Un Si Grand Soleil: “It might hurt” … Hubert Benhamdine’s revelations about Christophe’s future

Christophe Lemeur (Hubert Benhamdine) has established himself as the most emblematic character of Un si grand soleil. A character as terrifying as it is captivating who would be nothing without the work of the screenwriters and the incredible performance of Hubert Benhamdine. Over the seasons, the actor has indeed succeeded in making his character one of the most fascinating in the daily soap opera of France 2.

It must be said that under his air of a gentle and caring man, Christophe is in reality a relentless serial killer. Its goal ? Change the world by punishing those who do evil!

While his hunting list continues to grow, his meeting with Father Sylvio (Marcel Gonzalez) recently upset all his certainties. If we first thought that the one we nicknamed The Florist was finally going to confess his crimes to find redemption, it is finally the opposite that happened.

Feeling now invested with a divine mission, Christophe will soon plunge back into his murderous madness. And this time, nothing could stop him…

Hubert Benhamdine confided in the microphone of Allociné on what awaits his character during the next episodes of Un si grand soleil.

Allociné: A few months ago, we were talking when Christophe had just killed Patrice and Eva. You said then that you weren’t sure that Christophe would become a serial killer. Eight months later, your character has two new victims on his board. Finally, do you think that this trajectory was inevitable?

Hubert Benhamdine : Already, it proves that I have a very good intuition (laughs). Even if I didn’t know anything about it at the time, I want to say yes. I don’t believe in chance in life, I think that we must go through certain trials that we cannot really avoid. Indeed, this thing was a bit programmed at Christophe’s. It’s true that this vigilante side that he embodies in his crazy adventures is something he already had in him. Finally, when we take a look at his journey, he arrives at this posture of an expeditious vigilante who wants to correct the world and punish evil. It’s not that insane compared to its trajectory.

We know that the trigger for Christophe’s dark side was Johanna’s betrayal (Aurore Delplace). However, do the writers plan to explore Christophe’s past a little more to better understand his psychology?

I have this desire. It would be really super interesting to go exhume things from his past to understand. It could be very strong. But as you may already know, we are given certain trends on the future of characters once or twice a year. On this subject, I cannot tell you because no one told me anything in this direction.

There is a certain fascination around the theme of miscellaneous facts and serial killers. Just look at the number of series, docu-series and specialized programs that flourish on channels and streaming platforms to be convinced. Are the screenwriters inspired by it for Christophe?

I imagine so. It is an artistic anthill. I think they are on the lookout for all new influences and all quality programs. They really monitor audiovisual creation. Afterwards, with regard to my character, the Dexter reference often came out. It is claimed in a sense. Besides, I’m very happy with that because I really enjoy this series. All things considered. I don’t pretend to be Dexter but in any case it’s a real influence.

Christophe recently met Father Sylvio. A meeting that upset all his beliefs, to the point that we thought at one time that he was going to confess his crimes to find the beginning of redemption. Ultimately, it is quite the opposite that occurs and Christophe is now convinced of being invested with a divine mission. What can we expect in the next episodes?

I really liked this little narrative twist. I strongly believed in the redemption of Christophe. Well no (laughs). But it confirms its bipolarity. He really is a character who has a double aspect. This really heads or tails. And this is finally the difference with the character of Dexter. Dexter was a psychopath, he had no empathy. He had to constantly struggle and pretend with others to look human. Christopher, that’s not it. He really has these moments of tenderness, of love for animals, of love for his family. I really think he’s being sincere with that. At the same time, he has his dark side which regularly comes to harass him and take over.

Again, that’s what happened and the coin fell the wrong way. Now he thinks he has the highest possible legitimacy to justify his behavior. What held him back in a way was that he was torn. He rejected this dark side and was very tortured with it. And there, it’s as if he managed to understand why he was like that and to find the meaning. It might hurt.

Christophe will very soon be on the trail of Pedro Morel, a former Chilean militiaman who has multiplied abuses in the past. What can we expect?

He will kill him.

What’s interesting about the current ark is this duality between good and evil. Through his choices and actions, Christophe is ultimately a character who questions us about our own morality. In your opinion, is this what fascinates and pleases so much about your character?

Yes. It puzzled me a bit. From the moment my character started killing, he became much more popular. Really. It’s amazing. Then I thought a bit. I think it’s the thirst for justice that fascinates viewers. There are many people who say to me “it’s not good what you are doing” or “I say, it’s still very dark all that“. But at the same time, some people think the opposite. One day, I was filming in front of the Palais de Justice in Montpellier. There were police extras and real police officers who were there too. And there, there is a gentleman who stops in front of the gates of the Palais de Justice and yells “Go ahead ! Keep it up! Kill them all !“. With the real policemen on the side, it was a bit awkward (laughs).

