Po embody Commander Sharko created by the king of thrillers Franck Thilliez, Sophie Révil, the producer of E-syndrome, didn’t hesitate a minute. For her, Vincent Elbaz perfectly matched the profile she was looking for to play this dry, cold, methodical cop, haunted by the death of his family, flirting throughout the plot with madness. For the actor, the challenge was daunting. He wanted to offer a thoughtful performance, skilfully constructed, so that his character, rather silent, takes flesh, and this, without confusing the novelist’s fans.
The opportunity for Vincent Elbaz to break, at 50, the image that sticks to his skin since the phenomenal success of the film series The truth if I lie ! Successful bet: the duo he forms in E-syndrome with Jennifer Decker, member of the Comédie-Française little known to the general public, who here plays the role of her sidekick Hennebelle, works perfectly. A pair that almost did not exist, Jennifer Decker not being the first choice of TF1 at the start, who would have bet on Sofia Essaïdi, who preferred to refuse the role of this female cop after having already interpreted one in The promise. But the series producer’s perseverance got the better of the channel’s hesitation, which has never had to regret this strong…and convincing artistic choice.
One thing is certain: Vincent Elbaz is comfortable in this plot in which it is a question of surgical manipulations carried out on children, tears of blood and corpses found without their brains. But don’t tell him it’s a horror series, he prefers to see it as a “breathtaking detective series” and “mainstream”. Meeting at the La Rochelle Fiction Festival with a relaxed, smiling and inhabited actor.
Point : How did you end up in this TV adaptation of the novel the E-syndrome by Franck Thilliez?
Vincent Elbaz: When I received the script from Escazal Films, the production company of Sophie Révil and Denis Carot, I was immediately captivated by the character of Sharko. I didn’t know yet how I was going to bring it to life, but I sensed that there was something strong to imagine. And then I met the director Laure de Butler [elle avait tourné La Promesse pour TF1, NDLR]who already had a very precise idea of the visual universe of the series.
Didn’t giving life to a character that already exists in the public’s imagination scare you?
No. I was immediately convinced by the project and even rather surprised that it was for TF1, because it’s a black subject, a harsh universe. But, above all, I said to myself that I had never explored a character like this.
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The character was born under the pen of Franck Thilliez. Isn’t it difficult to create something when everything is already written?
No, precisely, everything is not written. Until then, I had never read his novels, I did not know his universe, but I immersed myself in it. And I realized that he was stingy with information. Of Sharko, we know his crew cut, his broken nose, his silhouette… Franck Thilliez writes that he is “massive”, that he “is consumed from the inside”, that he has a “look of ash “. What do we do with that? We had to find a proposal to make it on the screen. At first, Sophie Révil, the producer, explained to me that what interested her in me was my sunny side… But I didn’t want to go in that direction and, ultimately, what I gave her proposed suited her: she was very happy.
Franck Thilliez, was he satisfied?
We met on the set and he told me that I was not betraying his character. He was especially worried that TF1 would sanitize his novel, so he was satisfied with the result.
We have the impression that by accepting the role of this broken cop, who speaks to his daughter, who died during the attack in Nice, you especially wanted to break your image.
(He smiles.) I never ask myself the question in these terms before accepting a role. I just wanted to touch something new. What I enjoy is exercising my freedom as an actor and surprising the public. The important thing is not to break the image, but to break the routine.
“Syndrome E” is above all an entertaining series, a thrilling detective series, but still for the general public.
How long did your preparation last?
Several months. I had to lose ten kilos, while gaining muscle. Inevitably, it is contradictory in terms of physical preparation. We eat more, but we also train more. That takes time. I had the chance to work with a specialized coach.
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What do you reply to those who qualify E-syndrome horror series?
(He thinks.) I don’t agree with that term. Precisely, the choice was made never to fall into horror. It is above all an entertaining series, a thrilling detective series, but still for the general public. Even if a character sheds tears of blood and it is about brains taken from skulls, never does a scene switch to horror. The idea was to make a series just as popular as Franck Thilliez’s novels.
The pair you form with Jennifer Decker works wonderfully. Did you already know each other?
No. I knew who she was without knowing her personally. But I knew that she was a very, very good theater actress, who has a lot of experience with great texts. When I was asked for my opinion, even if, a priori, I don’t like to be interventionist in this area, I thought it was an excellent idea. Because, when you embody a woman who cries tears of blood, it’s better to have a certain strength of interpretation so as not to be ridiculous.
A season 2 is being written, taken fromAtomka, another novel by Franck Thilliez, which features the same couple of investigators. Ready to stack?
It all depends on the writing choices. But I have no problem projecting myself into a series in a recurring role, whether E-syndrome or something else. You know, today, we are increasingly asked for series with ambitious subjects and large budgets. We are no longer at the somewhat outdated opposition between cinema and television.