Lambert Wilson, like many people, is stunned by the revelations about Abbé Pierre.
But even more than those who admired the generous co-founder of Emmaüs who had defended the poor and the abandoned, the actor is “speechless”. Because his voice, precisely, he gave it to the priest by playing his character in Denis Amar’s film, Hiver 54. And he had a very personal bond with the co-founder of Emmaüs.
To Anne-Elisabeth Lemoine, in C à Vous on France 5 on September 10 (24), the actor spoke about what has become a national affair. “I discovered at the same time as everyone else what the Emmaüs foundation publishes. I am speechless,” he confided with emotion.
Then the actor recalls that he “spent a crazy amount of time” with Abbé Pierre. He “was a kind of spiritual guide for me who was very important in my life.” However, in light of the accusations of sexual violence and rape that are piling up against the clergyman who died in 2007, Lambert Wilson is not dodging.
“For me, he was someone who was struggling, and he said so, with celibacy. He respected the church and celibacy was complicated, and he formulated it,” he adds, without excusing the attitude of the man who embodied for generations of French people the example of the social mission of the Catholic Church.
In 2021, still on France 5, Lambert Wilson spoke about his relationship with the priest while the film was being shot in 1988. “It was very difficult not to succumb to his charm. He later said himself that we had fallen in love with each other in fact. He projected himself into me. He placed a hope in me, which was that I would be him for many years after the film,” analyzed Lambert Wilson.
