Former cop, Olivier Marchal has made a name for himself in the cinema, with his punchy thrillers. Passionate about the profession of actor since his adolescence, the 65-year-old filmmaker served in the ranks of the judicial police and general intelligence in the 1980s, before definitively closing this chapter of his life in 1994, to devote himself to his career as an actor and director. We owe him in particular 36 Quai des Goldsmithshis cult film in 2004, but also Pax Massilia, his series recently launched on Netflix. During an interview for the podcast Shadows and lightsthe creator of Braquo (Canal+) returned to his past as a police officer, explaining why he does not want his children to follow in his footsteps. “My older daughter Léa, a veterinary assistant, went horse riding and said to me one day: ‘Dad, I would like to join the mounted police or be a cop’. I got this terrible response: ‘I’d rather you be a whore.’ It was to shock her! I don’t want you to be a cop, because you’re hypersensitive and you’re going to get one in the face in 5-6 years.”he said into Isabelle Dhombres’ microphone.
Olivier Marchal “must” prohibit his children from joining the police
Olivier Marchal is the father of four children – Léa (1994), Zoé (1998), Ninon (2006) and Basile (2009) – born from his past union with his ex-partner Catherine Marchal. Although the two actors separated in 2015, they did not divorce. Despite his pride in having served the national police, the director accustomed to the roles of gruff cops has not forgotten the violence of the institution. “I know his hypersensitivity, and when you know your children, you have to forbid them from doing this job. Afterwards, there are people who are made for that… I thought I was made for that, through cinema. I I’m hypersensitive too… I stayed 12 years but I’m still paying for it, at 65″he said for the podcast Shadows and lights. “You pay for this job for life, like a guy who’s been to prison. My thug friends, who’ve been to jail, don’t have the same reflexes as everyone else. When you’ve experienced the things that no one has experienced, apart from the cops, the thugs or the soldiers at the front, who know this suffering, to different degrees”he added again.