INTERVIEW. The actor, who currently plays two “bad boy” characters, opens up like never before.
At the premiere of Graham Guit’s latest film, “Stronger than the Devil,” Melvil Poupaud also appears in the credits of “Privileges,” an HBO series. For “Le Point,” the actor agreed to discuss his career. Having just finished filming the next movies by Nicolas Pariser and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Poupaud also talks about what studying sacred Catholic texts brings to him.
Le Point: What is the genesis of this curious thriller titled Stronger than the Devil where you share the screen with Asia Argento, Marine Vacht, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, and Ralka Hazanavicius?
Melvil Poupaud: It has been eighteen years since Graham and I worked together. When he presented me with this scenario where I play a fallen architect, living in a caravan, who encounters a group of crazy gangsters, I immediately said yes. Graham’s universe is deliciously offbeat. For me, it’s halfway between the Coen brothers and Quentin Tarantino. I love his punk side. This film takes us far from what French cinema usually offers. With him, actors can go very far in the second degree.
How did you find yourself playing, in parallel, in the series written and directed by Marie Monge and Vladimir de Fontenay for HBO?
If I agreed to play the role of this hotel manager, it’s because I wanted to slip into the same suit as De Niro in “Casino”: a dual character… well-dressed, polite, almost obsequious with clients. But backstage, he becomes a kind of monster capable of the worst things.
How do you prepare for such roles?
For Graham Guit’s film, you just had to go into free-wheeling. Which is easy because I trust him. We have known each other since we were 20 years old. We made two films together in the 1990s, “The Sky Is Ours” [1997, Ed.] and “The Kidnappers” [1998].
For the HBO series, I met a real hotel manager. He told me about his life. It is both a princely existence because he is the head of 450 people. It’s also a hell because he has to be accountable to the owners and comply with clients’ demands…
(Short Context: Melvil Poupaud, a French actor, shares insights about his acting career, experiences in filming various projects, and his interest in studying Catholic texts.)
(FACT CHECK: Melvil Poupaud discusses his collaborations with various directors, his roles in films and series, and his personal interests, including photography and studying religious texts. The article also delves into his personal history and encounters with notable figures in the film industry.)
