Rankin & Chris Cottam

Since joining forces in 1999, acclaimed photographer Rankin, 42, and filmmaker Chris Cottam, 35, have produced intriguing, sometimes controversial, ads for big clients...

Since joining forces in 1999, acclaimed photographer Rankin, 42, and filmmaker Chris Cottam, 35, have produced intriguing, sometimes controversial, ads for big clients including, sometimes controversial, ads for big clients including Rimmelm Elle Macpherson and Guinness, plus, a feature film, The Lives of the Saints. Diana Goodman talked to them about dicking around, ovaries, death, beauty, the Queen, Kate Moss and God...

How would you describe each other?
Chris: Rankin is a small boy trapped in a man's body: beautiful, innocent, charming and devious.
Rankin: Chris is one of the funniest people I know; he makes me laugh almost all of the time and he's an incredible partner to have in life (without the sex, though he tells me he's rather good at that as well).

Chris - how much pressure do you feel to be funny?
Chris: I don't really feel any pressure, but my natural instinct is to dick around and I've found that I can actually get my way creatively by making people laugh.

Rankin - why do you not use your full name?
Rankin: Because my second name is Waddell. I mean, would you use it if that was your second name? It makes me sound like a duck and if you looked like me you'd need all of the props you could get!

Describe your childhood.
Chris: My childhood occurred between four and twelve years old. I tried to master magic and music. I seriously found not being a competent close-hand magician really frustrating. I would calm down by playing a kazoo and drumming on a kit made out of trays and washing powder barrels whilst wearing a full clown costume. It was clear I was either going to be a serial killer or do something creative.
Rankin: I loved every minute of my childhood and was cotton-wooled by my parents from the day I was born. Basically, they told me I could achieve anything I would ever aspire to, which gave me an inbuilt belief in myself. It was a nice combination: not making me feel that I had to be something, but at the same time saying, "You could do anything."

Where did you grow up?
Chris: I grew up all around the world. Dad was a radio operator in the Royal Signals and I was born in Germany. Then when I was about two he joined the Foreign Office and we lived in India, Italy and America before moving back to the UK. Mum and Dad were both from the North East and they'd joined the army when they were 15 or 16, so I didn't come from a posh family at all. But I got a music scholarship to a boarding school in Bedford which put me amongst kids from nouveau riche, slightly arrogant families, and that was a bit strange to begin with.
Rankin: I was born in Glasgow, although we moved to St Albans when I was 14. My father was a salesman for an oil company and Mum was a book-keeper and a housewife. They were a typical working class-made-good couple, really; there was no art and no culture in the house and my parents didn't even think I would go to college. But at the same time they made me feel I was really special.

What do you believe a child needs most?
Chris: Encouragement, especially if the child has a talent for something unusual.
Rankin: Love and support. For example, one time Mum and Dad were at a parents' evening at school and the English teacher went down the list and said, "Oh, yes, Rankin . . . lacks imagination." Dad said, "Rankin? Lacks imagination?" And the teacher went, "Yeah, that's right." My dad said, "No, no, he must have imagination because he told us you were the best English teacher he'd ever had."

What sort of education did you have?
Chris: Good. I wish I'd read more, though. I was never told that reading is important because it gives you so many reference points. There's a guy I know - a TV director - who gets through 15 books a week. I've never been dry for ideas but I would like to have that sort of literary knowledge.
Rankin: Fantastic, right up to university, which was crap! The tutors [at the London College of Printing] took themselves far too seriously. They didn't encourage my boundary-pushing attitude, which should kind of be the point when you're studying the arts.

How did you get into advertising?
Chris: I don't really feel like I'm in advertising.
Rankin: I was offered money to do something I would have done for free.

What is the magic of the medium you have chosen?
Chris: There's just something about film that I find totally hypnotic. For me, using images, music and dialogue to create make-believe is far more alluring than a book or a stage play. It's partly because I'm a sentimentalist, I think. I'm not a sort of crazy artiste who wants to create abstract images; I like to make stuff that has an immediate emotional impact on people.
Rankin: I got into photography because I can't write and I can't paint and when I was a student the idea of film seemed so complex. Remember that I'm from a working class background and the prospect of making a film seemed so other-worldly to me, whereas photography is very simple. You just pick up a camera and you create something and apart from anything else that seemed very achievable. Luckily I was good at it but it was instinct that got me started.

When was the first time you felt inspired?
Chris: I remember seeing The Deer Hunter when I was really young - about seven - and it absolutely blew me away. That scene with Christopher Walken at the end when they're playing Russian roulette just totally hooked me. Strangely enough I also loved Singin' in the Rain, which seems like quite a gay choice, but the scene where Gene Kelly takes Debbie Reynolds into the hanger and sings "You Were Meant For Me" is unbelievable.
Rankin: I don't remember the first photo that made an impression on me, but the first exhibition I went to was a collection of war photography by W. Eugene Smith. At the time I thought his work was incredible, but even more important was the emotional impact of seeing photographs on a gallery wall for the first time. They had so much more impact than photographs in a magazine . . . when you looked closely at them they took on another meaning. I remember thinking, "Wow, photographs are so much more than just a few seconds on a printed page."

