It's an offbeat creation, awarded at the La Rochelle Fiction Festival. For her first series, Doria Tillier observes the failings of society through the prism of anecdote and everyday discussions. The former Miss Weather plays a professor who shakes up social conventions. A teacher who thinks about details that no one thinks about, and who says everything without worrying about whether it gets done or not. In this world where we meet François Morel as a painter, Jeanne Balibar as an editor, Pascale Arbillot as a talkative teacher or Denis Podalydès as the boss of a publishing house obsessed with sales, there is above all a lot of poetry, tenderness and humor . The reflection is of quality, the words are chosen carefully. This famous Iris follows us once the television is turned off. A woman who has a bit of herself.
Paris Match. You say that “Iris” was born from a frustration you felt. Which ?
Doria Tillier. It is the feeling that accuracy and nuance rarely exist in everyday exchanges. We use a lot of words in an approximate way, either because we don't dig deep or because we don't want to be precise. It's tiring to be precise! For example, when we say that an event was “great”, it's very vague, and sometimes we say that when it was just a little good. We use the wrong words. “It’s disgusting”, “I was shocked”, “it’s hell”, the examples are numerous. I find that this lack of nuance very often leads to misunderstandings between human beings.
In addition to finding the exact term, there is also the fact of daring to say what you think…
It's so rare to do it, even when what you're thinking isn't shocking. At a dinner, for example, Iris will admit that she doesn't really like her host's painting or that she doesn't think the dish is that delicious. We are often scandalized on principle but, in reality, it is neither shocking, nor serious, nor even mean. The person has the right not to love. Everyone lives this social lie which to me makes no sense. We don't dare say what we feel even though it's legitimate.
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When, every day, we are forced to tell a lie, even a slight one, it is not very healthy.
Doria Tillier
What message did you want to send?
If there is one, it would be to simply say what you think. I'm not even talking about political or other opinions. Just the daily discussions, the ones that occupy 90% of our lives. When, every day, we are forced to tell a lie, even a slight one, it's not very healthy and I don't see why we would continue.
Has this character of Iris changed things for you?
Iris is the expression of my fantasy. It reveals what I would like to be able to be, which I sometimes prevent myself from doing because I don't want to be looked at askance, even though what I think is not out of place. I learned from her and I am a little more like her today. I haven't changed my personality, I'm more likely to say simply what's on my mind. I'm not ashamed of it. I do it and it goes well. Well, with Iris this is not always the case, but it is above all a comedy.
What else is there of you in her house?
A “gagueous” side. She's a bit clumsy, making the wrong joke at the wrong time or one too many. When I'm uncomfortable, I may make an excessive joke. She's also like a big jig that's been put there and doesn't really know what to do with it all. I liked putting on visually funny things and having fun with my big body. In a rather cerebral comedy, I like when there are visual gags. I love asking myself questions and laughing because someone falls.
Doria Tillier in “Iris”
© © THE FILMS BETWEEN 2 & 4 – CANAL+
In Iris's entourage is also Daphné, her cousin, a colorful journalist played by Anaïde Rozam (currently in the series “Culte”)…
When writing, I had in mind all the actors corresponding to the characters, except this one. This rich cousin, with a little Kim Kardashian side, is quite unpleasant, but I wanted people to like her all the same. We did a casting. Anaïde has something very childish about her, she can say horrible things and we still smile. She's the only one who managed to make the character endearing.
She is a rather special journalist…
Daphne doesn't care about the interest of the subject, she only thinks about her apple and just wants to go for it. She even says: “We don’t care about an interesting subject, what we want is a subject that people want to watch.” If they want to eat shit, she'll be happy to make them poop.
Did you want to put your finger on a current trend?
That's not at all the point of the series, it's an observation on that aspect. I see how words can be taken up and decontextualized. Even though it doesn't seem like a big deal, it's super embarrassing and unpleasant. We feel uncomfortable. It is not a reflection of what we have said, of what we are and it pushes us to withdraw into ourselves. This is also one of the reasons why people say less and less things in interviews.
If we look at my time at “Quotidien”, I understand that we feel a certain uneasiness. But from there to making articles…
Doria Tillier
Recently, your time at “Quotidien” was the subject of several articles evoking discomfort on the set, where you were promoting the series “Children are kings”. Did it get to you?
If we watch the show, I can understand that we feel a certain uneasiness. But to go from there to making several articles titled like this… This is absolutely not representative! I'm not going to go on TV anymore. I had to return to “Quotidien” the following week, I declined. They weren't the ones I wanted to yell at, but I wanted to protect myself. In my first short film as director and screenwriter [“La diagonale des fous”, présenté à Cannes en 2021, NDLR]there was a character already named Daphne, who was a journalist and a horrible person. I had this thing of saying to myself: “These journalists are mentally ill. They are crazy and it’s serious.”
You created, co-wrote and played Iris. Wasn't it tedious to wear all those hats?
“Life is super hard!” It's a phrase that comes up several times in the series and that I say often. I find it super hard no matter what we do! Raising children is difficult. Not working is difficult and not just for lack of money. Working is difficult too. Honestly, everything seems difficult to me. Directing and acting is, but I like to think about something as a whole. On the weather forecast on Canal+, I wrote, I performed, I directed and I found my costumes.
I think of my years as Miss Weather with great fondness. I was very free and very happy.
Doria Tillier
Do we still talk to you about your years as Miss Météo on Canal+?
Yes and I think of it with great fondness. I was very free and very happy. It was really great but also super stressful. I was sick for a year the first season before every show. I was live on TV every evening to make people laugh. It was just a two and a half minute sketch, yet I put my whole heart into it. In the morning, you arrived and you started from scratch. You had to have written the pastille by 1 p.m., then learn the text and find the accessories… I loved this adrenaline, but the tension was permanent. With Bertrand Delaire, we wrote what we wanted. Having an elephant on set was the only request I was refused. But only because we were in the basement and the animal couldn't have fit in the freight elevator.
As an actress, have you had any frustrations?
It could have happened to me but I'm happy to be led by others. I love it! I might direct again – I hope so – but it's not a change of direction. It's nice to embrace someone's vision. And it's more relaxing.
Doria Tillier and Jeanne Balibar in “Iris”
© © THE FILMS BETWEEN 2 & 4 – CANAL+
We often associate you with Nicolas Bedos, your former companion, who launched you in “Monsieur & madame Adelman”. Are you fed up?
No, it very rarely happens to me. To tell the truth, very few journalists ask me the question.
What are your next projects?
I don't have any. I spent a lot of time on this series which I finished just a few days ago. So I honestly don't have any plans. I will see day by day…
“Iris”, from November 25, on Canal+.
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