On the occasion of the release of Without respite on Netflix this February 25, Franck Gastambide returned to the microphone of AlloCiné on the significant encounters of his career.
From dog trainer to accomplished actor-director, Franck Gastambide has come a long way! But he didn’t become a movie star overnight. Back in his company on his beginnings in the middle and his most significant experiences.
Croquettes deliverer
Frank Gastambide: I’ve always been rather resourceful and I knew that filming [en tant que dresseur, ndlr], it wouldn’t be every day and there aren’t animals in all the movies so I had developed another activity on the side, I was selling dog food. And so I delivered kibble when I didn’t have a shoot.
I started filming dogs.
And then very quickly, I said to myself that I was quite fascinated by the camera. When I went on set with my dogs, I finished the scene with the animals, I put them back in the car and I stayed on the set to try to understand, to watch how things were going.
I had a camcorder loaned to me one day, thinking to myself “what could I have been legitimate to film”. Obviously, I had no idea that one day I would make films myself and I started filming dogs and releasing small documentaries on K7 video and then on DVD on the breeds I loved.
Debuts on television with Vincent Lagaf’
Each of the people who reach out to us in these moments obviously gives us an opportunity, and after that what is needed is to transform that, it is not to expect others to do the job our place. I was a trainer on the Bigdil, that was 20 years ago. (…) It was something all the same for me every week to play games with the dogs, I loved doing that. Yes, each of the people who reached out to me at certain times in my life helped me move forward a little bit.
Her first film role
Gaumont Distribution
The first person who hired me as an actor was Ramzy. On a film called There’s still ham? and we played our own roles of Kaïra with Medi and Jib. At that time, we hadn’t made a film yet, we only did our little sketches on the internet and on Canal.
Her first dramatic role
The penalty area, I feel like it allowed me to show something different. I was very lucky to have been thought of for a role like that and it’s true that it’s a film that another category of people in the business talk to me about. That’s very surprising. For example, Toledano and Nakache, whom I like very much, they were among the first to tell me “We saw you in the penalty area, it’s great!” (…).
So I know how good it made me to do this film and this role and I really like this film. I loved sharing the poster with Alice Isaaz. Now, it’s true that I’ve always made more popular film choices, especially in what I do myself. But yes, this film is essential and I am very proud that it was offered to me and very proud to have made it.
And now on Netflix
How did you come to the Without Respite project?
I was called to ask if I knew of the original movie called Hard Day which is, frankly, a little masterpiece of Korean cinema. I was very flattered to be offered this and then it allowed me to go into a register that I haven’t done yet, which is the action thriller, and which is also a style that we don’t do much in France. I was very happy to be offered this and I was all the more happy to share the poster with Simon Abkarian, who is still one of our greatest actors and who is a James Bond villain.
For me, the days I was shooting with Simon were the days when I put pressure on myself and said to myself “It’s going to show so much that he’s better than me, I have to work a lot”. So these are days before filming where everyone says “We’re going to eat” and I say “No, I’m not eating tonight, I’m going to rehearse my text”. So there were a lot of challenges for me with the idea of doing Without Respite.
How did you prepare to step into the shoes of this bloodthirsty cop?
First of all, there are a lot of discussions with the director. Preparing for stunts, chase scenes, fight scenes… all of that really helps us get into the character because it’s in those moments that we start to think about how he walks, how he looks, how he thinks, how he speaks.
And beyond that, there’s still the ghost of the original movie that’s there, which is a little masterpiece, so the idea is never to try to do as well because the bar is high but rather to try to do something different and make the film more accessible to the French public. But it’s true that the comparison with the Korean actor, it’s terrible for me because the guy is great and I shoot thinking “I’ll never be at that level so I have to offer something else” .
What awaits you in the future?
I am finalizing the writing of my new film which will be a big action comedy. I have lots of desires, lots of projects in my head, but what’s next is my new film.
The Sans Respite trailer: