Lannick Gautry (“Attraction”): “I don’t want to become the eternal boss of French TV”

Lannick Gautry plays one of the main roles, alongside Laura Sepul, in the Belgian series “Attraction”, broadcast on TF1 on Thursdays May 2 and 9, 2024. A well-executed thriller in which the actor plays a psychopath. Currently filming another series for TF1, “Rien ne t’efface”, he answered questions from puremedias.com.

Comments collected by Laura Bruneau

puremedias.com: Why did you agree to play in the Belgian series “Attraction”?
Lannick Gautry : The fact that she was Belgian had no impact. I accepted with great pleasure and with great enthusiasm because I found the scenario quite simply magnificent. I think that’s what you want, is to have a scenario. Gabin said: “a good film is first a good script, then a good script and finally a good script”. It’s a story that we want to tell, something that we find really great, we say to ourselves “hey, I want to participate in that” and that as many people as possible see it because it holds water. , it’s well constructed, it’s gripping, there’s suspense, feeling, people can relate to it. It’s not above ground, we’re well anchored. It had all the ingredients to make something very good.

For once, you don’t play as a police officer but one who is being hunted by the police. What does it feel like to change register?
So much the better, right? It feels good to put myself on the other side a little because I don’t want to become the eternal boss of French TV. Beyond that, the character was still powerful and it was a real danger for me. I said to myself: I’m going to have to be credible in this. I was reassured by the quality of the script, the director in front of it and then the actress also in front of me. I told myself that we were going to be able to do something that could transport the viewer and make them tremble a little.

Your character defines himself as a “predator”. How do you work on this type of role?
Predatory, that’s his feeling, it comes from his past. Unconsciously, his psychopathy is born from a shell that is formed when he tells his story, what happened to him. I think it was formed a little in spite of himself. I believe that it often happens that people change their personality, their behavior as a reflex to a challenge in life. Sometimes the shell can be good, we can protect ourselves from the vagaries of life, by fighting to become victorious. But sometimes, if no one helps us, we can drift away, telling ourselves that life is all about trials and dangers, and that the best way to overcome danger is to become even more dangerous. . This is where the paradigm of life also becomes dangerous, where the character becomes so out of step with society.

They said

The fact that the series was Belgian had no impact.

Lannick Gautry

This character has outbursts of violence. How did you shoot these scenes?
I always start by apologizing to my partner for having to put her through this. It serves the story, it’s necessary for the narration, but it’s very prepared so that no one gets hurt. It’s one of the things we have to play, we don’t put personnel into it. Violence is like choreography, so that no one gets hurt, we agree on what is going to happen, what I am going to do, how you are going to receive it. Violence when it comes out like that, even in game, you really have to sort things out beforehand, you have to be very precise in your movements. That’s why when we play a situation of anger and violence, we can’t improvise too much because we suddenly become imprecise and that’s where we can hurt ourselves and hurt others. First you have to repeat the movements a lot, a lot so that the choreography is very precise, and on top of that, afterwards, you add explosive anger. But the movement is repeated so much beforehand that there is much less risk of injury or pain.

Did playing in a societal drama series, on a subject, violence against women, influence your choice to accept this role?
The initial premise is that of the producer, Catherine Burniaux, who is at the origin of the project. She has a husband who works a lot abroad and asked herself a simple question: do we really know the person we live with? The point of the series is not to deal with violence against women, it is the story of a family. Obviously, we can find links there, but that is not the initial premise.

“Attraction” is a Belgian series. Is there anything different, any particularities, in making a Belgian fiction?
No, because French series are all different, they all have their particularity, already through the script, but also through the director. They each have their own vision for handling a scenario. Even in France, all experiences are different. Apart from the accent of the partners, nothing changes. It’s exactly the same way of working, of preparing, for me there is no difference.

They said

I always start by apologizing to my partner for having to put her through this.

Lannick Gautry

How was your collaboration with Laura Sepul?
Great, I loved working with her. I saw her in a French TV movie [NDLR : “Elle m’a sauvée”], I found it very good. I found this actress absolutely wonderful. I hope that as many people as possible will discover it in France. When I saw the result, I found that she had done a great job of sobriety, sincerity, and generosity. What’s more, she was a great friend during filming. I discovered a great actress. Really.

RTBF has already formalized a season 2: are you going to take part in it?
I would like. I haven’t heard about it, but I already knew while filming that they were thinking of doing several stories around the attraction. It was already on their minds. I knew it was happening but we didn’t talk about it again. If, eventually, they want to work with me again, it will be with great pleasure, but perhaps they will want to do something else with other actors.

From what you know, season 2 would feature another family. So these wouldn’t be your characters?
So. There is an American series (Editor’s note: “American Horror Story”), where the same actors serve different stories. Afterwards, it’s a real concept, will the broadcasters adhere to this concept? It’s a pretty fragile alchemy, I can’t do anything about it, I would love to but it’s not me who decides.

Currently, you are filming, for TF1, the adaptation of “Rien ne t’efface”, with Jérôme Cornuau, director with whom you have already filmed, on a screenplay adapted by Michel Bussi, who wrote the story of “L “prisoner island”. Is it a coincidence or was there a desire to work with both of them again?
Bussi, it’s a coincidence. Jérôme Cornuau is the director with whom I have worked the most. We must have made 25 hours of film together. He became a close friend. I have enormous admiration for his work, his talent, his sensitivity. He is very conscientious. I love working with him. He asked me to do this and I immediately accepted because I love his work.

They said

I don’t make any distinction between cinema, TV, sitcoms or theater, we do the same job.

Lannick Gautry

We see you a lot on TV, mainly on TF1, and therefore less in the cinema. Is this a desire on your part?
No, it’s not a desire, it’s that things happen like that. We don’t know why we’re going to do more TV, less cinema. There were things at the cinema that were offered to me and that I refused because they didn’t suit me. I don’t know how all this works. Will, at some point, if we’re on TV more, we’ll be at the movies less? I have the impression that at the moment the trend is reversing. I don’t differentiate between cinema, TV, sitcoms or theater, we do the same job. I don’t ask myself that question. I’m happy when we’re on TV and there are 5 or 6 million viewers. We touch a lot of people at once. We do this job for those who watch it. As long as I do my job, I’m happy. We are actors when we only play.

You have become a very recurring face on the small screen. How do you experience fame?
I live it very well. I live in the countryside surrounded by people who are farmers and electricians. I don’t have that relationship with notoriety. If I act like a pretentious star, my friends will say, “Come back to Earth.” I believe that it is up to those who are famous to put themselves where they feel balanced. I feel balanced when I’m seen as a normal person. I don’t really feel like I’m a famous person. People don’t behave towards me like they would an actor and that suits me very well. That’s what I’m ultimately looking for.

You will also be in the credits of the mini-series “Contre Toi” on France 2. What guides your role choices, mainly the storyline?
Yes, it’s the most important. Sometimes partners, although I rarely ask myself the question. I tell myself if there is a good script with a good director, I trust him to choose the right actors, to bring together the right energies. It is first of all the history that we want to defend. The role we are offered: have I already done it or have I never done it. These are all the ingredients that weigh into a decision.

You participated in the two TV films of the “Escape” saga on W9. Where is the project for a 3rd issue?
I don’t think it’s in the pipeline. When the second project arrived, I had a little more doubts because I told myself how to still be credible and send these characters off again in another escape game, with another plot, while being a little credible. The bet was also successful on the second. A third would be too many, with us. It would be difficult not to be above ground. They could do another escape game with other actors.