Between the giggles on the set and his moments of doubt behind the scenes, Julien Poulin was a unique actor, confided Monday, Denise Mercier, who played his wife, Linda, in the “Elvis Gratton” trilogy.
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She wanted to pay tribute to her ex-playing colleague whom she had not seen for several years.
“He was someone who really loved all the actors, the technicians. But he was also someone who doubted,” she confided in an interview on QUB radio at 99.5 FM Montreal.
Beginnings in experimental theater
Working alongside the actor since the 70s, Mercier first remembers their time in experimental theater, long before Elvis Gratton.
“With Julien at the theater, we really worked hard. It was intense, we explored all the possibilities of the game,” she confided about the actor who died on Saturday at the age of 78.
The duo was first formed within the Groupe de la Veillée, alongside Gabrielle Arcand and Marie Eykel. Then came the big turn with Elvis Gratton.
“When Elvis Gratton came along, it was completely the opposite. We fell into buffoonery. It was fun, but I still had trouble making the transition to comedy,” she revealed.
A success that transcends borders
With the first film “Elvis Gratton”, what was supposed to be a simple short film for a competition at Télé-Québec turned into an international success.
“It even won prizes in Europe, like in Lille in France. People thought it was a documentary. There was even someone who said to Julien: “But you didn’t bring your little lady?”,” she recalled.
Behind the scenes of the filming
“But even for the technical team, it was really a laugh. As soon as Pierre said ‘cut’, everyone held their breath since the start of the shot,” said the woman who is now head of the builders’ residences in Louisville.
Between two scenes, Poulin often isolated himself to refine his character. “[Il avait beaucoup] of humility towards his other work colleagues. Then he always liked to withdraw a little to question himself about his own work,” she underlined.
*This text, generated with the help of artificial intelligence, was reviewed and validated by our team based on an interview carried out at QUB.
