The Act of Acting Is Not to Act: Wesley Thevissen by Manny Fontanilla

There’s something particularly compelling about a man who knows exactly when to stop performing.

At 45, Wesley Thevissen steps in front of photographer Manny Fontanilla in Belgium for a portrait series that feels confident, masculine and remarkably uncomplicated. The thought behind it could almost serve as the philosophy of the entire shoot: “The act of acting is not to act.”

And looking through these photographs, you understand why.

The series moves effortlessly between polished tailoring and stripped-back portraiture. Wesley appears first in a sharply fitted navy suit, photographed against cool blue and mint-toned backdrops. It’s clean, commercial and sophisticated—the kind of classic menswear imagery that never really needs reinvention when the man wearing it has enough presence.

Then the mood changes.

A striped knit, relaxed posture and direct gaze soften the formality before Fontanilla takes the photographs into black and white. Here, Wesley becomes considerably more cinematic. Open shirts, strong shadows, sunglasses and even a shirtless outdoor portrait introduce a rugged sensuality without making the images feel overly constructed.

But it’s the leather series that really catches our attention.

Wesley in a black leather jacket and trousers could easily become an exercise in macho styling, yet these portraits work because of how little he appears to be trying. Hands move naturally. His expression shifts from introspective to amused. In one frame he looks down with a smile; in another, his hand rests against his forehead as if the photographer caught him somewhere between poses.

That sense of spontaneity is carried into the close-ups. Fontanilla uses foreground blur, reflections and partially obscured compositions to give the portraits a voyeuristic intimacy—as though we are catching fragments of Wesley rather than being presented with one carefully manufactured image after another.

At 45, that restraint looks particularly good.

There is texture in the face, confidence in the gaze and an ease in front of the camera that doesn’t require pretending to be younger or chasing perfection. The black-and-white portraits especially celebrate the qualities we appreciate at Hunks Over 40: character, maturity and masculine beauty that becomes more interesting with time.

The clothes change. The lighting changes. Wesley moves from businessman to leading man, from shirtless summer masculinity to leather-clad attitude.

Yet the strongest element remains remarkably consistent: Wesley himself.

Perhaps that’s exactly the point.

When the presence is already there, the act of acting really is not to act.

Wesley Thevissen @wesleythevissen
Photography by Manny Fontanilla @mannyfontanilla_