What interests do you have outside your work?
Chris: I play the guitar in a band, which mostly involves me bouncing around being a pretentious prick, and I write quite a lot of music. But I also like to go hill walking in the north of England. I can't drive past a mountain without imagining what it would be like to try to scale it in the wind and driving rain.
Rankin: I have a son, Lyle, and a girlfriend so I tend to spend a lot of time with them. If you're totally obsessed with your work, as I am, you have to be careful to give a lot to your family as well. My first marriage broke up partly because of my work.

What is the worst thing that's ever happened to you?
Chris: The things that I have felt utterly broken by never seem so bad in hindsight. I heard a radio interview once in which a politician - I think it was Matthew Parris [a former Conservative MP] - said nothing is ever as good as it seems and nothing is ever as bad, and I think that's true. Most problems are surmountable in one form or another.
Rankin: My mother and father dying within three weeks of each other, two years ago. My mother had lung cancer but my father died first from a heart attack. It was pretty heavy because it was all so sudden. Looking back, I feel that I didn't give my dad enough attention because I was making a big effort with Mum because of her illness. I just missed the boat; I wish I had hugged him and been closer to him before he died.

Have you ever had therapy?
Chris: Everyone says I should. I've never lived with anyone or had a relationship for longer than a couple of years and Rankin always says, "You're 35, why are you not married?" Recently we were sitting around at dinner in LA with an agent and he said, "You should get therapy, man, you would find it so refreshing." But it seems to me to be really self-indulgent.
Rankin: I went to a marriage guidance therapist when I was splitting up with my first wife. It wasn't all positive but I think that therapy is never a bad thing.

Chris - you don't have children, either, do you?
Chris: No, I'm quite selfish in that respect. I'm determined that I'll only have them if I want them, rather than feeling that I have to give in to external pressures to conform.

Rankin - what did becoming a father mean to you?
Rankin: I found it really hard to begin with. It was incredibly time consuming and rather draining but it was also very rewarding so it was actually a good combination. I never had any doubt that my parents loved me and I try to give that to my son every day; I try never to be disapproving of him.

What is the best part of working in advertising?
Chris: For me, it's having the funds to aim at creating 30 seconds of perfection - both aesthetically and in terms of performance. Advertising provides that opportunity, not just because of the financial boost but because you're working with other people who are the best in the world.

And the worst?
Chris: The realisation that it boils down to selling stuff we don't necessarily need.

Rankin: A lot of the time people have very set ideas about what they want and you're just a conduit - the talent that they want to get something out of. Occasionally that can be very difficult because I'm being paid to be passionate about my beliefs, yet my ideas are being ignored because a client doesn't understand where I'm coming from creatively. But you can't start acting like a diva. At the end of the day it's not my money and you have to do what people want.

What do you regard as your best work?
Chris: I think we get better with each job. All the work we have done over the last year I'm really proud of.
Rankin: In all honesty, despite the mistakes, I really love the feature film [The Lives of the Saints] that we directed.

The Lives of the Saints got a mixed reception: how did you cope with that?
Chris: I met a lot of the journalists at different events and the ones who gave us the harshest reviews I was the kindest to. You could tell they found it quite unnerving. I was taller, younger and better-looking than most of them as well, which eased my pain.
Rankin: It was tough, as we put our hearts and souls into that film, but if you can't roll with the punches, don't get into the ring!

What did you learn from making The Lives of the Saints?
Chris: I learnt pretty quickly that everyone thinks they know how to make a film, everyone is a critic, everyone has the answers.
Rankin: How to make films. I can't wait to do another one.

What makes your work distinctive?
Rankin: I think we're very eclectic (maybe too eclectic). We try to bring a unique vision to every job, as opposed to going for one style or vision that will make a name for us. I've always tried to do that with my photography and I think that excites both of us with commercials and promos. What I do know is that we are nowhere near as good as we could become and I guess that drives us more than anything. We're both hungry to do very good work.

Which photographers do you most admire?
Rankin: There's not enough space, but here's a few; Bailey, Avedon, Eggleston, Teller, Knight, Newton, Blumenfeld, McCullin, Leibovitz, Penn, and on and on.

How do you judge a person?
Chris: I judge them by how they treat me.
Rankin: I trust my instincts.

How much do you care what others think of you?
Chris: I like to think I'm Johnny Rotten, but I'm actually Willy Loman [Death of a Salesman]. I like to say I don't care, and I don't want to appear to be shocked or moved by somebody's opinion, but deep down I'm absolutely crucified.
Rankin: For me, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. You can't care what other people think of you because if you do, you never stand alone. But on the other hand, you have to listen to different opinions and be open to honest debate. I guess I try to be critical of my own work before anyone else gets a chance, so then I can leave any negative opinions at the door.

