The tres adorable French actor Gaspard Ulliel may be best known to American viewers who saw him in Hannibal Rising, or from his part in the Gus Van Sant segment of Paris Je T’aime. But anyone who saw his seductive performance in out filmmaker André Téchiné’s Strayed, or as one of the lovers in A Very Long Engagement knows Ulliel’s sex appeal.
Now starring as Henri, a dashing rogue caught in a love quadrangle in the fabulous historical costume drama/romance The Princess of Montpensier, this French dreamboat may be once again poised for breakout success.
The San Francisco Bay Times met with Ulliel to discuss his career and his character, as well as his thoughts about love, sword fighting, and his dimple-like facial scar.
(Bay Times) You are a heartthrob in France - and to American viewers who know you. Do you find that quality difficult? Do your striking good looks play into your characters, and your roles?
(Ulliel) It can be a privilege, but at the same time, it can prevent you from going to certain roles - you can be typecast. If you look handsome, or you have this image as a young, handsome guy, sometimes you want to break it and play certain characters, but you are too good looking. Some directors, have a lack of imagination. For an actor, the most pleasurable job is to work on a character that is far from who you are in real life. I think the most important thing is in your eyes and your look - it can add to your acting. But obviously, if you are born [handsome], you have to embrace your body.
It’s interesting to trigger other things by working on your body and the way you look. You can see this with many actors who transform themselves and change their whole body - like Christian Bale.
American viewers may know you best from your role as young Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal Rising. Can you discuss that experience? Were you looking for a breakout success?
I was aware of the risks when they asked me about the part. At the same time, it was really appealing to me, to play such an amazing part, and working in English, with an American team. I think I refused the first two times they came to me. It was awkward to have a French guy do Hannibal Lecter. But the thing that made me change my mind was my first meeting with the director, Peter Webber, who was really witty and clever. I appreciated his first film The Girl with the Pearl Earring. I thought it was nice and interesting idea for the producer to pick someone like this to direct this film.
But a breakthrough American success would have changed your career…
True, true. Another important thing I took into consideration was that this gave me the opportunity to work in English with a great director and to work on a fascinating character.
What appealed to you about playing Henri in Princess of Montpensier?
I was asked to meet Bertrand [Tavernier, the director], who is a great filmmaker in French cinema. It was easy to say yes before I read the script. We had a simple meeting and he talked about the project, and I read it, and I was in. The story was adapted from a famous French story I studied in school, and it was interesting to see what they did with it. The [story’s] style of writing is pretty specific - concise and elliptic - and a bit cold, and the film is the total opposite, full of energy and told at a quick pace. The sentences in the book are so dense and rich. But they did a great job in finding a way for the characters to speak in the period style, but for the audience to understand it. I never had a problem with the dialogue.
How did you research your role?
We were lucky to have Bertrand, who knows so much about so many things. He’s really precise on everything. He’s fascinated by history, so he knew a lot of really important details to help us actors get a full glimpse of daily life at that time. He asked the whole crew to read a biography of King Henry III, and in it, there were details about the way people were living at that time.
What do you like to read?
I’m reading Dostoevsky. I recently read Notes from the Underground, and I’ve always wanted to - I never did it, but I’m going to pick it up soon - to read Remembrance of Things Past by Proust. So many people have told me about it. It’s thick.
How as it work in period costume, and sword fighting in the mud?
I’m really thankful to the costumes, and makeup. The idea of having long hair and a heavy costume was quite helpful for the character, and this was Bertrand’s choice. He insisted on the fact that I let my hair grow for this part - especially for the fight scene, where I have my hair pulled back a bit like a samurai. We had to do a lot of adjustments with the costumes. When they created them at first, we just did fittings. But when we started to rehearse with the costumes, we couldn’t move the way we wanted to. We had two months of rehearsals for the fighting - this was totally new to me - and quite fun to do. But it’s more like a dance than a fight, because it’s choreographed. And riding the horse was a big load of fun. That was totally new to me as well, and I really loved it. After the film, I missed the horse so much - the feeling of freedom.
Henri is described as a man of impulse - are you impulsive?
He is in the present all the time. I’m not like that. I’m the opposite. Impulsive at some point, but I try to take a lot of distance with things. Think before I act. Sometimes, I would like to be like Henri. He embraces life fully. When you think too much, you have a lack of life…You need to be impulsive.
Your character weighs love against money. Are you more romantic or practical in your life?
More romantic I think. Well, I hope. For me, I need to experience some love in my daily life. It’s really stimulating and gives you power and confidence.
I wouldn’t be able to act like this character. At the same time, in this story, he sacrifices for other purposes, but Henri’s feelings for [the Princess] is true passion - it’s really visceral, and linked to sexual attraction. The story is a bit like a Western. The story has the same construction of a female figure in the middle of all these men. It’s a like the only rose in the middle of a desert.
Henri has a morality - he never forgets an offence. He also weeps, and admits it. Do you think he’s tough or vulnerable? How did you find his internal struggle?
When I read the script, I thought that Henri was quite direct and easy to understand as a character, but when I started thinking about it, and talking to Bertrand, I realized his personality was much more complex. He has this strong harsh appearance and at the same time, when he is facing the princess, he becomes softer, and quite weak.
What was it like working with you costars - was there camaraderie on the set?
Most of the experiences I’ve had on set [previously] were with older actors, because I started acting quite young. Here, I worked with a lot of actors from my generation, who were my age. It was moving to work with Gregoire [Leprince-Ringuet, who co-starred with Ulliel in Strayed in 2003]. He’s so different now - he became a man, so it was really nice to work with him again. Raphaël Personnaz [who plays Duc d’Anjou], was a friend, so it was nice to work with him.
You have a scar on your left cheek and in the film your character is scarred. Do you equate any meaning to that?
It was fun - it was the first time they added a scar to my face! I already have this one [indicates scar on his cheek], but it can look like a dimple. I am thankful to the surgeon. It was fun for me to have another scar, and it worked well in the story, because my character already has one scar, but adds another during a fight. So we used my scar for the first scar and they added the other one.
I think it’s a nice metaphor in the story - he wears it on his face, but his deepest scar is in his heart.
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