“I never put barriers for myself”

Mélanie Laurent plays Marie-Antoinette in The Floodby Gianluca Jodice, alongside Guillaume Canet. She has also just directed her eighth feature film, Libreinspired by the life of gangster Bruno Sulak, and See a frienda documentary on the end of life of Jean-Pierre, one of his relatives, affected by Charcot's disease. At 41, when she's not promoting, this prolific artist is currently writing songs and a new film.

I wouldn't have gotten here if…

…If I hadn't received so much love in my childhood. My father was a voice actor, my mother a dancer, life with them was very joyful. I come from a family of artists, intellectually rich, but also very calm and serene. They raised me with both stability and curiosity.

We all lived in the same building, with my grandparents, my cousins, my grandmother's sisters, rue de la Réunion in 20^e district of Paris. It was very practical, we went to each other's houses very easily. We were often in the street when there was injustice and often in the theater when there was a beautiful show. It was very lively.

My parents taught me that anything was possible, that you could be interested in anything. They gave me enough confidence to not have to say, “I won’t dare.” » Thanks to them, I never put any barriers in place.

You were very close to your grandfather…

He was self-taught, curious about everything, and knew a lot of things. Until his death two years ago, at the age of 93, we had endless conversations. He went to the theater and saw exhibitions. I took it all over the world with me during my filming, in Argentina, in Japan. Above all, he was a great humanist. He understood my commitments, my reactions, my struggles. He tried to understand the world, there was never an ounce of contempt or racism in him. He always carried a small wallet with him that I kept from where he distributed coins to all the people in need he passed in the street. He told me: “As long as I have them, I will give them away. »

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