If Marion Cotillard's nose had been shorter, would the whole face of cinema have been changed?
After Elizabeth Taylor (among others), Marion Cotillard offers herself the emblematic pleasure of playing the most famous queen of Egypt in
Asterix and Obelix: the Middle Kingdom
,
a family blockbuster: a quirky Cleopatra, in the midst of a marital crisis with Jules Caesar (Vincent Cassel).
The film is signed Guillaume Canet, who, after
Les Petits Mouchoirs,
Rock'n'roll, We'll end up together,
again offers the mother of his two children a tailor-made comic score, a register of fantasy that suits Marion very well. Cotillard, yet famous for his dramatic roles.
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A new nuance that adds to the unlimited palette of this demanding actress, twice Caesarized and notoriously Oscar-winning in 2008 for her inhabited incarnation of Edith Piaf in
La Môme
, by Olivier Dahan.
An international star since then, adopted by the Americans, she seduced their great directors (Christopher Nolan, Steven Soderbergh or James Gray) while pursuing an author career in France (Leos Carax, Jacques Audiard or Arnaud Desplechin).
In video,
Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom
, the trailer
A committed ecologist, she has worked alongside Greenpeace since its inception and is increasingly involved in production, particularly in humanist documentaries.
A woman of her time, muse of the Chanel house, broken into the star system.
On the other side of the lark mirror, Marion Cotillard cultivates her private happiness, avoiding any family exposure and other intimate confidences.
A discreet woman who lights up when it comes to evoking her passion for cinema or the work of others.
Encounter.
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Madame Figaro
.
–
What female figures inspired you as a child?
Marion
Cotillard.
–
I didn't really have any historical references like Cleopatra.
It was the great Hollywood actresses like Greta Garbo or French actresses like Catherine Deneuve who made me dream and inspired me.
What pleasure did you take in interpreting Cleopatra, a historical figure?
What I really liked about the project, beyond playing a legendary character, is that it was in a comedic tone.
I don't shoot much of them even though I love watching them.
And embodying Cleopatra in a comic mode was very joyful.
Knowing in addition that my favorite album of Asterix and Obelix was precisely
Asterix and Cleopatra
… The difficulty for me in comedy is to find the right balance, not to do too much, but not to do too little either .
What are your cult comedies?
American comedies like
Brothers in spite of themselves.
I have a passion for Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, the films of Judd Apatow or those of Adam McKay
(Marion Cotillard played a cameo in
Living Legends
, by Adam McKay, alongside Jim Carrey in 2013, Ed)
.
In France, I love Quentin Dupieux, especially his film
Steak,
or, more recently,
Incredible but true
and
Smoking makes you cough
.
I also laughed a lot while watching
Les Méchants,
by Mouloud Achour and Dominique Baumard.
The difficulty for me in comedy is to find the happy medium
Marion Cotillard
The character of a comedy Cleopatra seems to offer a great creative opportunity…
The playing field was indeed very inspiring.
Costume designer Madeline Fontaine, with whom I had already collaborated on
A Long Engagement Sunday,
by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is so talented.
Creating Cleopatra's physical appearance, her makeup, her hairstyles, her costumes was a lot of fun for us!
And it's beautiful to see such inspired people working.
The universe of the film has a very comical side, but also very realistic, and the whole creative team has come up with a mix that works wonderfully on screen.
In
Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,
we also find you in the guise of another character...
Did you recognize me?
It annoys me a bit.
(
Laughs.
) I had a lot of fun creating this character and I was lucky that Guillaume gave me carte blanche.
Does filming for Guillaume Canet give you more freedom?
Guillaume distills something deeply human in his way of approaching stories.
He allows his actors to invent, he is very committed to the creation of each role.
He will always seek to retrace the emotional journey of each character.
Psychology is his priority, even in a comedy.
"Guillaume has shown himself up to this immense project"
You who have followed him since his debut as a director, what is your view of his development?
