Is Tony Kelly’s father in “Here it all begins”? Met at the La Rochelle Festival, Axelle Dodier confides in the evolution of her character and on the new plot devoted to the origins of Kelly, which will turn into an obsession.
AlloCiné: You arrived in Here it all starts at the beginning of 2021. What is your assessment of the year and a half that has just passed?
Axelle Dodier : It’s a great experience. Humanly speaking, it’s incredible. We are lucky to work with very nice and caring people. As an actress, I learn a lot, I’m very lucky. And then we realize that the series is a real phenomenon. There are so many people following us every night. It’s pretty crazy.
Kelly has had a great evolution since entering the series. She ended up joining the institute as a student and is now in her second year. Did you know from the start that she was destined to join the ranks of the school as a student?
No, I didn’t know that. At first, Kelly was a mysterious character, I didn’t really know what awaited her.
And then a few months later, people started telling me that she might be taking the institute exam, but it wasn’t sure. And when I found out that she was indeed going to join the institute and become a student, I was delighted. He’s a character that I adore and I find his development very beautiful. I am too proud.
The mother-daughter relationship that unites Laetitia and Kelly is very beautiful, very touching. Did Florence Coste and you immediately match when you started touring together?
Right away. Instantly. It was quite magical. We fell in love very quickly and very strongly, Florence and me. I’m so lucky to be touring with her.
What can you say about what awaits Kelly in the next episodes? Will there be turmoil in her relationship with Lionel?
No, Lionel and Kelly are still madly in love. For the moment, this is not expected to change. And so much the better because I love Lucien Belves, who plays Lionel. So I’m happy to play with him.
Afterwards, what I can say is that the next episodes will revolve around my character quite a bit. We will be interested in his family and his identity. Kelly will want to know who her father is.
So Tony isn’t his father?
I don’t know (laughs). To find out, you’ll have to watch the sequel to Here it all begins. But in any case, Kelly will launch out in search of her origins, that’s for sure. The question of her father will become very important to her, it will be like an obsession. She’s really going to want to know who her father is.
ITC/TF1
Are you happy that the authors are finally interested in the origins of Kelly and the identity of her father?
Sure. This is a golden subject. She arrives in the series, she has no father. I was sure it was going to be addressed at some point so I’m glad it finally got done today.
Do you hope to have a few more cooking sequences in the future in the series?
Yes, because it’s also one of the things that characterizes Kelly: her genius in the kitchen. She has that genius, that creativity, so I can’t wait to see that in her house.
Are there actors with whom you would like to work more or with whom you have perhaps never had the opportunity to share scenes?
I would love to work more with Julien Alluguette, who plays chef Landiras, because I love him. With Virginie Caliari, who plays the Listrac chef. With Marvin Pellegrino who plays Mehdi. And with Benjamin Baroche, who plays Teyssier. I would love to shoot with Benjamin again, it’s always great to share scenes with him. But there are so many, really.
Fabien Malot/ITC/TF1
Do you have a favorite plot from the start?
What’s coming isn’t bad at all. She is even very, very good (laughs). But otherwise I really liked shooting the “Cheating” plot, where Kelly helps Lionel pass the tests. With the beginning of the love story between them. We saw another side of Kelly. And the love story was super well filmed, super cute. I really enjoyed shooting this arch.
Among your acting partners, with whom have you forged the strongest ties outside of the film sets?
With Florence Coste, who plays my mother. And with Kathy Packianathan, who plays Deva. These are my two pillars.
So you wish Kelly and Deva had more scenes together on the show?
Yes of course. But it’s a friendship that’s starting to be processed, we’re starting to see them together more and more. So I hope it will last because I love playing with Kathy and I think it’s a duo and a friendship that works well on screen.
Do you have any projects outside of Here Everything Begins that you can tell us about?
For the moment I am very focused on Here it all begins. It’s a series that takes a lot of time and I want to be fully focused on it. I still have leads for a few parallel projects but, for the moment, nothing is signed, nothing is recorded, so I prefer not to talk about it.
Comments collected as part of the La Rochelle TV Fiction Festival.