The Tastemaker

A lot of people wish they could make a living by watching films, television, or theater. But as chief critic at Vanity Fair, Richard Lawson ’05 actually lives the dream, writing about the buzziest movies and shows of the moment and cohosting the magazine’s pop-culture podcast, Little Gold Men.

Having grown up in the days before streaming and YouTube, Lawson first fell in love with movies by watching films his father, the BC professor emeritus of history Alan Lawson, brought home from the University’s library. Vanity Fair, with its long legacy of celebrating all things Hollywood, was the perfect place for a cinephile like Lawson to end up working when he joined the magazine in 2013. “I’ve been aware of Vanity Fair since I was aware of magazines,” said Lawson. “I lucked out. I landed at the right place at the right time.”

These days, whether he’s interviewing Academy Award winners like Kieran Culkin, reviewing the next noteworthy Netflix show, or sharing his predictions for the Tony Awards, Lawson stands out in today’s sea of entertainment journalists for his irreverent humor and air of approachability. He may be a member of the prestigious National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Circle, but Lawson is no snob. You’re as likely to catch him watching reality TV (especially Survivor) as covering the Cannes Film Festival.

“I think it keeps me closer to the reader that I didn’t go to film school, and didn’t come into this profession as an academic,” said Lawson, who majored in theater and English at BC. After graduating, he made a name for himself writing for the influential celebrity blog Gawker, as well as publications such as the Guardian and the Atlantic Wire.

More than a decade after joining Vanity Fair, Lawson still occasionally finds himself starstruck—usually when he’s in the presence of actors connected to theater, his first love. He will always remember the time in 2019 when he got the opportunity to interview the actress Mary-Louise Parker before a Broadway performance. “I’ve loved her since Fried Green Tomatoes all those years ago,” he said. “The door opened, she went to shake my hand, and I literally went weak in the knees.”