Muriel Robin’s poignant tribute to Michel Bouquet

Michel Bouquet passed away on April 13 and left behind a wonderful career in French cinema and theatre. He was a great actor but also a colleague and sometimes a master for many actors and actresses who loved working alongside him.

On the occasion of this national tribute paid to Michel Bouquet for all of his work, many people came to tell who Michel Bouquet was.

Fabrice Luchini, Muriel Robin and Pierre Arditi, shared a few words about Michel Bouquet, a man who strongly influenced their career in cinema. “You were a genius. You were the essence and the unique”, reminded Fabrice Luchini.

But it is undoubtedly the speech of Muriel Robin which most marked the assistance. More than a declaration of love, the actress delivered a part of intimacy to thank Michel Bouquet for having helped her to engage in her acting career.

Muriel Robin’s “father of theatre”

Michel Bouquet was Muriel Robin’s teacher at the Conservatory. It was he who instilled in her the desire for comedy. But it was also he who convinced her to persist. “Sir, you have opened the doors to such a vast world for me: the theatre”, says Muriel Robin in a letter she addresses to Michel Bouquet. She read its contents with a voice full of emotions.

The actress especially wanted to thank Michel Bouquet for having saved her. “15 years ago, the job was killing me, you said to me, ‘You don’t have the right, Muriel!’ You probably saved me from dying.” entrusts with tenderness and emotion, Muriel Robin

Michel Bouquet was the guide, the “dad of theater” by Muriel Robin. “Thanks to you, I discovered the words, their weight, their subtleties”, says the actress. Full of admiration, she addresses these words to Michel Bouquet: “I have always seen a giant in you.”

At the end of the speeches of the relatives of the comedian, a minute of silence was observed. Emmanuel Macron, freshly re-elected, was also present during this national tribute. The president also said a few words about the talent of Michel Bouquet, then placed a white rose at the foot of the giant portrait of the actor. A gesture then repeated by the students of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art, in which Michel Bouquet trained many actors.