In Meurtres à Nancy, Saturday October 15 at 9:10 p.m. on France 3, the actress plays a commissioner who must solve a case in reference to the witch hunts of the Middle Ages.
How would you describe your character?
Cristiana Reali: She’s a human cop who can be a bit harsh, because investigations sometimes rub off on her life. There, she is confronted with a story around witches, and I found that original. She is looking for a lightness that she will find in her sidekick, Bernier, interpreted by Fabrice Deville.
You form a tender and sparkling duo that works very well. How did you get along on the set?
Things had to go well between us. And especially that there is humor, because this couple is on this register in the story. It’s easier to leave in lightness when there is a real complicity in life. For me, the complicity is built as you go, but he wanted it to stick right away. He was right, it worked very well. Finally, there were not many differences between the two of us in life and the two of us on screen… Except of course that we don’t live a love story in life!
You have already turned in Murders in Burgundy. What do you like in this collection?
It is this clever mix between a police intrigue and the discovery of a region. We see France, we discover landscapes, different atmospheres. Even though I didn’t have much time because I was on theatrical tour, I was able to discover Nancy, who is very pleasant. I shot in the famous library, which is magnificent, and I liked to get lost in the small streets at night.
You’re taking over the show you created last year, Simone Veil, the fights of a cheeky, at the Théâtre Antoine (Paris) from November 4, then on tour. Are you happy to get back on the boards?
This show is very close to my heart. I play it and I also adapted it. I’m leaving on tour with 70 dates, it’s very moving for me, because the reception from the public is wonderful. We are even going to play it for women prisoners in Fleury-Mérogis prison. I realize its very strong resonance with today’s debates: reconciliation in Europe, abortion, anti-Semitism. This woman was visionary, modern and her word is still valid.
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