On the occasion of the broadcast of the new series Tom and Lola this October 1 at 9:05 p.m. on France 3, the interpreters of the two main characters, Dounia Coesens and Pierre-Yves Bon, spoke to Télé Star.
Télé Star: Tom and Lola have good chemistry on screen, how was filming between you?
Pierre-Yves Bon : Hell…
(laughs). No, it was a joy, we continue to find Dounia little by little, and it’s so easy with her…
Dounia Coesens : Yes, we have a great bond in life and in the game too. I have rarely had such complicity and such listening in the game, there is something very fluid between us which happens quite naturally. Personally it’s rare, and it’s nice. Yesterday I was thinking that even though I’m on vacation, I still want to go back to the set (laughs). And it’s also thanks to my partner…
Do you have the possibility of improvising certain exchanges between Tom and Lola?
Dounia Coesens : We follow the script even if sometimes we find things on set. We improvise a little, but it’s also our way of interpreting words that makes it a widely spoken language. Afterwards we also work upstream with the authors and production, and sometimes we say things to each other during the reading…
Pierre-Yves Bon : And then even between us, we are used to seeing each other too and this little work upstream, sometimes it allows us to bounce back on new things… Most of the time we would say that it is a beautiful organized improvisation.
Tom and Lola have been very close for years, have you played your interactions with a subtext that could be romantic or is it purely platonic?
Pierre-Yves Bon : It’s platonic, they are childhood friends who have known each other since middle school. Afterwards, the viewers tell each other what they want, there are innuendoes, we come to play on the rope of friendship, where the limits are, etc. But in any case we did it in platonic mode, they are friends. Then we’ll see what happens next.
Dounia Coesens : Yes, it’s a friendship and a friendly, almost brotherly love, and we really played it like that. But it’s true that it’s surprising, even in life. And that’s what I like about this series, is that it’s really about friendship today. Even today, it can sometimes be intriguing to see a woman and a man getting along very well and being physically close without anything happening.
Pierre-Yves Bon : And then even in romantic relationships, we sometimes prevent ourselves from being the person we really are, at least at the beginning of a relationship. Because we want to please, we want to be loved. And there between friends, such a connection does not exist and this has helped us a lot for our relationship, whether in life or in the game. There is nothing to hide to please. We are raw. And for us, it’s super enriching and it offers us a more sincere palette.
Have you put things in place to get to know each other as well as Tom and Lola know each other?
Dounia Coesens : Yes, we spent a lot of time together. I went to spend a week with Pierre-Yves in the countryside with his wife and baby. And we lived as friends, we shared very good times. Afterwards, I was in a somewhat academic environment so that we could work on the texts etc., but Pierre-Yves was right because he said that it was also work to spend time together and get to know each other. . Then we took the vice further because we took a roommate, like Tom and Lola, to really live like them. And it went very well, that’s when we realized that we were more like our characters than we thought.
(laughs).
Pierre-Yves Bon : Yes, it was really important for us and for the good of the project. Because we never forced the lines, we brought them closer together. And I think we did well considering what it brings to the screen. But then I could have said, “Yeah, go home” and it might not have worked. So we’re also lucky because it fits and it’s also a luxury in a way.
Do you think you have anything in common with your characters? And any differences?
Dounia Coesens : Yes, I have things in common with Lola, notably her childish side, which I also have a lot in life. His go-getter, playful side, which goes to the end of things… I think I have that. Afterwards, Lola doesn’t want to see the problems she has in her life, she tends to put a tissue over it and rush headlong, and that’s not really like me. As soon as I have a problem, I have to solve it… And then she’s a mother, I’m not. But there is still a part of me, his love for his friends, his childish side, his freshness… all of that ultimately resembles me quite well.
Pierre-Yves Bon : Same, I would say 50/50. There is a real part of Tom in me that I sometimes even buried, and this allows me to rediscover it and be able to show it to others too and bring it to light. Things that I didn’t allow myself to be… And now it’s Tom who allows me to be so that it’s a part of me, and that’s really nice. So yes, there are small similarities, and at the same time I’m not Tom in life (laughs).
photo credit: France TV
What would you say to people to make them want to watch Tom and Lola?
Dounia Coesens : The series is really about strong friendship and a 3.0 family, and I think it will speak to people… I’m 36 years old and I’m single, it’s my friends who make up my family. The series also talks about knowing what true love is without necessarily being in a relationship, how to take care of others, how to take care of your friendship… And that speaks to me today. As Tom and Lola are childhood friends, we are very free and I find that there is a freshness, a fairness and an honesty that emerges, and that this can speak to everyone. It’s intergenerational, the police side may appeal to part of the public, but there is also the family side and the strong friendship that unites them…
Pierre-Yves Bon : I completely agree with Dounia, and I would add that at no time did we want to make a difference, did we want to make a difference. And I have the impression that this series does not particularly focus on the main characteristics of the characters, on the effects… There are no effects in this series, it’s at its simplest when we talk about universal emotions: love and friendship. And with good actors, you’re surrounded by great people and suddenly everything fits together. I think there is the possibility that this will enter the hearts of the French people watching, I really believe in it.
