ELLE – The brand’s new campaign star also happens to read four books at a time.
Danny Ramirez has bad cell service—for good reason. The 33-year-old actor and new Michael Kors campaign star is calling from Mexico City, where he’s filming De Noche, a period piece directed by Todd Haynes, in which his character, a boarding school teacher, falls in love with Pedro Pascal. His phone keeps glitching, transmitting a voice that sounds like a movie star on Auto-Tune. “I might be a voice double,” he tells ELLE. “Should we tell everyone this is AI?”For the record, Ramirez is very much a real guy, albeit one who has become a fantasy boyfriend for millions thanks to his hunky work in Top Gun: Maverick and the Marvel Universe, along with his paparazzi-candy relationship with certified goddess Jessica Alba.
The thing is, his current dating situation is the least interesting thing about Ramirez. An avid literature junkie and former soccer star, he’s currently reading four books at once, working on a Basquiat biopic and a Scarface remake, and—somehow—teaching normal dudes how to carry a designer man bag without evaporating into a puff of smoke. Surely that’s worth a good talk.
Your Michael Kors campaign features man bags. Some guys are resistant, even though they’re great. Is this a better move for you than pockets?
I’ve done the overloaded pocket experience, and it’s one of the most uncomfortable feelings on the planet. Because guys tend to have pockets, we overuse them and are stubborn about using a bag. But through sports, I started adapting to needing a place to hold my cleats or an extra pair of clothes, so I’ve always been bag-forward—it’s just about the type of bag. Once I started going to coffee shops, a nice little satchel worked great. I have sympathy for people without pockets and the need to carry a bag. It just makes life easier, and the moment you can make it stylish too, it’s kind of the perfect storm.It sounds like you’re getting really into fashion, in a good way.
Well, now that I’m exposed to fashion more, I go down rabbit holes, and by the end I’m like, I respect the craft of this, and I can see why people love it. I’ve definitely started relinquishing my expectations about what I thought style was, and now I’m slowly learning the language. I went from having the classic suit, which I thought was the only way to go, to experimenting with bell bottoms, longer lines, different layers…it’s like opening a book on a random subject—by the end, you’re hooked.What book are you hooked on right now?
I’m reading…wait, let me think…four. I’m reading four books right now.Four?
Yeah, The Psychology of Storytelling is one. I just bought The Tipping Point—I read it about 12 years ago and there’s a sequel now! So why not revisit it, and see if it’s still something that feels like a phenomenon in the world, you know? And there’s a book about film editing…you kind of opened the floodgates, here. Every time I go to Barnes & Noble, I go in for one book and come out with 12.They can go in the man bag.
Perfect.Was Michael Kors a big brand for you growing up?
I’m from Miami; it’s so big here. It’s on everyone’s Christmas wish list: my mom, my sister. I grew up seeing it as, like, that’s the thing to have. Your first associations with things are where it sticks, and it was always a wish list item for everyone I knew. I’m actually excited to go back to Miami now with this campaign and hopefully hook up my mom and sister.Movies like Captain America are finally incorporating Spanish dialogue into their scripts. But Spanish has so many dialects, even just where you’re from in Miami. How do you work with screenwriters to make sure their Spanish is the characters’ Spanish?
This is a good question. Honestly, it’s gotten better. There are people doing a much better job now in regard to getting resources to getting the right dialogue for the right character. Definitely the ones I play. But I think I’m like any actor that just has to find the words to fit into the scene, whether it’s Spanish or English. I adjust it if it feels—you know, it’s like you get dressed by the [costume] designer and then you have to adjust your clothes so they fit? I also have to embody these lines. And when it’s in Spanish, even if the Spanish is “right,” that doesn’t always mean that it’s going to be “right” for you. And so there’s a flexibility that happens. It’s character over dialogue. That’s a dance that happens every time. It’s a very exciting part of the job.What are your prerequisites for a great weekend getaway? Perhaps a trip to Miami or Saint-Tropez, where the campaign was shot.
Well, I think the thing about a “weekend getaway” is that it’s gonna pop up randomly, and you don’t always know when they’re coming. Especially for me, because with shooting, I just don’t know when I’ll have free days. It’s kind of like, “Oh, wow, I have these two days. Let’s make something happen.” And so I think the first rule of a weekend getaway is having a wish list of where we can get away if you have the time. Then when the moment arrives, it doesn’t just pass, because you’ve made a plan. Now let’s say you’re going on the getaway… Let’s say you’re going with someone.Sure.
