-Hi, Andy, we are very happy that you agreed to this interview. First of all, I would like to introduce you to our readers. Tell us a little about yourself?
– Hi! Thanks! Well, as you know, my name is Andy and I’m an actor. Yes, I’ll tell you a little bit about my career. I started my career with the film “New chance” directed by Anne Fontaine, where I starred with the great French actress Danielle Darrieux . And then I met Eric Romer and he offered me the role of Celadon in his latest film, “ the love of Celadon and Astrea.” It was a great experience and I’ve done some more movies since then. One of them is “Chocolate ” by Roschdy Zem. He is a great French Director who does some TV programs…. Voila.
– Tell me, how did you become an actor? How did you choose this profession?
–I always wanted to be an actor.
–Really?
–Yes. Always. Since I was a kid. So when I finished school, I moved to Paris and started playing.I started taking acting classes and started working with great Directors. Oh, by the way, I also starred in one of the works of a Russian Director – Sokurov.
–Great! What kind of movie was it?
– This is a film he made at the Louvre. It is called “Francophonia“. This is a story about the fate of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Mona Lisa” during the time when France was occupied by the Nazis. I was also his assistant. It was a great experience that I’m very proud of.
–I also have a question for you about your role as Celadon in the movie “The love of Astrea and Celadon”. Tell us a little about your character?
-You know that this movie is about love, don’t you? So: in this film, two different concepts of love are revealed. For example, Celadon’s brother believes that true love should be pure and unique. He said that a man and a woman are not only one whole, but also complement each other. In contrast to this opinion, we see a different character (I, unfortunately, do not remember his name). He says that for him love is a game. He thought you could easily have multiple lovers if it made you feel good. And Celadon is a character who is between two opinions, while having his own. He believes that true love should be pure and unique, but this does not mean that it will be boring. On the contrary, you can create the same fun atmosphere, but only inside your couple..
–I thought Celadon was a little naive. Don’t you think so?
–Yes, I agree, he is a bit naive….although it might even be a bit of a misnomer. I think Celadon is a believer after all. He believes in love, he believes in truth. Yes, so he’s not naive, he just believes it.
–As far as I know, the novel “Astrea” itself is very large. What do you think was the most difficult part of the film adaptation of this work? Was the role of Celadon difficult for you?
-I didn’t feel it was difficult to play Celadon because I understand him. Since I understand it, I took it from the inside and it was easy enough. I didn’t ask myself too many questions because this character was crystal clear to me. I think Celadon’s worldview is very much the same as mine.
-Yes, it’s probably really your character.
–I hope so. Well, for example, I had a role in the novel “In search of lost time” Marcel Proust. I played Saint Loup and for me it was a more complex character in terms of the game, because Swann has a lot of description, you know? The way it’s written, the way it moves, the way it says Hello, you know? So when you make this character, you think “OK, I have to play like this, I have To move like this” and you can’t try to do something new. So Yes, it was interesting, but it was harder. Celadon was direct proof that I was him and he was me.
–Yes, he actually had a very strong and pure love, I think that not all men are ready to love as well in our time.
– I don’t think so, I live a strong and pure love and I live in our time
–And you also have another interesting film – “the Duchess of Warsaw”. Your character is quite interesting. Can you tell me about it?
–Yes, of course! Have you seen this movie?
–Yes, but it was in French, so it was difficult to understand.
–This is a pity, because there are very deep texts. I really love this movie and I like how it is built (in the movie, the world of the main character looks like painted pictures). And I also really liked the way the Director showed the friendship between grandmother and grandson. There was an insanely interesting drama, as Nina, the name of the main character’s grandmother, recalled the war. And this is very difficult, because almost no one will talk about it. I really liked my character, Valentine, and I love Alexandra Stewart. She is like a mom for me.
–You know, it’s very interesting that your character sees the world as a painted picture. How do you see the world? Maybe in the melody?
— In colors.
-This is really great! And you also had the Movie sleeping beauty, where you played with Nils Schneider. Tell us about this movie about your role?
–I love Adolfo Arrieta – he is a great Spanish film Director, is completely crazy in the best sense of the word. I love working with crazy people who are not afraid to experiment, who are full of fantasy, full of life. There was such an actor in the 30s-40s in France – Jean Marais, maybe you know him, as well as his boyfriend Jean Cocteau. He played many roles, including the role of the Beast in Beauty and the beast. It became a reference point for me, and when I was invited to the role in “Sleeping beauty” my mind kept returning to the portrait of Jean Marais as the monster. And I tried to be the kind of King that looked like a lion. It was fun.
–I saw that you played in the mini-series “the Cursed kings” by Maurice Druon. Can you tell me about it?
-About the Cursed king I play in the adaptation of José Dayan for French TV with Jeanne Moreau It was my first time in front of a camera ! it was great and i’ve learn a lot .
–You have had many interesting roles, many interesting films, and now tell me, what are your plans for the future?
-Soon, in December, I will be playing on the Paris stage in a theatrical production. It’s an American play called “The Normal Heart” by Larry Kramer. And this play is about until where you can go to fight for your political thoughts…are you ready to loose your job, loose your love, go in jail? The play is questionning the engagement. Play about this.
–Thank you for such warm and open responses! It was very interesting to talk to you. You know, our magazine has a little tradition and our last question is “What do you wish our readers” ?
-I wish our readers to believe and believe again. Travel and mix again our cultures, our productions between Russia and Europe. And also find the right solutions and discoveries in the field of ecology in the near future.
Anastasia Carnot
Special for Izkulis.ru