She plays Élisabeth, he plays Alain in the France 2 soap opera Un si grand soleil, from Monday to Friday at 8:45 p.m. on France 2. Their interpreters Chrystelle Labaude and Frédéric Van Den Driessche reveal to us the evolution of their fictional couple.
At the end of 2023, Alain saw his family grow with the arrival of Flore (Emmanuelle Bouaziz), his daughter, and Tiago (Félicien Araud), his grandson found thanks to a DNA test. How to summarize this meeting?
Frédéric Van Den Driessche: This was a wonderful surprise for Alain who had been craving fatherhood since the start of the series. Unfortunately for him, he was not able to fully experience this moment because he found himself refereeing a wrestling match between Flore and Élisabeth, both of whom have strong characters!
Chrystelle Labaude: Élisabeth knows how to be welcoming, but you shouldn’t step on her toes. And Flore abused his hospitality by being a little too unembarrassed for his taste. We haven’t left each other as good friends but we should talk more kindly in the coming weeks, thanks to an event that will bring us a little closer… It’s not going to be July 14 either, but that’s it. calms down.
What did you think of this arch which is set to bounce back in the coming weeks?
CL: I found it great but above all I was very happy for my partner. He had a lovely part to play and as he is a wonderful actor, he did it admirably well. And it’s not over…
Frédéric, wasn’t it time for your character to be more exposed?
FVDD: Yes, I was asking for that. I mentioned it with the writing team ofSuch a bright sun.I needed Alain to exist outside of his role as a doctor or his status as a “companion”. To be honest, I probably would have left the series if I hadn’t been given the opportunity to develop it further.
This start of the year is marked by the sudden death of Guilhem, embodied by Manuel Blanc. How will this event also shake up the lives of Alain and Élisabeth?
CL: When the writing director, Olivier Szulzynger, spoke to me about this plot, he told me that Élisabeth had to behave like Guilhem’s widow even though they have not been a couple for four years. So I played it as if she had just lost the man of her life. And it will tire Alain terribly!
FVDD: It’s the least we can say ! She makes boxes of them with her Guilhem, she inflates Alain beyond what is possible. It allowed me to play the ridiculousness of jealousy. This is also something I have experienced in my life. I was able to show myself jealous… In these cases, we are not always very shrewd.
Soon, Élisabeth Bastide decides to carry out a merger with another company. Does this herald a new storm?
CL: A storm, rather! Until then, we have instilled a lot of comedy moments in our arches, this is no longer the case on this one. We are facing a big tragedy but it’s still too early to talk about it…
FVDD: Yes, Alain will be trapped and it will upset the balance of his relationship. He’s going to ask himself a lot of questions. He will literally be “heartbroken”. It’s yet another exploration of this character that I really liked.
Personally, do you think that you should tell each other everything in a relationship?
CL: Certainly not ! I would not have given you the same answer twenty or thirty years ago. But with age, I understood that there was no point in telling the people you love everything because you put on the shoulders of others what you cannot carry alone. . If you do something stupid, it’s better to take responsibility for it to avoid doing too much harm and not taking the risk that people won’t forgive you.
FVDD: Having been there, I think it’s better to say things than to let your partner discover them. I have been married for 42 years, there has been some backlash but telling the truth has made forgiveness possible.