Passing through the CanneSeries festival, Pola Petrenko, the interpreter of Charlène Teyssier in “Here it all begins”, confided in our microphone about her character, the return of Marta and the Louis-Charlene couple.
AlloCiné: You have played the role of Charlène Teyssier in Here it all begins for almost two years. What conclusions do you draw from this?
Pola Petrenko : I was very lucky because I started with little experience. I had filmed a few series for Canal but it was far from being as big as what we are filming at the moment. I think the evolution I’ve had throughout these two years is absolutely incredible, both from a technical point of view, as well as in the game or in my character.
Charlene has grown. I was lucky because the authors really liked me. It’s crazy this evolution when you see the first episodes compared to now. Looks like two different people.
We can say that war has now been declared between Célia (Rebecca Benhamour) and Charlène. What can we expect between them in the next episodes?
Charlène is very angry with Célia because she broke the relationship between Marta (Sarah Fitri) and Théo (Khaled Alouach). Marta has been his best friend since childhood and it suited him that his brother was dating his best friend. The fact that this mythical couple, who had been there since the start of the series, broke up like that, it destroyed something for Charlène. That’s why she’s mad at Celia.
She should blame Theo too. Besides, she’s very angry with him, that’s why she tarries him so much and blames him so much. But she thinks Celia broke something. Suddenly, Charlene, who is never all white, wants to try to take revenge. How far will she go to avenge her best friend? All I can tell you is that she won’t go too far this time.
Finally, is Charlene only doing this to help her best friend or to take over the top of the Easter menu?
Of course it does! If we can tap on Célia and also get the Easter menu, it’s with great pleasure [rires].
If Charlene is very loyal to her friends, she is also very family. Isn’t she afraid of losing her brother in all this?
In these circumstances, Charlène needs to feel some form of justice. She needs to punish Theo for what he did to Marta. However, she understood past mistakes and won’t go overboard this time around.
Exactly, Marta will soon make her big comeback at the Auguste Armand Institute. What can you tell us about the reunion of these two best friends?
It will be a Machiavellian reunion [rires]. They will go well until an ultimate reversal of the situation which will completely degenerate.
It has been several weeks since Louis (Fabian Wolfrom) left the institute. Can we hope for a reunion with Charlène soon?
Charlene is very fond of Louis. She loves him with all her heart as she has never loved anyone. I don’t think Charlène-Louis is a couple we’re going to break up. Inevitably, Charlene is waiting for him with a firm footing.
I can tell you that we shot a very beautiful scene. I was impressed because it was a tribute to the French film La boum. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot this. In any case, let’s go for new adventures with Louis that will last.
Last year, your character was central to the “Sugar Daddy” storyline. More recently, the series explored the complexes of Charlène Teyssier and the ravages of cosmetic surgery, especially among the youngest. As an actress, is it important for you to be able to address such strong themes at prime time?
Sure. It’s incredible because we have the chance to raise social issues and show people what is happening at the moment among young people. I speak for botox for example, these are things that have affected people close to me. Illegal injections are very fashionable and popular on reality TV. We are fortunate to be able to prevent and inform people on these subjects. I understand that it seems like it came out of nowhere for Charlène, but it’s a subject that affected people who follow me too. So it’s good to have been able to talk about it.
It’s a plot that made Charlène a lot more human too…
Exactly. It’s a little touch that I had asked the authors. I had asked for a touch of kindness that resembled me a little more. They listened to me and it’s great.
The Teyssier family grew with the arrival of Axel (Thomas Da Costa). Soon, Philippe, Emmanuel’s brother, will disembark. What can you tell us about this upcoming family plot?
The Teyssier clan does not stop at Axel and Philippe. What will happen to the Teussier family afterwards? Axel will obviously be present and I think it’s also a way to integrate him. But the Teyssier family as a whole will be at the forefront in the coming months. There will be lots of twists and turns.
Your character is in the third year of cooking and is about to finish his course at the Auguste Armand Institute. Do you know what awaits your character once the exams are over?
Charlene is a very good student. Unfortunately, she does not know if she will be able to graduate or not. We do not know what can happen, if she will pass her exams or if she will repeat. It’s all an open door. In any case, there will be surprises for the students of the Auguste Armand Institute.
What do you hope for the future of your character?
I love shooting with the Teyssier family so there I was served. That’s great, that’s what I wanted. Then I asked for a touch of softness and humanity from Charlène. In fact, it turns out that after having that, I miss the plague scenes (laughs). In any case, I would like to keep Charlène as she is while sometimes adding a little touch of humanity.