We will say that not everything is working very well in justice in general and in our country in particular. It is true that there are difficulties, delays, procedural problems. I’m not saying it’s my personal opinion but in any case we can have this reflection there when we listen to certain news. I am thinking in particular of the journey of rape victims, which is a way of the cross. The percentage of complaints that result in a lawsuit is absolutely derisory. It’s still terrible. I think it exacerbates in people a need for justice and perhaps a fantasy of a masked avenger figure a bit like Batman. In a way, Christophe challenges impunity. There is something like that.

What is interesting with Christophe is that he travels in a somewhat obscure country, somewhat like a Greek tragedy. I’m not saying that Un si grand soleil is Greek tragedy, but sometimes a little. Through what it processes, through what it stirs, there is this somewhat cathartic dimension. What this character goes through that is sometimes very hard, viewers go through a bit too. If it opens a small window on everyone’s dark side, it might be interesting. But hey, I don’t pretend to think that’s the case. But I think that’s maybe a little why it stirs or challenges.

If the police stopped investigating the florist for lack of evidence, Hugo (Bibi Tanga) remains fascinated by this serial killer and has not given up on the matter. Is it likely to get closer to the truth?

For now, he’s the only one with the right intuitions. But is it going to be him who will understand? I do not know. Me, I don’t want Christophe to get caught because we all know what that could mean for the character and his future (laughs). At the same time, we almost want Hugo to be rewarded in a way. He is still insightful in addition to being very friendly.

It is certain that with an entourage made up of a judge, a forensic doctor and a policeman, Christophe does not really make his task easier…

Christophe’s big problem is when he’s in danger. When he is in the hot seat, it becomes dangerous because he is capable of just about anything to get out of it. Lying, manipulating, that he is capable of doing. From the moment it will be his wife, it will be a bit of the moment of truth. It really risks being the confrontation between its two facets. Between his human, loving side and his dark side. From what I’ve been told, it could go very very far in what he is able to consider to get out of it. I think the next arc we’re going to shoot in August is going to be pretty terrible.

We had a theory at Allociné. It was thought that Charles (Nicholas Lancelin) would be the first to discover that Christophe was a serial killer and that he would be the first victim of his close entourage.

It’s a good lead. In addition, Charles has all the elements in hand to understand. He’s probably the one who’s seen the most compromising things. I thought for a moment that it would go through there and then finally I see that their relationship is normalizing again. There is a beautiful relationship between them, a form of transmission. I thought to myself that anything was possible. I even said to myself that it was going to become his Robin, his apprentice killer. That would also be very nice (laughs). To my knowledge, we are not going there.

You mentioned earlier the cinematographic aspect that was created around Christophe. Do you just enjoy exploring that with the show’s creative team?

It’s awesome ! I’m a big fan of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series. This series was a bit revolutionary when it arrived. It’s a series that had a bit of soap components and at the same time there was a genre side, a horror and fantasy side. There was Dale Cooper, the main character, who ended up being inhabited by some kind of demon and becoming a dual being. It reminds me a lot of Christophe’s trajectory. There were plenty of experiments in which we were always a bit between two worlds. There were already games with mirrors.

I think it’s great because on Un si grand soleil, we experiment with things like that. Christophe will start talking to Jesus almost as if it were his double. This is completely crazy. It goes far but I love it. It’s like when they put me in a straightjacket in a coffin, it was incredible. We were completely into genre cinema. These are very strong symbols. I think these things catch the unconscious. These are images that grip us and move us. This experimentation, this cinema, is what I like the most. This is what made me love my job. I like it not out of a fascination with creepiness, because that’s not my style at all, but because of everything it teaches us about ourselves.

Do you have any other projects outside of the series that you can tell us about?

I don’t have anything solid yet. I am currently working on writing a screenplay. Besides that, I shot in Poor Things by Yórgos Lánthimos. I had the chance to play a sequence with Emma Stone. Coincidentally, I was playing a priest. It’s still funny. I feel like it’s chasing me (laughs). This priest goes to a brothel, makes love with Emma Stone and tells her about his curse. It is not an important role but a sequence. Playing with Emma Stone was an experience. Already, we wonder a little what we are doing there. She was very charming and very open. We spent a day together naked talking to each other and we managed to fraternize. He was a very good child, very nice and very friendly. There was nothing embarrassing in fact. It was quite nice finally to meet a Hollywood star and have a simple and nice relationship.