So I think before you leave, you both need to check in on your relationship with your phone and your laptop, and kind of pre-agree with yourself, like, how much you want to engage in technology and how much you can just shut it off. Setting that hard boundary about no phones or no laptops is a thing, now more than ever, because our phones and our social media accounts are often an extension of ourselves. But once you set that line on a vacation, it’s really good to make sure that line doesn’t change. Whether you’re going to the beach or Aspen or wherever, solidifying that you’re there to be in the moment with each other, that’s really important. And then when you get there, even though it’s hectic, just trying to say in the moment.You should also pack your laptop and iPhone away in your Michael Kors luggage once you land.
Oh, absolutely. And also, honestly, take the sunglasses with you. They’re great on the beach. They look so good with everything.This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Category: Press
Completely shot in Saint-Tropez, Danny joins Suki Waterhouse for the Spring 2026 Campaign for the company. The ad campaign will be marketed across digital outlets, social media platforms, and outdoor media placements. Photos from the campaign, as well as screen captures from the commercial have been added into the gallery.
Photoshoots > Advertisement Campaigns > Michael Kors > 2026 – Saint-Tropez Spring Campaign – Commercial
DEADLINE – The Los Angeles-based luxury fashion brand founded by Mike Amiri also tapped actor and musician Malcolm McRae and models Jordan Daniels and Heather Diamond Strongarm for the campaign.
Chateau Amiri, California is open for business.The Los Angeles-based luxury fashion brand founded by Mike Amiri has launched a new spring-summer campaign dubbed Chateau Amiri, California and drafted actors Danny Ramirez and Michael Imperioli to check in alongside multi-hyphenate Malcolm McRae and models Jordan Daniels and Heather Diamond Strongarm.
They were tasked with playing “a heightened, imagined version of themselves” for photographer Hart Leshkina and director Bon Duke who captured the campaign inside the faux hotel, which was designed to pay homage “to the haunts and locales” that have shaped the modern mythology of Hollywood, per Amiri. The brand’s founder, Mike Amiri, who launched the label in 2014, explained it a little further.
“Character is the starting point for everything I create, shaped by cinema, the soul of Hollywood. Our Amiri campaigns have become spaces to explore this idea — creating immersive worlds of still and motion pictures, where our collections come to life with new context, different stories,” said Amiri. “Building on that universe we’re crafting, this season we welcome you, and a cast of true stars, into the Chateau Amiri.”
The campaign features the models outfitted in fits from Amiri’s spring-summer collection, accessorized by martinis, sunglasses, room keys, hand bags and more framed by hotel suites, lobbies and pools. See below for shots from the campaign.
Imperioli is best known for his starring turn opposite James Gandolfini on the iconic Sopranos. More recently, he’s been seen in Song Sung Blue, The Nice Guys, The White Lotus and The Many Saints of Newark. Ramirez meanwhile is best known for his work in Top Gun: Maverick, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America: Brave New World and The Last of Us. He’ll next be seen in Avengers: Doomsday. Rocker McRae had a role on Daisy Jones and the Six.
AP Breakthrough Entertainer: Danny Ramirez’s entrance into Hollywood began on the soccer field
THE INDEPENDENT – Danny Ramirez’s acting career began unexpectedly on a soccer field
When Danny Ramirez looks back at the starting point of his acting career, it feels as if the universe, in its own unique way, had chosen a soccer field to mark the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next.“I always say that the universe is the best writer, the most efficient writer,” says Ramirez.
He was a freshman in college, sitting on the bench during practice with a sprained ankle, when a production assistant walked over and asked if he wanted to be an extra on Mira Nair’s 2012 film “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” starring Riz Ahmed. The cast and crew were filming at a nearby soccer field.
Ramirez, 33, who is of Mexican and Colombian descent, immediately saw himself in the British Pakistani actor playing on the field.
As a young Latino, Ramirez thought that Hollywood only had space for white leads in big budget feature films — until he saw Ahmed front and center.
“I knew the next thing I wanted to do in my life was craft-based, something that I could just put hours into and be able to see my improvement and be able to have a goal to get to,” he says.
Ramirez went to a bookstore the next day and bought as many acting books as he could. He took on work as an extra to get comfortable on set and transferred to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
“I just fell in love,” said Ramirez.
Today, the actor is best known as Marvel’s new Falcon, in “Captain America: Brave New World” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and Lt. Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia in “Top Gun: Maverick.” This year alone, he’s had a memorable turn in “The Last of Us,” recently wrapped filming on the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” and is at work on a “Scarface” reboot and the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic “Samo Lives,” earning him a spot among The Associated Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of 2025. And that was even before he served as co-host, last week, for the FIFA World Cup draw.
