Niels Arestrup died at the age of 75, leaving behind an immense career but also behavior that was not always impeccable. He has been denounced over the years without this having any impact on his career. Today, speech is freed and his violence against his partners is no longer forgotten. Miou-Miou is also one of them.
Other actions of Niels Arestrup resurface: Miou-Miou paid the price, the actor took responsibility
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Niels Arestrup played powerful and often tormented characters with a strength that transcended the screen or the theater stage. In any case, this is the feeling that hovers over his rich career since the announcement of his death at the age of 75 on December 1, 2024. The actor, who won a Caesarean three times – for From beating my heart has stopped, A prophet et Quai d'Orsay – is hailed for his immense performances but quickly, other voices were raised to portray another side of the artist, that of a violent man.
Asked in 2017 about the nominees for the César for best supporting actor, actor Clovis Cornillac did not hesitate to express his contempt for Niels Arestrup. “I hate this man. It's one of the rare ones. He knows why and there's no problem about it.”he declared on the airwaves of Europe 1. Despite his personal dislike, he still recognized the talent of his colleague, describing Niels Arestrup as “great actor“. The actor who was a hit in A little something extra knows how much his mother, the actress Myriam Boyersuffered with Niels Arestrup during their collaboration in 1997 for the piece Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? But this was clearly not an isolated act.
Niels Arestrup went far with Meow-Meow on the set of The Evasion in 1979, under the direction of Daniel Duval. The INA found the archives which recall the violent behavior of the actor with his female partners and the actress Miou-Miou had accused him of having slapped her forcefully. In an interview at the time, she said: “When I received a very, very violent slap like that, well when it was time to do the second take, I had difficulty playing before, because I knew that I was going to receive this slap, very violent, and that It was still going to hurt a lot. I said to myself 'but still, you have to be masochistic…“The INA recalls that Niels Arestrup recognized many years later in an interview given to Liberation having burst the eardrum of the actress.
The one who shone in I will always see your faces was not the only victim of Niels Arestrup on the set since Maria Schneider, revelation of Last Tango in Parisalso suffered the blows of the actor on The Evasion : he broke his tailbone the same day as that of the slap received by Miou-Miou…
Two actresses who are therefore added to the list made up of the names of Myriam Boyer but also Isabelle Adjani. The latter had been questioned by The Parisian after the announcement of his death, explaining in all honesty that he recognized the talent of the actor but had nothing positive to say about him.
These actresses who honored Niels Arestrup
However, other voices were raised to honor the greatness of soul of Niels Arestrup. In particular the two actors Tahar Rahim and Emilie Dequenne who played with him in the poignant To lose your mind. They were particularly touched by his disappearance and the actor, who we have just seen in Charles Aznavour, had also said in the past about him in the pages of the magazine ELLE : “From A prophetNiels became a friend.“On Instagram, they shared a sadness that contrasted with the memories of other actresses.
Niels Arestrup, a man with two faces or at least who seemed to want to get rid of this image of a violent man as he aged. Having become a late father at the age of 63 of twins with the screenwriter and author Isabelle Le Nouvel, he has continued in recent years to change this label of violent partner which stuck to him, while continuing to work and obtain the biggest roles. In the #MeToo era, Niels Arestrup's behavior and past history are no longer forgotten, speech has been freed and it is now heard even if it is not unanimous.
