Child of the ball, Samuel Kircher irradiates the screen, headlining Last summer, by Catherine Breillat. For his first appearance, the budding actor, 18 years old at the time of filming, takes on, with surreal grace, the complicated role of a stubborn teenager attracted to his stepmother.
How did you find yourself propelled to the forefront in a Catherine Breillat film?
In the summer of 2021, my brother [le comédien Paul Kircher] had just learned that he was caught in both The High School Studentby Christophe Honoré, and The Animal Kingdom, by Thomas Cailley. He was no longer available to play Catherine Breillat’s film, which was to be filmed at the same time. Catherine therefore took over the casting, but found no one else. In the spring, she came back to Paul again, she absolutely cared for him. That’s when he suggested she turn to me. The shooting was imminent. At the same time as I was taking the baccalaureate, I also found myself taking the tests.
Did you already have experience as an actor?
My parents are actors [Jérôme Kircher et Irène Jacob], it was obviously a world I was familiar with. I had taken theater classes, done a little improvisation, but in a school setting. So that was the big leap.
How did you react to discovering your adolescent character in a burning and poisonous passion?
It was the first time I read a script in my life. And when reading it, it’s always difficult to imagine what the film will really be like. First, I didn’t understand what I was reading. Then, little by little, I became captivated by this relationship and what it covers: the dilemma between a reasonable life and abandonment to desire. Before filming, I thought a lot about my role, in a somewhat selfish way. I feared the virulent, angry side of the character, fearing not to be very credible in that register. But Catherine wasn’t looking for someone who exuded violence or instability. Fortunately, because the character only comes out more disturbing.
Catherine Breillat is known for her demands, even her harshness, with her actors. How did you experience filming?
Catherine is a fantastic director of actors, there is a permanent intensity on her set. Having never done any filming, I had no point of comparison. I discovered cinema in this way: this relentless search to sculpt the scene, to always go further. We seek to install very precise emotions, and this precision involves the bodies, their positions, their way of moving, nothing is left to chance. And yet, the impression I get from it is that Catherine left us a lot of freedom, because she did not dictate any psychological intentions to us, only physical indications. It’s only afterwards, when the scene is played, that she fleshes it out. She works a lot on her own experiences, and understanding the character also involves that.
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