Considered one of the greatest French actors, Niels Arestrup died this Sunday, December 1 at his home in Ville-d'Avray, surrounded by his family, after a long battle with illness. “I am extremely sad to announce the death of my husband, the immense actor Niels Arestrup, after a courageous fight against illness. He passed away surrounded by the love of his family.” his wife, Isabelle Le Nouvel, confided in a press release.
The one who left his mark on cinema with his unforgettable roles in A prophet or My heart stopped beating won three Césars for best supporting role. However, behind the scenes, the character he played off camera sometimes left a bitter taste in his colleagues.
Clovis Cornillac does not mince his words about Niels Arestrup, “people who behave badly”
Asked in 2017 about the nominees for the César for best supporting actor, actor Clovis Cornillac did not hesitate to express his contempt for Niels Arestrup. “I hate this man. It's one of the rare ones. He knows why and there's no problem about it.”he declared on the airwaves of Europe 1. Despite his personal dislike, the actor, in a relationship with Lilou Fogli, still recognized the talent of his colleague, calling Niels Arestrup a “great actor”.
Clovis Cornillac never gave precise details about this enmity, citing only “personal reasons”. “There are people who behave badly and in general, those who behave badly, I don't like them“he explained, before adding: “We avoid crossing paths and I think that’s better.”
History with Myriam Boyer, the mother of Clovis Cornillac
However, Clovis Cornillac is not the only one to have had differences with the actor. His own mother, Myriam Boyer, also reported marked tensions with Niels Arestrup, which could be linked to her son's disagreement with the latter. During their collaboration in 1997 for the piece Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?the experience transformed into nightmare for the actress.
In his autobiography Theater of my lifeMyriam Boyer returns to this painful episode. After only 54 performances, the latter was suddenly ousted from the project, replaced by Catherine Arditi. “I discovered, with Niels Arestrup, what perversity was. After outbursts of violence, he ensured that I was fired“she confided in 2021 to 7 Days TV.
The actress says she took the matter to the industrial tribunal to contest this dismissal, but the actor escaped without incident. This incident had lastingly tarnished her reputation in the theatrical world, where she was long perceived as “a complicated actress“. Despite this difficult experience, Myriam Boyer, who saw her son leave the family home at the age of 14, was able to bounce back and establish herself as an essential figure in French theater and cinema.
