“I was brought up to hate the bourgeois. As we get older, we relax ”

It would be easy to sum it up: a “tignous” hiding his vulnerability, carried from one role to another (in Lovers, by Nicole Garcia, on the big screen since November 17, in In his lifetime, by Emmanuelle Bercot, which will be released on Wednesday, November 24) by this intense blend of power and sensitivity.

We would be wrong. We never summarize anyone. And probably not him, Benoît Magimel. “Kid, I loved to tell myself, he confesses. I added more. One day, I said to myself: I have to keep everything to myself, that people know as little as possible to give free rein to their imaginations. From then on, I replied: yes, no. Journalists’ nightmares… ”

The Murat. A chicos café at Porte d’Auteuil. Public of rombières, wealthy families, illegitimate couples, some television heads of the 16e district of Paris. We sat at the back under the portrait of the Marshal of the Empire as a handsome kid. “I was brought up to hate the bourgeois. As we get older, we relax. Chabrol taught me that. He said to me: “Look, I made a Macbeth with Roger Hanin who had the blackfoot accent. You see, we survive everything… ””

“Sometimes, in the theaters, I am still called: ‘Hey! Momo! ” “

The point is, he doesn’t live far away. We opt for vodkas-Martini 007 style, shaken, not stirred – “shaken, not stirred”, with the spit olives floating on the surface. It pulls out. He grimaces. “You have to be humble: I made 70 films… Ask someone to name more than three. Nobody can do it, it’s always Walter in The Pianist, Momo in Life is a long quiet river… That’s all. For all actors, it’s the same. Ask Sophie Marceau: The party ! Sometimes, in the theaters, I am still called: “Hey! Momo! ”

Read also James Bond Martini

Momo? It starts there, or almost. In the Gobelins district, in Paris. Michèle, the mother, is a nurse. First at the Val-de-Grâce hospital, then as a liberal. Big heart, she brings the misery of the world home to take care of it. The father, a bank employee, is the type who can’t stand dog hair and dream of social success. He quickly deserted, leaving his two boys behind. A man replaces him, his name is Benoît. Suddenly, the child becomes “little Benoît”. It squeaks: “It was out of the question. Kid, I was still swelling my chest. It was almost an obsession. I was afraid I wasn’t strong enough. ” The stepfather does not make old bones and leaves, leaving a little sister.

One foot in the serious, another in the street

You have 69.88% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.

source site-19