In 1974, the actress shot Stavisky (Sunday September 11 at 8:55 p.m. on Arte), a sumptuous period film, alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo. She shares her memories with us.
What a picture of Stavisky always comes first to you?
Anny Duperey: My first strong memory of this film is well before shooting, when the costumes were made. Every morning, for two months, I went to Yves Saint Laurent and he himself designed all the clothes on me. The tete-a-tete with this genius was a waking dream for the granddaughter of a seamstress that I was. And who, moreover, often created her film costumes herself.
It was the first time that you were directed by Alain Resnais. How do you work with a huge director, coupled with a man reputed to be discreet?
I loved shooting with him. He was the type to give very few instructions, believing that the real direction of actors was played out when the director chose this or that actor. I toured twice with him and I have very good memories. These are also the only times I had a film presented at Cannes, almost forty years apart: Stavisky in 1974 and You have not seen anything yet in 2012, on the myth of Orpheus, based on two plays by Jean Anouilh.
It’s hard not to mention your illustrious partner, Jean-Paul Belmondo the Stavisky of the title, whose wife you play…
So there, I must admit that the current did not pass between us! This despite what her friend, the make-up artist, had told me Charly Koubesserian, whom I knew well, and who was devastated by the climate between us (She laughs.) Jean-Paul was in his “puffy” era.
That’s to say ?
He still had a somewhat misogynistic relationship with women, which was not my cup of tea. He was then living with a luscious Italian woman who put her breasts squarely on the table (the actress Laura Antonelli, died in 2015, editor’s note). In short, let’s say that he liked women “cushions”, to put it mildly. However, I was a very free girl, not at all “submissive doll”. To be honest, I must have been the type of woman that scared him.
However, you became very good friends afterwards…
Years later, we met at the exit of a theater. I went up to him and told him how stupid we had been. Stavisky, It was a shame it didn’t catch. Well, from that day on, he came to see me every time I performed on stage. We often ate together. A great friendship was born between us, which never wavered until his death. We had finally passed the age of seduction and childishness!
Subscribe to the Telestar.fr Newsletter to receive the latest news for free