With his black hair, his clear eyes and his delicate face, it’s hard not to recognize Elsa Zylberstein, one of the pillars of French cinema for more than twenty years. However, the actress decided this year to set herself a huge challenge: to transform herself entirely into Simone Veil for a biopic which she had the idea after meeting her more than ten years ago.
With the help of the experienced Olivier Dahan, already director of The kid on Edith Piaf, and several nutritionists, she tells the magazine She should have taken”eight kilos, which is not without damage to health. I took belly, thighs, everyone thought I was pregnant.“For the face and build, four to seven hours of make-up a day and replicas of original Chanel suits help build the image of the politician everyone knows today, who died in 2017 and entered the Pantheon l ‘Next year.
But that’s not all: Elsa Zylberstein, who went through the death of her mother during filming, explains that she worked on absolutely every aspect of the character: “I worked the role for a year. I first read everything I found on her […] then I met those who knew her […] and then his family of course. A word, a simple anecdote nourished me.“With a language learning organization, she also learned to speak like her, listening to her for several months.
“One morning, I woke up, decided to speak “the Simone”. I called the Tomatis center, language learning specialist […] they offer me to create a tailor-made program. They study my ear, its frequencies, and for six months I listen to all of Simone’s speeches, every day, for about an hour and a half. I wanted it to become second nature.“
A role that holds great importance in the career of Elsa Zylberstein, totally inhabited by the character of Simone Veil. Grande dame of French politics, she had been arrested and deported to Auschwitz when she was younger, before committing to women’s rights. It is in particular to her that we owe the law which decriminalizes abortion, passed in 1975.
Societal struggles that motivated the actress to offer this film to producers and the director. “I am happy to see the number of young girls who know Simone Veil today, her journey, what she has accomplished for all of us. His constant battle for human dignity”.