From ‘Reluctant Fundamentalist’ to enthusiastic actor
Seeing Ahmed on the soccer field was the cosmic confirmation he needed before going all in. Ramirez remembers admiring fellow Miami-raised actor and NYU alum Danny Pino while in high school, but felt he needed more proof that acting was attainable. “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” was the green light.
“It’s something that just doesn’t happen,” Ramirez says. “I needed to be able to see myself in someone as that lead, as someone that has the responsibility and the privilege to tell a story.”
Shortly after graduating from NYU, Ramirez booked roles on “Orange is the New Black” and “On My Block.” His first feature film was Sam Levinson’s “Assassination Nation.”
“It like set the tone for how I was going to approach the next batch of work,” says Ramirez. “I just want to be creatively fulfilled.”
When he looks back on his career and on what he’s accomplished this year, it feels like a dream. At one point during the press tour for the latest “Captain America,” he looked over at his tablemates: Harrison Ford and Anthony Mackie.
“OK, I’m in it. I’m in it now,” he remembers thinking.
Ramirez is currently set to produce, write, direct and star in his own film, “Baton.” The project — about a soccer player with dreams of playing professionally — was spawned out of Ramirez realizing that many of the roles he craved weren’t written with him in mind.
“I looked at myself in the mirror, and I was like, well, I could easily complain about this and be mad that there is no opportunity. And before doing that, I was like, well, let me figure out if I could, in the same way that I learned acting and this craft, and approached it and attacked it like a madman,” said Ramirez.
Once again, he bought a ton of books on screenwriting, created “Baton” and recently launched a production company, Pinstripes.
The mentee becomes the mentor
Ramirez’s athletic background plays into his discipline for growing his craft and breaking down the barriers that Latino actors face in Hollywood.
“We’ve always had to work harder and be more thorough and go above and beyond that I think, its to me, been connected with, like, all right, ‘I’ve got to prove people wrong, that I’m going to go above and beyond, and that I am going to be better than what they expect, but also better than they are doing,’” he said.
This mindset is one that he wants to pass down to those who look up to him and see themselves in him, the same way he saw himself in Ahmed all those years ago.
“I’ve seen people who are given the chance, they’re like, ‘You know what, I’m not ready for it.’ And then I’ve been able to see so many people that are like, ‘Screw it, I’m going to take the reins, and we’ll figure it out,’” he said. “I think there’s just something to like that leap of faith, that we’re all human, there’s going to be mistakes anyway, then why not just have it be you.”
Ahmed told the AP in an email that he was moved when Ramirez approached him recently on a set.
“Danny is a huge talent. I can’t take any credit for his journey but it’s a reminder of how even a small opportunity can change someone’s life. I’m sure Danny will be creating those for many people for years to come,” Ahmed wrote.
A long list of mentors and collaborators helped Ramirez pave his way, including Mackie, Ford and Tom Cruise.
He says Cruise in particular gave him the advice to always have two skills on rotation that he’s actively learning: “Whether it’s dance or whether it is a different craft or learning about a specific time period, there’s always something that you could do, and I think having the confidence that you’re going to learn is the other part that I find incredibly exciting.”
Photoshoots > Outtakes > Session 031
VOGUE MEXICO x LATINOAMERICA – In celebration of Vogue World: Hollywood, we bring together the Latino faces shaping the direction of the U.S. film industry.
Read carefully because this is the generation of Latinos setting the tone in Hollywood. Their purpose? To generate impactful, community-based projects. Their resolution? The time has been and will continue to be now.Danny Ramirez wanted to be a professional athlete, but instead, he became an elite naval aviator in Top Gun: Maverick , alongside Tom Cruise. He then entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Joaquín Torres in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , then brought that character to Captain America: Brave New World , making him the saga’s first Avenger. He also became a survivor of an apocalyptic world in The Last of Us . This year, he also delved into the musical universe of Colombian singer Karol G, starring in the music video for Papasito from her album Tropicoqueta . Born in Chicago, Ramírez has pursued his dreams, but more importantly, he’s built them.
This year, we saw him walk in the Willy Chavarría show during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, and this is just the beginning. Next up, Ramírez will star in and direct Baton , a soccer drama produced by David Beckham. It seems that the projects the actor takes on build on his vision of continuing to open doors for Latinos. “For me, Latinidad is a mosaic: fragments of family, culture, joy, and struggle that come together to create something greater. My hope is that, as Hollywood grows and embraces the full spectrum of our identity, we reach that moment with excellence and take ownership of the stories we choose to tell, not falling into old archetypes or stories shaped by the fear of expectations, but telling the ones we want, the way we want,” he states in this portfolio.