I found him very serene on the set of
Asterix and Obelix,
when he threw himself into a gigantic machine and had to brave innumerable difficulties, in particular meteorological difficulties.
Guillaume had great confidence and rose to the occasion of this immense project, he mastered his set admirably and knew exactly what he was doing.
In the end, he masterfully succeeded in making a very lively popular family film.
What memories will you keep of this extraordinary shoot?
There was a very playful side for us, actors, to arrive on the set of such a large production, with so many costumes, gigantic sets… It was a dream come true.
Everyone worked hand in hand to make the best possible film, and this symbiosis carried us.
We imagine you as a "girl of band", what brings you the collective?
I was very lonely as a teenager, I still am at times, but I can no longer conceive of life without this marvelous bond that is friendship.
I'm lucky to have long-time friends, to share a lot of things with them, to follow their development.
At the same time, they witness mine.
Friendship is fundamental to my happiness.
Loving each other, inspiring each other, supporting each other and laughing together – I'm lucky to have some very funny friends!
I remember each of my fits of laughter and the bond it created with the people I shared them with.
I am lucky to have very funny friends!
Marion Cotillard
Is it a way to stay a little connected to childhood, to preserve it? Besides, what do you have left of your childhood?
I still have everything from childhood, I don't have to make an effort to preserve it, I would even tend to have a hard time in certain situations to adopt an adult attitude... But I learned to manage that .
What trait of your character takes precedence when you are in a group?
None.
I feel free, balanced, I don't feel judged, which allows me to be fully myself.
After more than twenty years of career, where do you find the most pleasure in your job?
On a platter, clearly.
And also during the preparation phase.
When I go to meet a character and create an interior space to welcome him.
Understanding a character is a fundamental driving force for me.
Do you make films for the same reasons as when you started?
Yes, completely.
It is my fascination for human beings, my desire and my need to explore them that stimulates me.
As a child and teenager, I was intrigued and sometimes even destabilized by the relationships between beings.
Unconsciously, I chose cinema to try to understand the human soul.
I just turned 47, my vision has broadened over time, I am less and less judgmental and my love for people is only growing.
Did the characters you played build the woman you are today?
I don't feel like I'm the sum of all the roles I've played, fortunately I would say… However, my beliefs lead me to think that we carry all beings within ourselves.
My roles did not build me, but there is perhaps a facet of each of them in me today.
I differentiate my personal career from my career as an actress, but encounters with these characters must have brought something to the woman I am today.
Read alsoMarion Cotillard and activist Mary Finn: "This generation encourages us to become better"
"Kate Winslet, one of the most wonderful women I've met"
What do you stand for as a producer?
I am very interested in documentaries, because they allow an infinite field of exploration.
It's a way of telling countless and important stories that particularly touches me.
I have just taken part in a very special documentary, this time as an actress.
It's a hybrid project called
Little Girl Blue,
directed by Mona Achache.
She tells the story of her mother's life, and she asked actors to play real people whose story she explores.
It was creative and breathtaking.
What does 2023 promise you?
I shot an episode of a series for Apple TV+ called
Extrapolations.
It is a dystopian series created by Scott Burns, who is notably Steven Soderbergh's screenwriter and a man very committed to ecological themes.
Like
Black Mirror,
each episode of this series is independent of the others;
there are, among others, Meryl Streep and Tahar Rahim in the credits.
For the one I shot, I worked with screenwriter and director Nicole Holofcener.
This episode is on the mode of comedy and rather of the barred genre!
I also have a stake in
Lee,
the film about the life of Lee Miller, produced and starring Kate Winslet.
I realized a dream: to shoot with this great actress, who is one of the most wonderful women I have met in my life!
In video, Chanel exhibition: Marion Cotillard and Carole Bouquet at the microphone of
Madame Figaro
Cover Story: Marion Cotillard
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow08 photos
See the slideshow08 photos