Three months. That was the amount of time that 19-year old Dutchman Pieter Henket's parents gave him to make it in New York. His dream was to become a filmmaker, but he was a portrait photographer. Now they're calling him 'the new Anton Corbijn'.

The young Henket walked the streets of New York endlessly with his camera. He portrayed mostly lesser-known singers and actors. To make ends meet he delivered pizzas and worked as a model.

Lady Gaga
His breakthrough came in 2008 with his portrait of New York superstar Lady Gaga for her debut album The Fame. The picture was recently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

In the meantime Henket, now 31, has developed his own distinctive style. As a director he has staged fairytale scenes: glitz and glamour with subtle lighting. In addition, Henket produces colour photographs illustrating self-created erotic fairy tales.

Southern Dutch charm 
For his latest series of portraits, Interrogation, Henket asked superstars to sit in a chair behind a simple kitchen table and imagine that they were being interrogated after being falsely arrested by police.

Top actors such as Mary Kate Olsen, William Hurt and the Dutch actress Carice van Houten participated in the series alongside directors Stephen Frears and Alejandro Iñarittu. The young photographer knows, in his own words, that he can easily win people over.

"My Brabant [southern Dutch] charm works well in an environment where everyone goes around with a cut-throat mentality."

• www.pieterhenket.com

(as/ae)