“At first I said no” … Cécile Bois explains why she almost refused to play in The Taste of Crime

After having been unfaithful to France Télévisions by playing in Gloria and Addict on TF1, Cécile Bois finds France 2 for a new detective fiction since she plays the main role of the TV movie Le Goût du crime, directed by Chloé Micout, which is broadcast this Saturday, April 15 at 9:10 p.m.

In this thriller tinged with comedy, she plays Laure Grenadier, a former starred chef who now devotes herself to her activities as a food critic for the channel she created on the internet. And who will have to team up with her ex, a police captain played by Charlie Dupont, to solve a wave of crimes that is hitting restaurant owners in Lyon and which is affecting her closely because the first victim is none other than her uncle.

Laure’s position in the very closed circle of Lyon restaurants and the respect she inspires in regional chefs will then prove to be invaluable assets for the investigation carried out by the police.

On the occasion of the broadcast of Taste of Crime, Cécile Bois returned for us to the elements that pushed her to agree to play in this TV movie, despite initial hesitation, on her collaboration with Charlie Dupont and Bernard Le Coq , on his relationship to good food, and on his future projects.

AlloCiné: After ten seasons of Candice Renoir and a TV movie in Corsicadid you hesitate a little before saying “yes” to the TV movie Le Goût du crime, which is also a detective story?

Cecile Bois : Yes, I hesitated. Besides, at first, I said “no”. It was a producer that I knew, with whom I had made You will live my daughter, and whom I like very much, who came to me with this project. At first I didn’t want to do it because it was a detective and because I thought there were too many points in common with Candice Renoir.

We continued to debate on the phone, I gave him all the points that I thought were not working. And he agreed to change all those points, go back to writing, and get away from Candice. He came back to me three weeks later, as promised, and things had really changed.

He also told me about the idea of ​​this duet with Charlie Dupont, whom I had known for a long time but with whom I had never worked before. And since I liked him a lot in La Faute à Rousseau and I liked the changes made to the script, I said “ok”. And that’s how this adventure began.

Your biggest challenge on this unit was really to manage to distance yourself as much as possible from Candice, to whom you are necessarily attached in the eyes of the public?

Of course. It was a lot of work for me to manage to detach myself from Candice, despite some similarities, and to play another character who is not a police officer and who is still going to investigate. Because Candice has nothing of a policewoman, so it’s a big point in common. But it was interesting to go back to a thriller and not do Candice. As an actress, it was very interesting work.

Were you familiar with the novels by Noël Balen and Vanessa Barrot that inspired Le Goût du crime?

No, I don’t want to read the novels on which this or that film in which I play can be based, nor want to see what happened before. I am thinking in particular of the Gloria series, which was adapted from a foreign format. I have never felt the need until now, for the sake of freedom. I tell myself that as long as I don’t have the reference of something else, I have the one I imagine for the character. I feel that instead of enriching me, it would constrain my imagination.

The success of the TV movie is partly based on the dog and cat duo that you form with Charlie Dupont. How did you work on this atypical duo?

I think it’s a question of personality, we didn’t design anything at all, we didn’t work on this duo at all. I think the fact that we’ve known each other for a long time was an asset. I worked on a fairly long project with his wife in 2008, so I had the opportunity to see him privately. And we also have a lot of mutual friends. All of that had to be played out. And then Charlie is a rather pleasant and warm person, it happened naturally.

Even though you only have one scene together, your fictional uncle is embodied by Bernard LeCoq. Is it always a pleasure to play with actors of this caliber?

Bernard had played my stepfather in Gloria, we had also worked in another film called Blindly, and we had met for the first time on Une famille formidable, so we know each other well now. And it is always with a very contagious joy that we meet again. It’s hugs galore and parties of fun.

But that does not prevent the requirement because Bernard is a very sharp actor in what he wants to do, and often dissatisfied, so he needs to redo and challenge himself. He is someone who has kept a humility and a taste for life that command admiration. It’s a lesson, with the career he has.

Pascal Chantier – FTV – GMT Prod

The TV movie was shot in Lyon. Were you able to enjoy the region and the traffic jams of Lyon during the four weeks of filming?

Not so much, because I was filming every day. I’m someone who needs a lot of sleep and silence too, because the atmosphere on sets is always time-consuming. I often need to be on my own, so I didn’t extend the halftime after filming (laughs).

It gave me little opportunity to discover the city and traffic jams. Which isn’t so bad because it’s not a region where you lose weight (laughs). And it’s a feat on set not to gain weight. So everything was done for me to stay in my corner preparing to eat.

Between Le Goût du crime, which takes place in the world of gastronomy, and Les Gouttes de Dieu, which will be released on Apple TV+, your news is quite linked to the pleasures of life, good food and good wine. Are these things that speak to you? Do you consider yourself an epicurean?

Yes, rather. I find it difficult to restrain myself in front of the pleasures whatever they are. It could be a problem by the way (laughs). I have a discipline of life of course, but on condition that I also profit on the side.

Afterwards, what I must say is that I was immersed in wine at a very young age because when I was very young my godfather had vineyards in Libourne. So I participated in the harvest until I was 15, I had my feet in the land of the vineyards, picking the grapes. Very quickly they made me taste a little bit of wine, it helped me to have a sharper palate I think. But it didn’t give me a taste for wine, today I’m not someone who drinks a lot of wine.

On the other hand, I love food, whatever it is. But I realize over the years that the best food is not necessarily haute cuisine. It’s mostly good products. But I’m curious about all that, that’s for sure.

In Le Goût du crime, your character, Laure, is a renowned food critic who is wildly successful on Youtube and Instagram. What relationship do you have with social networks?

A reasonable report. I make it the tool that I want, that is to say that I subscribe to profiles that make me feel good, I watch videos that relax me or that teach me things. But I absolutely avoid scandals, things that make noise in all its forms. And when I post, I’m careful that it’s something positive, that doesn’t have consequences. I don’t add shadow to shadow. We live in a world so noisy, so hectic, that I avoid bringing water to this mill.

Pascal Chantier – FTV – GMT Prod

There are several novels featuring Laure Grenadier. Do you know if a sequel is possible if successful? And would you like to re-enlist?

I don’t know at all if France Télévisions wants to follow up on this TV movie. As for me, I’m continuing Candice Renoir in the form of singles so I don’t know if it wouldn’t be redundant to launch a “Laure Grenadier” collection when I’m already playing Candice, whom I particularly like.

Can you tell us a word about your upcoming projects? Will you be focusing on Candice Renoir’s upcoming TV movies?

I will be in the credits of the series Les Gouttes de Dieu, which comes out on April 21 on Apple TV + and which will be broadcast by the end of the year a priori on France Télévisions. It was a wonderful series, adapted from a manga, in which I play the mother of the heroine played by Fleur Geffrier.

And for the rest, I especially try to distract myself from Candice, even if it’s a priori the most immediate project, it’s true. I worked a lot last year, I needed to take a real break. And today the end of the series in its traditional form leaves me much more time to read and to choose my projects. I have quite a few reading projects, some in the embryonic state, others in the medium term. And in the short term I’m finishing what I started three months ago: taking care of those I love.