He’s the next Johnny, Raphaël Quenard. He was chosen by Læticia Hallyday to play her in the cinema. “I was amazed by his acting, his looks, his way of occupying space, of speaking, his spontaneity, his almost animal charisma… I said to myself that if an actor could play Johnny in the cinema, it was him,” confided the rocker’s widow during the choice.
“I hope he will have the same demands as Tahar Rahim for Charles Aznavour”
New proof that the actor from Isère is starting to make a good place for himself in the world of French cinema. If the costume can already be heavy to wear, the film producer Hugo Sélignac added a small layer of pressure. Last November 13, on the set of C to you he didn’t beat around the bush: “He’s going to sing. I hope he will have the same demands as Tahar Rahim for Charles Aznavour, but he will sing. »
While the press and the public praise Tahar Rahim’s XXL performance as Charles Aznavour, Raphaël Quenard will have to live up to it. However, last June, Hugo Sélignac was not yet so categorical to Le Parisien: “Perhaps we will mix, thanks to artificial intelligence, the voices of Raphaël and Johnny. We don’t know yet, but in any case, we will hear from Johnny. »
A vocal coach to accompany him
The Isérois should be accompanied by a vocal coach to be able to imitate the iconic rocker. For example, Tahar Rahim followed six months of preparations with Daniel Lucarini. Coach and teacher to the stars, he is at the origin of the good performances of Marion Cotillard in Edith Piaf for The Kid or even Jérémie Rénier in Claude François for Cloclo.
The main interested party, César for Most Promising Male this year for his performance in Scrapyard dog, has not yet commented on this subject. When he was chosen, he notably confided in the same France 5 program: “For my mother, it means so much. She went to the stadiums to see him perform. And for me, it is the paroxysm of artistic purity and an unfiltered relationship between an artist and his audience. What he embodies is titanic.”
This biopic, filming of which has not yet started, will be directed by Cédric Jimenez (North Bac, November, La French…). The latter also has a lot of expectations. “Raphaël will not only have to play Johnny Hallyday, he will have to be Johnny Hallyday. » The film is scheduled to be released in theaters in December 2027, ten years after his death.
