Gaspard Ulliel is a young French actor best known for his roles in films such as A Very Long Engagement and Hannibal Rising. Co-starring alongside Melanie Thierry in The Princess of Montpensier by Bertrand Tavernier, he plays the Duc d’Guise, a soldier who is a passionate defender of his faith, who marries a woman that does not love him. Talking to View’s Matthew Turner recently, he spoke about the difficulties of filming battle scenes, working with the famous filmmaker Tavernier, and the eternal nature of love. What is the film about and who do you play?
So, in this film I'm the Duke of Guise, which is a historical character – he really existed. And this man – well, in all the information I found, on the internet or in some readings, he was always described as a great fighter and a great soldier and really committed to the Catholic cause and the campaign against the Huguenots. And then, the writer, Madame de Lafayette took some real historical characters then she would invent this romance. Because Marie, the main character, this lady never really existed. So it was quite interesting to work on the real aspect of this character and then create most of the feelings and the emotions in his relationship to this lady, because this never really existed. He is one of the greatest French filmmakers and such an interesting man – he's like a cinema encyclopaedia...
Is that what attracted you to the part in the first place?
I think the major thing that really attracted me in this project is the idea of working with Bertrand, because obviously he is one of the greatest French filmmakers and such an interesting man – you know, he's like a cinema encyclopaedia. So it was great to be working with him and experiencing his direction on set and also just talking with him in between the takes and travelling with him during the publicity of the film, because I could talk with him for hours, he is so interesting.
Had he seen your previous films?
I think he sees every French film released anyway. I think he goes like five times to the cinema in a week, so obviously he saw most of the films I've done before. I know that for Melanie's character he auditioned many different actresses. For my part, he chose me straight away, the same for Gregoire, who plays the Prince. We were the two first actors to be engaged on the film, so basically, it's just the producers who phoned my agent saying that Bertrand wanted to meet with me to offer me a part in his next film and I was so thrilled. And we just met in a cafe on the Champs-Elysees – a bit of a cliché, but it was great. I just met with this sweet man and we talked for two hours about many things and about the script, obviously and I could see that he was so, so into it and really excited about this project. And the next day I read the script and the short story and I just thought that it was a great film, because they managed to find this perfect balance between an entertaining piece and a more visceral and intellectual film. When you read the short story by Madame de Lafayette, for a young person like me, at some point it can feel a bit cold and stiff, because the style of the writing is a bit old-fashioned. And also the way it is written is really elliptic, with long sentences full of dense information. The script was totally different – it was full of energy, full of life and with a modern touch to it, a modern feel. I think this comes from strong themes that emanate from the story that have really high resonances to our modern daily life, like the condition of women in society or the idea of fighting for religious beliefs. [This] is something that is still happening today in a lot of different countries, so I think in that way it was quite modern and would strike modern audiences. Also most of the feelings and the situations the character had to deal with in the story is something that most young audiences would still identify with. It's something eternal, I think. So in that way, the story was quite appealing to me and I thought it would make a great film. Because when you think about a period film, you always think it's going to be boring, slow and with heavy dialogue and a bit stiff. And that's not the case in this film; I think it has a lot of rhythm, a lot of energy and a mixture of love scenes, emotional scenes and really entertaining scenes, like the fights and the battle. And it has beautiful landscapes, beautiful sets. I liked the way Bertrand filmed it, because it's quite modern in a way – a lot of handheld shots, a lot of steadicam. It's quite unusual in a period piece. You didn't mention the swordfighting. Did you train for a long time to do that?
Well, I tried to train as much as I could, because the film at some point was on stand-by, because we were waiting for the money and the financing. So all of a sudden, when we got the money, the producers phoned everyone to say, 'Okay, everyone, we're shooting in a month and a half,' so we had to rehearse as much as we could. Because Bertrand told us since the very beginning he wouldn't use any doubles or any stunts, we had to be able to do those fights from the beginning to the end, because he also said he would film it with long shots and not a lot of cuts. So it was quite daunting and exciting and you know, fighting with a sword is a bit like going back to my childhood and just having fun. And it also felt a bit more like a dance at some point, because obviously you know all the moves in advance, you know what your opponent is going to do, so it's more about the choreography and getting the right rhythm and the right pace, so yeah, it can be a bit more like a dance.
Did you get injured?
