Meeting with François Damiens: “Even today, I have the impression that no one sees me”
Who says Belgian cinema also says François Damiens, who we find today (almost) in the role of Jacques Brel. In “Sous le vent des Marquises”, he plays an actor playing Brel in a biopic, whose life finds an echo in that of the singer. The opportunity for one of our most popular actors to confide in the balance he has found between his private life and his life as an artist.
Published on 02/26/2024 at 10:00
François, how does Brel’s life intertwine with that of your character?
We know that at the end of his life, Jacques Brel experienced certain problems with his ex-wife and his daughter France, and that he left for the Marquesas Islands. It was there that he discovered his illness. My character is preparing to make a film about this part of Brel’s life, but he learns at the start of filming that he is ill. This will push him to drop everything on a whim to try to reconnect with his daughter, whom he hasn’t seen for a long time. In short, the echoes between his life and that of Brel are inevitable and, through the artifice of fiction, Alain will put order in his life. Like when he and his daughter, sitting in a bar, pretend that they don’t know each other in order to finally manage to tell each other their truths.
And can it come through humor?
Of course ! Sometimes, through humor, we manage to convey messages that would be difficult to convey directly. I, for example, can close like an oyster. When people call me and simply tell me they want to see me, well they can’t find me. It may be cowardice, but I will often manage to have something else to do at that time. But hey, sooner or later, we all have moments of cowardice in life.
In your opinion, does cinema encourage you to get lost?
Maybe… It’s a job where you shouldn’t forget to go home, especially when you decide to have children. I’ve heard artists say that they haven’t seen their children grow up. Especially in music. I don’t know what career justifies that actually. I don’t think anyone wakes up one morning and decides that they are going to raise their children badly. But sometimes we make mistakes. So, I know that when I choose a film requiring me to go abroad for two months, it has to be justified. I don’t do it at any cost and I don’t try to smear films for the sake of smearing them. Because when you leave home, life goes on. At the beginning of my career, I expected everyone to be there the day before my departures, as well as for my returns. And then I realized that life continued without me when I was far away. That my loved ones had their own life, and that it did not revolve around my career. So, when I leave and come back, I have to rebuild my little hole. That’s why I don’t like to fill my diary too much. On September 1st, I don’t need to know who I’m going to spend the New Year with. I like to wait until the last moment before committing, so that the obvious becomes clear.
This film also reminds you of your celebrity status, with constant requests for selfies for example. How do you react to the attention you receive on a daily basis?
I’m quite shy so it embarrasses me a little when this happens to me. Because it’s really crazy how much love we receive. And I feel like I’m not doing anything about it. This makes me uneasy. When someone compliments me, I try to find a way out, a pirouette so I can escape. But the opposite would be weird, right? Take my little pleasure and tell the person to keep spraying me (laughs)!
So you don’t need a dose of narcissism to be an actor?
I don’t know. I rather have a great need to be loved. I’m mired in complexes and I don’t necessarily like myself. I know all my faults, and it is precisely because I know them that I am able to play with them. Maybe that’s where it hits people. Maybe they can recognize themselves in all my flaws.
If you were to star in a biopic, which popular figure would you like to tackle?
Playing someone famous and someone I really like is not for me, I think. On the other hand, I feel like I’m making lots of little biopics of people I observe around me. I love it, watching people. The other day, I was at a restaurant with my son, and he filmed me for two minutes without my knowledge. Well, I’m just looking at the next table (laughs)! I’ve never seen myself do that, and I discovered that I’m really not discreet. I scan people up and down, go back up, smile, and go back again. It can grab me even more than when I watch a movie. But I’ve always done that. When I was little, I stayed at the adults’ table and made myself very small to listen. I stayed behind so they wouldn’t tell me to go to sleep. Same at school, I always observed the older ones. There, since my son filmed me, I understood that that was all we saw. I stare a little, it’s almost disrespectful. And then people speak less loudly, but I listen even more (laughs)!
But with fame, it’s you we look at, right?
I know. And yet, even today, I have the impression that no one sees me.
“Under the Wind of the Marquesas” Still in theaters
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