if it’s temporary,” Gyllenhaal tells AD. The BAFTA winner has a soft spot for design, evidenced by his role as an ambassador for the luxury Italian porcelain purveyor Ginori 1735, so, naturally, he was inclined toward an elevated approach for the short-term dwelling.
To make the most of his time in such hallowed quarters, Gyllenhaal brought in designers Ruby Kean and Lisa Jones of Atelier LK, a firm operating out of New York and London. Kean says the trio agreed upon a vision for the room that was “narrative-driven, but also something that would be very comfortable for him that he could really retreat into,” given the demanding, high-pressure environment of a Broadway production. Another consensus was highlighting local creatives with their decorative choices. Gyllenhaal’s “love for artisan craftsmanship, as well as emerging designers in New York, was quite a key thing for Ruby and I to explore,” Jones says.
A handmade chess set by NYC-based designer Minjae Kim serves as a stylish callout to the calculated gameplay characteristic of Iago, whose plotline is defined by his meticulous orchestration of Othello’s downfall. Pulled up to the board are a pair of chairs also by Kim—one light, one dark—that echo the aesthetic of the chessboard itself while aligning with the themes of racial dichotomy underpinning the tale.