He takes on one of the most difficult roles of his career.
In
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld
, the new addictive series from Disney +, German actor Daniel Brühl, discovered twenty years ago in
Good by Lenin
, plays the role of the star fashion designer.
The first images and the broadcast date of the series, June 7 on the platform, were revealed on Tuesday March 12, at the press conference of the 2024 Canneséries Festival. We had the chance to preview three episodes very successful, which tell the story of the creator's rise in Paris in the 1970s, before he transformed into the iconic figure known to all.
At this time, Karl Lagerfeld did not yet dress in black, nor did he work for Chanel.
He is an independent designer who collaborates with different brands, some of which have disappeared, others that have become essential like Fendi and Chloé.
He became, as we see on screen, the artistic director of these two houses in the 1960s. Daniel Brühl tells us in detail how he brilliantly slipped into the shoes of Kaiser Karl.
Madame Figaro
.
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How did you arrive at this ambitious project? Daniel Brühl.
- I heard about it almost too early, more than two years ago.
I was excited and nervous at the same time, which is always a good sign.
I like feeling out of my comfort zone.
I immediately wanted to play this legendary character, a German one at that.
Then the project disappeared, much to my dismay!
So I was even happier when I received an email from the director with the script.
I immediately said yes, before wondering how I was going to do it…
How did you get into the skin of the character?
I'm used to making my own interpretation of the lives of the people I play.
But in Karl's case, there are already a lot of images.
He is a character with a distinctive style, an attitude recognizable by everyone.
So I had to go beyond the facade, crack the armor and find out who this man was and what had moved him throughout his life.
I wondered who he was before fame.
I also remembered our only meeting, when I was a very young actor.
He was taking photos of new talents.
The others were all fighting to be in front.
I found it humiliating and he made me a little sign to show me that he appreciated that I didn't get into this game, his gesture touched me.
Finally, I discovered with fascination how much he was interested in various things, art, photography, cinema, theater, architecture.
I immersed myself in his cultural tastes before and during filming.
I watched films he liked like
Les Enfants du Paradis
, I went to the Champo cinema, where he often went.
I reread Proust.
I also tried to nourish myself with what was written about him, in particular
the biography of Raphaëlle Bacqué, Kaiser Karl
(Ed. Flammarion), which greatly inspired the series.
After reading a lot about Karl, including contradictory things he could say in different interviews, I had to make choices, find my own truth.
It's been a journey.
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The series looks at his rise, in the 1970s, between Paris, Rome and Monaco. Did you learn anything about this period in particular?
I learned how Karl and his fashion circle, in his early days, lived in their bubble of perfection.
They were big dreamers who carried out their profession with an intense passion, almost reminiscent of childhood.
Karl sometimes wanted to live like a prince, then have a Bauhaus or Art Deco tropism.
Every time he did something, it was done thoroughly and with great attention to detail.
I also didn't know this quartet driven by a love-hate dynamic between him, Jacques de Bascher, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.
What a joy to play!
Karl Lagerfeld and Jacques de Bascher, played by Daniel Brühl and Théodore Pellerin.
Disney+ Press
This quartet driven by a love-hate dynamic between Karl, Jacques de Bascher, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé: what a joy to play!
Daniel Brühl
How do we find accuracy in incarnation without falling into caricature?
Fear is omnipresent, even today.
I know that when I look at myself, I will see a multitude of details that will annoy me.
But I was lucky to have time to prepare.
I live in the countryside in Majorca and the sheep watched my gait and accent attempts, without judging me too much.
During the first reading, in Paris, the other actors in the series spoke French like machines.
They made jokes, in short, were French.
I told myself that Karl would have to talk like that and that it was going to be complicated.
Then there were the costume fittings and I started to believe it when I looked in the mirror.
During the actual rehearsals, I forgot my fears.
Théodore Pellerin, who plays the role of Jacques de Bascher, was my pillar throughout the filming.
I fell in love with him!
I assure you, I warned my wife.
He was always very gentle and comforting.
Arnaud Valois aka Yves Saint Laurent and Alex Lutz, who plays Pierre Bergé, were also very kind.
Did you need any special techniques to become Karl?
Yes.
One day, after meeting several of Karl's relatives, I had an epiphany.
I'm half Spanish and I thought of him as a matador.
Matadors are very masculine and feminine at the same time.
They have real body language, it's almost a dance.
They are very proud too.
This is a fundamental image that came back to me before each take.
I had a certain tension in my body, I wanted to possess the world while showing a certain grace, gentleness, elegance.
It was like entering a bullfight.
This helped me a lot.
I also found it very good that the series was filmed in French, because Karl Lagerfeld was more French than German.
It was the culture he loved, the people, Paris whose image he helped strengthen as an international fashion capital.
I looked for what was French in me, I sucked in all the energy of the city and the neighborhoods he loved like Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Read alsoCaroline Lebar, guardian of the Lagerfeld house
Immerse yourself in the heart of the 1970s, when Karl Lagerfeld (Daniel Brühl) was shaping his legend.
Disney+ Press
You are known for your varied roles in cinema, did you approach working on the series differently?
What's interesting about this format is that it allows you to have time to explore many facets of a character, to really prepare in advance.
I spent two days at the Chloé house, which let me wander through absolutely every department while it was in full excitement in the run-up to the Met Gala.
That's what I like about my work, I discover worlds that I don't know.
I loved the experience both professionally and personally.
A lot of things have been said and published about Karl Lagerfeld, what do you think the series brings?
The difference with other current series on the world of fashion is that the image of Karl Lagerfeld is still very fresh in our minds.
He died only five years ago.
He's someone who was successful and very prolific, like Andy Warhol, everyone has heard his name one day.
What the series brings is a look at a personal trajectory, the road to glory of an iconic figure in pop culture and even history.