the essential
Since September 2023, Émilien, a student in Toulouse, has been shining in the show “Les 12 coups de midi”, so much so that his prize pool amounts to more than 1.8 million euros. Beyond an overflowing general knowledge, the 22-year-old stands out for his discretion and humility.
Glasses screwed onto his nose, hair cut short, always looking serious and focused. Emilien’s face is now known by millions of people. For a year and a half, this 22-year-old student has been on television every day, at lunch time, in “Les 12 coups de midi” on TF1.
The principle of the show: four candidates compete around questions of general knowledge. One of them is eliminated at the end of each round. And the last one in line becomes the “maître de midi”, qualified for the next episode, broadcast the next day. Since September 25, 2023, and his first appearance, Émilien has won more than 460 shows. He even surpassed the exploits of another great Toulouse champion, Bruno Hourcade, who had a string of 252 participations.
Transform failure into success
At just 18 years old, Émilien went through castings for the first time. “It’s a game that I used to watch, I grew up a little with the show, he remembers. I told myself that once I was an adult, I would try my luck, that’s it. was almost logical. And I kept my word.” But at the time, he failed. Far from being destabilized by the failure, two big years later, after having “let time pass”, he decided to follow the advice of his grandmother, who suggested he try again. And this time, it’s the right one.
The secret of this longevity in the show, Émilien finds it difficult to explain. When we ask him, “how can you be so cultured at only 22 years old?”, he seems embarrassed, showing his modesty. “I developed a passion for general knowledge games a few years ago,” he explains. “Since then, I’ve played a lot, it’s fun.” And beyond entertainment, this passion allows it to be a well of knowledge.
His favorite subjects: history above all, but also geopolitics, science… “I have a little trouble with gastronomy, television. And football too, I often fail on that,” he admits. he smiling. Hardworking, outside of filming days, he continues to “revise” and “learn things”.
-Balancing studies and TV gaming
This is also the history that he chose to study after his baccalaureate. He grew up in Vendée, then settled down in the Pink City to pursue a degree at the Mirail faculty. He is currently in his third year. “Learning things in this field appealed to me so I gave it a go, but I don’t have a specific job in mind.”
If he adds that at university “things go normally”, it is difficult to combine filming and partials. “I repeated a year last year because I couldn’t combine the two,” he confides, without seeming stressed. “It gives me more time to think about the lessons.” The filming days are also very intense. “Five to six shows are filmed per day, that’s about 10 hours straight,” explains Émilien. “We do that several days in a row over the course of a week, one week per month.”
However, the candidate confesses “that there is always stress”. “I think I am a little more familiar with the environment, which was not natural for me,” he explains. “And we start from scratch with each show, we go through all the rounds, and the questions are never the same. There is no routine. The objective remains the same: to try to be there at the end of the episode, to come back the next day, and that is already quite ambitious.”
Almost a double millionaire
Émilien has brilliantly achieved this objective during the last 462 broadcasts. Just that. His records are breathtaking: he became the candidate to have won the most money on a game show in France, with a prize pool which currently amounts to more than 1.8 million euros. Not to mention countless gifts, including several cars. But the adopted Toulouse has difficulty realizing: “I’ve been saying that for a while now, but as long as I’m in the game, my head is on the handlebars.” What will he do with this money? What project does he want to realize? “I’ll think about it later,” he says.
This financial aspect does not seem to be the priority of the young man, who remains humble. Despite a certain celebrity, he preferred to keep his social networks private. A discretion that is felt, even through the screen. “I do things naturally, as it comes to me, I don’t know if it’s necessarily the right way.” Either way, the right way to shine in 2024.
