Olivier Marchal, the goose that lays the golden eggs of French television and cinema?

France 2 is broadcasting tonight the last two episodes of season 3 of "Purple Rivers", acclaimed by viewers, who have never been less than 4 million this year to watch the adventures of Commissioner Niemans, played by Olivier Marchal.

The latter also played in "the Promise", a police mini-series broadcast in January on TF1, which was a real triumph, with an average of 7.1 million people glued to their screens.

Season 4 of "Purple Rivers" is already underway.

Marchal had also recorded a great reason for satisfaction last year: the film he had directed, "Bronx", having been seen, according to its broadcaster, Netflix, by more than 80 million muscular thriller fans at worldwide.

The artist revealed that he was already working on a sequel in the form of a series, still for the streaming platform, although Gaumont, who had produced "Bronx", does not confirm the project.

"I would love to see him in comedies"

A success that does not surprise Anne Viau, artistic director of fiction for TF1: “Olivier Marchal is extremely popular and is one of the leading actors,” she believes.

He has a humanity that few actors have.

He brings it to his cop characters, no doubt because he was a policeman himself and he always puts a lot of nuance in his game. In life, he's a nice, gentle, flayed man.

His sincerity shines through and the public feels it.

"

Anne Holmes, her counterpart at France Télévisions, agrees: “Olivier Marchal has shot several fictions for us, including the

, in 2010 for France 3,

in 2006 for France 2. He is very sincere , he gives everything, he loves his job and people can feel it.

He chooses his roles well.

It's true that he often plays battered cops, maybe it's simpler and he likes it, but I'd love to see him in comedies too.

And the actor has already started.

Last year, he played, alongside Gérard Lanvin, the role of relaxed grandfather in “Papi sitter”.

"He had a good bear head badly licked, but nice," recalls Valérie, a Parisian who managed to see the film, released just a few days before the first confinement.

"You have to be credible"

Marchal has in fact already started a diversification for ten years, by landing other roles than those of cop, like the violent husband in "Jacqueline Sauvage: it was him or me", huge audience success on TF1 in 2018, or the frozen lover in the romantic comedy "Beautiful as the wife of another", in 2014. Marchal himself recently explained to the Allociné site that he did not see himself playing the gruff police forever.

“I'm starting to get old,” he admitted.

You have to be credible.

A cop, from 63-64 years old, he is more in the offices than in the field.

"

The fact remains that if the actor is acclaimed, his director alter ego is less unanimous.

“Bronx”, a particularly violent muscular thriller, has divided.

"I find it effective, but I do not understand that we can still make films like that, in 2020, with female characters as non-existent or caricature", thus confided last year a French director to Parisien.

And part of the criticism was unleashed, denouncing the abuse of clichés and testosterone in the film.

It is true that we do not immediately imagine that Olivier Marchal delivering a "girly" comedy.

But who knows?

There too, he would be able to turn his story into gold.

“Les Rivières pourpres”