This is Thor - the lion that I am most wary of in the world. He is a rare white lion who lives under the loving care of Kevin Richardson (The Lion Whisperer) in his sanctuary in South Africa. I have known Thor for 10 years, but neither his age nor familiarity have led to a mellowing of his behaviour; he would kill me in 10 seconds given half a chance.

I am always in a cage when filming Thor and more recently a cage within a further cage. We made this extra defence as last year he tried to dig under the cage to get to me. It’s not a comfortable experience. There is a calm countenance to this preconceived portrait that is at odds with his basic instincts and the reality of the situation.

It does not take top percentile visual sensibility to recognise the splendour of white lions and my goal on this set was to celebrate every detail of his face. In this kind of light, there is every chance, provided Kevin, with his unique ability, can facilitate the engagement.

I loved the film Something’s Gotta Give and it’s not a bad title for this portrait. I often think of that beach house in the Hamptons and its emblematic cocktail of whites and creams. I think Thor would have fitted into those interiors seamlessly from a visual perspective but may have impacted the calm serenity of that rarified stretch of Long Island.