I did, only once, actually. On the shoot, for the duel scene in the courtyard, the second fight with the Prince. During one of the takes, the knife went into my mouth and it just caught my lip. But the blade was blunt so I didn't get severely injured – I only had a bit of blood and that's it, so it was not a big deal.
You've mentioned Bertrand as a director already but how does he compare to other directors you've worked with?
Well, there is one thing I really liked in the way he works. First of all, he is one of those directors, the kind of director who really loves his actors – you can really feel it, even when you watch his films. He's really concerned about the acting and that's not always the case. He gives you a lot of importance and a lot of freedom as an actor, so that's great. And also, I really enjoyed the experience to be able to work ahead of the shoot and we would meet up with Bertrand, go to lunches and readings and just discuss the character and create the character together. That's not always the case. Many directors I've worked with, I only met them for the first time on the set and that's a shame. Because here we were able to talk a lot about the character ahead of the shoot and even go to readings with the rest of the cast. And I remember he would insist on the fact that he wanted to meet with each single actor on the film, even small parts that would only have two days of shooting. He met with all of them, one-to-one, to have a discussion about the character and go through each single scene, and this is just amazing. For the duel scene in the courtyard, during one of the takes, the knife went into my mouth...
So does he insist that you stick to the script?
Well, you know, it's a period film, so obviously, regarding the dialogue, we couldn't really change it, because it's a precise way of speaking, it's old-fashioned French, so we were not really able to improvise. But if we had any problem with a word or a grammatical construction or a sentence, we could talk to him and change it, obviously. But yes, most of the time we would stick to the script.
Do you have a favourite scene in the film?
The scene that really strikes me is the first night between the Prince and the Princess after the wedding, because [of] the first sexual relationship. It's funny, Bertrand told me how he invented this scene. When he thought about the wedding, he said, ‘I wonder how it is, the first night you have to spend with your husband when it's a forced marriage, because obviously at that point she doesn't like him.' So, because most of the writing process was with a historian that he would consult, he went to the historian, asking about those first love scenes and that's when he learned that most of the time it was public and that actually the two families would assist to the love scene. And so he just said, ‘That's such an amazing scene to create,’ and it is. It's a mixture of different feelings. It made me so uncomfortable at some points and the way it's lit, the cinematography of it is just great. What was the most difficult scene to film?
Well, I think the most challenging part of the shoot was the battle scene, the main war scene. Because it was a really tight schedule, we didn't have all the money we needed for the shoot so we had to reduce the time of the shooting and we had only two days to do all those fight scenes. And it's the first time I remember when I arrived on the set in the morning and I just felt that it was totally impossible and we wouldn't be able to do it because we didn't have enough time. And I don't know how but Bertrand managed to get everything he needed for those battle scenes. I remember that it was really tough and we would be working in a really quick pace. It was really demanding and the conditions were really hard. It was really cold, it was raining, we were in the mud all the time. Actually, I think we had like 300 extras and so it was a big deal, and we counted at the end – we lost 40 pairs of shoes in the mud.
Wow. I thought the battle scenes looked really good, actually.
Yeah, yeah, they're great. But when you think they were shot in only two days, it's just amazing.
Did you work very closely with a fight co-ordinator?
Yeah, he was great. And I liked the idea that Bertrand went and hired that guy, because this fight co-ordinator usually works on modern films with modern fights and police films, and he knew nothing about swordfighting and period films. So of course he worked closely with a specialist for those period swashbuckler films but he would give a more modern touch to it and it would feel a bit more violent and savage. And, yeah, he did a really good job, I think.
Did they cut anything out that you didn't want to lose?
No, I think we used most of what we shot, actually. I can't even think of a scene that was cut. No waste. We had like 300 extras and we counted at the end – we lost 40 pairs of shoes in the mud...
Had you worked with Melanie before?
No, it was the first time I was meeting her, really. We had never really talked to each other before and the first time I met her was during the audition, because she auditioned for the role and as I was already chosen, I was there to work with all the actresses that were auditioning.
You got to work with all the auditioning actresses? That must have been nice.
Well, it was odd. I don't really like it.
Really?
Well, it's difficult, because you feel really – well, because as an actor, you know how difficult it can be to be auditioning for a role and then you're on the other side and you just – and you know, the thing that is quite terrifying is that you want to be as good as you were with every different actress and you know sometimes you feel a bit more tired and you gave more to one than to another. It's difficult to be even with all of them.
