2024 - Death of Gaspard Ulliel: his incredible metamorphosis to play Yves Saint-Laurent, the role of his life

In 2014, Gaspard Ulliel metamorphosed into Yves Saint Laurent. For months, the actor who died on Wednesday January 19 lived in the shoes of the genius creator to offer an unforgettable interpretation.

More than a role, it was a transformation. From the career of Gaspard Ulliel, who died on Wednesday January 19 at the age of 37, spectators will of course remember his roles in A long engagement Sunday, in Just the end of the world, in Jacquou le Croquant. But the face of the actor will also remain, forever, that of a fictional Yves Saint Laurent larger than life. In 2014, it is him that Bertrand Bonello chose to embody the genius creator on the screen. “I had an epiphany while having dinner at the restaurant yesterday. A photo of young Saint Laurent was hanging on the wall, and I saw you”, the director told him. To transform into Saint Laurent, and steal the role of his life from the other suitors, Gaspard Ulliel has undergone a profound metamorphosis. “Saint Laurent’s voice was my first point of entry into the character”, told the actor in Vanity Fair.

“Bertrand had always been struck by the musicality, the rhythm and the phrasing which were specific to him. And above all this fragility, which is not femininity”, told the actor. For many months, Gaspard Ulliel transformed into Yves Saint Laurent. Until having a hard time separating from his character once the shooting is over. “I lived intensely with him during the preparation period, which nevertheless lasted a year, and throughout the filming, confided the actor to The Press. When I came home in the evening, I wanted to stay as close as possible to the character, because the fear of losing him lived in me permanently. To embody the fashion designer, Gaspard Ulliel lost more than ten kilos, not to have his body but “to arrive with a body wrap” which was not his.

Gaspard Ulliel: “There is a part of me in every second of this character”

“It was Jérémie Renier who had played a drug addict in a film who gave me the instructions. Muesli in the morning, boiled white fish and vegetables at noon and broth in the evening. It’s radical”, he described to the magazine She. But no question of copying it. “There’s a part of me in every second of this character., he assured the Parisian. I didn’t want to become Yves Saint Laurent, I just wanted to make it real.” And the result was stunning. Especially since at the time, another actor also slipped into the skin of Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Niney. “Very quickly, I understood that we had to completely detach ourselves from this concern. At first, I wondered what Pierre Niney was going to do with the character, especially since Pierre is an extremely talented actor” , he conceded in the columns of La Presse. This tailor-made role, which stuck with him for years, won Gaspard Ulliel a César for best actor.

Loading-widget

Subscribe to the Closermag.fr Newsletter to receive the latest news for free

2/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
The actor died on January 19

3/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
The face of the actor will also remain, forever, that of a fictional Yves Saint Laurent larger than life.

4/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
In 2014, it is him that Bertrand Bonello chose to embody the genius creator on the screen

5/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
To transform himself into Saint Laurent, and steal the role of his life from the other contenders, Gaspard Ulliel has undergone a profound metamorphosis

6/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
“The voice of Saint Laurent was my first point of entry into the character”, told the actor in Vanity Fair

7/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
For many months, Gaspard Ulliel transformed into Yves Saint Laurent

8/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
Until having a hard time separating from his character once the shooting is over

9/12 –

Gaspard ulliel
To embody the fashion designer, Gaspard Ulliel lost more than ten kilos, not to have his body but “to arrive with a body envelope” which was not his