Leïla Bekhti: "When I met Tahar, I didn't meet an actor, I met a good man"

In fifteen years of career, Leïla Bekhti, 39, has created surprise with demanding and very different roles.

Among her key characters, the Caesarized actress is fond of those of great lovers as in

, or

.

It is in this same register that the public finds her with

, the first film by Guillaume Bureau.

She plays a photographer from the 1920s ready to do anything to recover her husband who became amnesiac during the Great War (Karim Leklou).

The only obstacle to his reconquest, a cabaret singer (Louise Bourgoin) arises with the same ambitions.

And because she likes to tell different stories, Leïla Bekhti has also slipped into the skin of a victim of aggression eager to rebuild herself, in the new film by Jeanne Herry, I will always see

.

Two roles of charismatic and pugnacious women which characterize well the one who interprets them.

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“I grew up surrounded by powerful women”

Madame Figaro

The era of a film does not condition me, it is the story that interests me.

In the case of

I was drawn to the idea of ​​playing a woman ahead of her time.

Julie wears pants, works, drives… I loved her modernity.

But I must say that some actors really embrace eras, and when I discovered Louise Bourgoin on screen, I said to myself that the 1920s were made for her!

Like this strong woman, what female figures have inspired you?

I grew up surrounded by powerful women.

My grandmother was the head of the family, then my mother and my sister stood out for their freedom, and because they were able to recover from the trials of life.

I understood by observing them that “strong woman” was a pleonasm.

My creed in life is a phrase by Jacques Brel who says “If it's not sure, it's still maybe”.

If I see an ounce of hope, I take a chance

Leila Bekhti

Would you do anything for love?

The film shows us that Julie is not afraid of anything in love, and this can lead her to make bad choices.

But I think I would act like her, because sometimes I can be unreasonable when it comes to the people I love.

And, in his image, I think that I would also cling to my dreams, because my creed in life is a sentence by Jacques Brel who says “If it's not sure, it's still maybe”.

If I see an ounce of hope, I take my chance.

“When I met Tahar, I didn't meet an actor, I met a good man”

Like your character in

When I met Tahar, I didn't meet an actor, I met a good man.

As far as work is concerned, Tahar is a very demanding actor, so his opinion is important to me, and we have always said things frankly.

But obviously we don't just talk about cinema, and despite our differences we have fundamentals in common.

In view of Tahar Rahim's international career, have you considered settling in the United States?

No, not at all.

My level of English wouldn't allow me to buy two baguettes, and living in France showed us that it didn't prevent working there.

We want our children to grow up surrounded by our families, and they are the priority.

Did your children understand that you were actors?

No, they are too small to notice.

The television isn't on at home, we don't buy the magazines we're on the cover of, and we don't watch the movies we act in either… The only time I showed a cartoon in which I lend my voice to my children

they thought I had recorded it just for them.

Read alsoLeïla Bekhti and Adèle Exarchopoulos: “We can no longer get angry, our children are too close!”

How did you slip into the skin of Nawelle in

The film is about restorative justice (an initiative that proposes a dialogue between victims and offenders), and the director, Jeanne Herry, shot it chronologically.

To embody my character, a very angry woman holed up at home since her attack, I started by gaining a lot of weight.

I wanted to be very puffy, off, at the start of the film and then get better and better.

Nawelle really exists in life, and she lost weight by talking to perpetrators of aggression, because this dialogue literally freed her from the weight she had on her shoulders.

Are you suspicious by nature?

No way !

The few people who disappointed me in life didn't make it harder for newcomers.

I think I have a good instinct with people, and since I like simplicity in relationships, if I have a problem with someone at 2 p.m., I want it to be resolved by 2 p.m. h02.

What are your projects ?

I shot a film by Léa Todorov,

I play a Parisian cocotte, mother of an autistic little girl, who meets a female doctor who has developed a method for deficient children, Maria Montessori (Jasmine Trinca)… Moreover, the era has, this time, a real importance to my character and I loved wearing 1900 costumes!

“I will always see your faces”, by Jeanne Herry, with Leïla Bekhti, Dali Benssalah, Gilles Lellouche, Adèle Exarchopoulos… Currently in theaters.

In video, “LOL: who laughs, comes out!”

: Leïla Bekhti and Jonathan Cohen play the cross-interview game