If Emmanuel Macron and Rachida Dati praised the memory of the actor, Isabelle Adjani explains that she has nothing “positive to express about the man”.
«One of our greatest actors», greets the Minister of Culture. Tributes flow after the disappearance on Sunday 1is December of Niels Arestrup, died at the age of 75 at his home in Ville-d'Avray (Hauts-de-Seine). The actor, notably seen in the films of Jacques Audiard, suffered from a long illness, specifies his wife Isabelle Le Nouvel, in a press release sent to AFP.
The latter paid tribute to her husband in a publication shared Monday, December 2. She took up the “last words of the autobiography» by Niels Arestrup, published in 2001. «From all that I have called my outbursts, my fires, only one truth emerges, a small certainty. Only one stubbornness remains, sometimes suicidal. Ultimately I have never been, never wanted to be, anything other than an actor“, she transcribed. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife welcomed in a press release “a great actor of our time, demanding and popular, figure of our theater, unforgettable in cinema, guide and model for a generation of actors».
The Minister of Culture Rachida Dati remembers being “dazzled by the strength of his game and his magnetic presence in front of the camera of Jacques Audiard, Bertrand Tavernier, Julian Schnabel or Albert Dupontel“, she wrote on social networks. The Élysée salutes a “great actor of our time, demanding and popular, figure of our theater, unforgettable in cinema, guide and model for a generation of actors». Niels Arestrup “knew how to play everything. His voice, as much as his silences, materialized a captivating presence», Compliments Olivier Henrard, the interim president of the National Cinema Center.
«A huge actor»
Tahar Rahim, who co-starred in the film A prophetwith Niels Arestrup, discusses “a rare privilege to be at (his) side for (his) first cinema experience» and greets “a huge actor» of which he underlined the “greatness of soul“. Publication to which Émilie Dequenne responded “I've been thinking about you, about us since this morning“. The three actors starred together in To lose your mind by Joachim Lafosse, released in 2012. Patrick Bruel who played with the actor in Villa Caprice in 2020 pays tribute to a “huge actor». «Our meeting had such an impact on me. Thank you Niels for your perspective and your kindness“, he wrote on Instagram. Director Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, who worked on Niels Arestrup's latest film, Fun, says “extremely moved», with the Parisian . «I collapsed a bit (…) I recently sent a message to Niels to ask him if I could submit the script for another film to him, and he said yes.»
«He wasn't someone who talked a lot, but he talked a lot while playing. I hardly saw him when we went on stage, I didn't see him much when we left, but we had very deep, very strong bonds, and we talked a lot when we played with each other.», Confides André Dussollier, guest of BFMTV. The two actors worked together on Diplomacyreleased in 2014.
Accusations of violence
But not all the tributes are laudatory. Isabelle Adjani sends her condolences to the actor's family but admits she has nothing “something positive to express about man“. The actress withdrew from the play Mademoiselle Julie in 1983, claiming that Niels Arestrup had slapped him. The latter always maintained that she was the first to raise her hand on him. “My memory of the theater partner remains a striking trauma. But Niels Arestrup was a great actor, I share this opinion, that of many artists and his audience», says Isabelle Adjani to Parisian. «Niels Arestrup, do we separate the man from the artist in the obituaries or not? I ask», Wrote Sandrine Rousseau.
Several actresses complained about the actor's violent behavior. Miou-Miou had her eardrum pierced following a slap delivered too sharply during a take on the set of the film The Evasion released in 1979. The principal concerned declares having told the director Daniel Duval, “you have to simulate […]but Miou-Miou wanted it to look real“. Asked by Liberation in 2007, Niels Arestrup always denied the facts. “This has been going on for twenty-five years, since Mademoiselle Julie, with Isabelle Adjani. And since then, I've tried everything: explaining myself, keeping quiet, but nothing can be done, it's getting under my skin.»
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