Monday, September 16, at 9:05 p.m., France 2 launches the first two episodes of Fortune of France (our opinion), the historical fresco by Robert Merle, adapted and directed by Christopher Thomson. A dive into the Dordogne of the 16th century, while the war of religion between Catholics and Protestants threatens the kingdom of France. Around Lord Jean de Siorac, played by Nicolas Duvauchelle, the director brought together, among others, Blandine Bellavoir (seen in particular in Agatha Christie’s Little Murders), David Alaya (alias Bouli in Of money and blood), Gregory Fitoussi (The missing people of the Black Forest) and even his son, Marcel Thomson, in the role of the young François de Siorac. Nicolas Duvauchelle, who has just been crowned at the La Rochelle Fiction Festival with a joint prize for best actor with Guillaume Gouix who plays his brother in the series, looks back on this shoot that he is not ready to forget. Interview.
“My father passed on to me his passion for history.“: Nicolas Duvauchelle delighted to play in Fortune of France
Télé Loisirs: For a history enthusiast, the role of Jean de Siorac in Fortune of Francethat looks like a real gift, right?
Nicolas Duvauchelle : The History of France speaks to me so much that I couldn’t refuse this role! There was something exhilarating about putting on the costumes, diving into the daily life of the 16th century to experience the relationships between lords and their servants, the relationships between men and women, with Nature, with horses, which, at the time, were an integral part of everyday life… I was all the happier to tell this story because everything is based on proven historical facts, while the series remains very modern.
Where does this passion for History come from?
It was my father who passed it on to me. As they say, it allows you to know where you come from in order to know where you are going. In these troubled times that we are currently going through, with two Frances facing each other, it is important to know the stages that led to the construction of France, which was not done in two days! How the feeling of being French appeared, how the State appeared. How the State became French and how France became the State. All of this fascinates me.
Fortune of FranceNicolas Duvauchelle: “My horse was taken from Monte Cristo and Zorro!“
How did you approach 16th century speech?
At first, the text may have seemed like an obstacle to me, especially since I had quite a few long tirades. I wondered how to place my voice, I did diction exercises to erase my Parisian accent, worked on rhythm, phrasing, repeated the text with a pen in my mouth to strengthen my lips… But this work was not really one, so great was the excitement. And then Christopher gave us a lot of freedom.
You have a lot of horse riding scenes, is that also a passion?
I have been riding for a very long time and I love it. But I had to take a few riding lessons to get familiar with horses again, so that everyone is at the same level. It’s mainly my wife [Chloé Roy, ndlr] who has been a show jumper for 20 years. It was a real pleasure to be able to ride so much in a series, especially in the sublime scenery of the Dordogne – the land of a thousand castles – far from civilization to avoid electricity pylons and other contemporary street furniture. For my horse [appartenant à l’écurie du cascadeur équestre Mario Luraschi, ndlr]it was a first shoot, so he was a little fearful. But he was then taken up in Monte Cristo with Pierre [Niney] and in the Zorro Dujardin to play Tornado. I am very proud to have given him his first filming experience!
Nicolas Duvauchelle (Fortune of France) : “At 44, I still feel like a young leading man…“
Could you have taken on such a character when you started out?
No, I didn’t have enough technical baggage to change my way of speaking. You know, I learned late, I never took any lessons. But there comes a time when you want something else – bad boys, I’ve done it fifteen thousand times – and since nothing happens by chance, Christopher must have felt that I was hyper motivated. It’s important to give people the chance to discover other registers of yourself.
This was the case, for example, with Black butterfliesthe Arte series ?
I’ve heard a lot about it, it’s true. It was a character who was more inward, which I also like a lot. I’m not really into “actor performance” in fact, I prefer naturalism, which is more like life.
Is the pleasure of playing the same as when you started or has it evolved?
Not at all, even though I’m 44, I still feel like a young leading man, carried by the same enthusiasm. Of course, I’m not discovering the profession as I did when I started and not all the shoots are as happy as the one for Fortune of Francewe must not lie to ourselves. There we really spent three months together, with a pleasure that was not feigned. If a second season is in the pipeline (The production anticipated it. Editor’s note:), I’m ready!