How much do the two of you discuss issues such as these?
Chris: Quite a lot. We like to think we're Gilbert & George but we're actually like a paranoid Bert & Ernie.
Rankin: We talk about stuff like this, but then we like to talk a lot - probably too much.

Rankin, tell us about photographing the Queen.

Rankin: I have tremendous respect for her. I'm not into the whole royal thing, but as a person she is pretty unbelievable. Imagine what it must be like to live your entire life in the shadow of a position, with no choice but to believe in it with 500 per cent of your being. The interesting part of being a portrait photographer - the dark bit - is to try to find out what's underneath someone's public image . . . to see beyond it. But nobody knows what the Queen is like. She doesn't want you to see, and you won't.

Best/worst stars that you have worked with?

Chris: Heidi Klum and Kate Moss are amazing. They are totally different characters but they're hard-working, totally professional and deliver on every take. The worst is a big American singer.
Rankin: I don't like to slag people off in print but that bird who sings "Beautiful", well she's a bit fucking ugly if you ask me (and I'm not talking about her looks).

How would you define beauty?
Chris: Something that I can look at or listen to that makes my heart skip a beat or gives me an erection.
Rankin: You can't define beauty; it just is.

Do you ever worry that your work might be crossing the line from art into soft pornography?
Chris: Yeah, it's a massive worry but I get over it.
Rankin: What kind of question is that? Are you the fucking porn police? I think if you look at our work it's quite obvious we just do things that interest us. We get excited by life more than tits!

To what extent is it necessary to believe in the product you are promoting in order to produce a great ad?
Chris: You have to believe in the script more than anything. I'm not sure there is room in my head to believe in a roll-on, a lipstick or a bottle of water.
Rankin: We're all producing products. Whether it's Caravaggio or Graham Fink, it's believing in humanity that's important to creating great work.

As a consumer, how do you react to advertising?
Chris: With a healthy mixture of nonchalance and jealousy.
Rankin: I react to it the same way everybody else does: it makes me want things.

What do you most use the internet for?
Chris: Buying crap I see advertised on the telly.
Rankin: Reading emails and trying to prove historical facts with people I've bet against!

How important is money to you?
Chris: I've worked out that I've had almost no money for 94.2 per cent of my life. I'm sure there's an answer in there somewhere.
Rankin: I take a lot of risks with the money I earn. I never hoard it, or keep it in a bank account. Money begets money and if you take a risk and put it into creativity, then the creative rewards are very high. You can't be scared of money, but I think a lot of people are.

Are you ashamed at the amount of money that is spent in advertising?
Chris: It's hardly a Roman orgy of excess at the moment.
Rankin: Yes, sometimes I am, but some days I wish I'd trained to be a doctor as well.

Rankin, you've talked about wanting to "find the truth within the lie" in photography. Can you expand on that?

Rankin: We'd need a bit more time to do that properly, but basically all photographs are lies: they are fabrications, creations of the people who make the images. They are entirely subjective and what I'm saying is, I accept that - in fact I revel in it - and I attempt to add a little bit of truth, i.e. to look for something real that I believe other people will see. It sounds like a theory but it's really just a feeling.

Where do you stand politically?
Chris: On my hands, voting with my feet.
Rankin: I'm not sure. I want the world to be a better place and to support the people who want to make it better; I just can't tell who they are. But I really do support the Labour Party and Gordon Brown. I hate media scepticism for the sake of column inches.

What is your view of marriage?
Chris: Obstructed.
Rankin: I'm getting married this year [to model Tuuli Shipster] so at the moment I'm very positive about it.

Do you believe in God?
Chris: I put all my faith in people. This is sometimes a very stupid thing to do.
Rankin: Nope, I really don't believe in God.

Are you afraid of dying?
Chris: I'm more afraid of those I love dying.
Rankin: I didn't think I was, but the older I get the more scared I become. I think that has something to do with my parents dying. I now feel there is nothing between me and death. That makes me feel closer to it and makes it inevitable. Whilst my parents were alive I didn't have those feelings.

What will your epitaph be?
Chris: Lock up your angels.
Rankin: Smile with your eyes!

If I could change the world, I would . . .
Chris: . . . make scatology a respected art form.
Rankin: . . . have one real god that cared about us all.

If I could relive my life, I would . . .
Chris: . . . have punched more people.
Rankin: . . . do it all the same again.

What gives you real pleasure/happiness?
Chris: Sitting at my piano; kissing; and laughing like an imbecile.
Rankin: My crazy, messed-up life and the fact I'm living it.

What, in the end, really matters?
Chris: Ovaries.
Rankin: Everything matters, but we shouldn't have to care about it mattering all of the time.