Broadcast on Arte on Thursdays October 17 and 24 (and available for free on the Arte.tv platform), the mini-series Rematchwith the cast, Christian Cooke (Unwanted witness), Sarah Bolger (The Tudors), Tom Austen (Grantchester, The Royals), Trine Dyrholm (The Heirs, Mary & George), and Aidan Quinn (Elementary, New York, special unit) depicts the symbolic fight of man against the Machine. In six episodes, it reconstructs the captivating rounds of the return match between the world chess champion Garry Kasparov and the Deep Blue supercomputer from the IBM company in 1997. Meeting with Christian Cooke, who lends his features to the genius of the discipline.
Rematch : “I definitely didn't want to mimic Garry Kasparov” Christian Cooke talks about his preparation to play the chess champion
Télé-Loisirs: You play the champion Garry Kasparov in this mini-series, did you know how to play chess?
I didn't have the opportunity to play it growing up. On a shoot in Israel, when I was 21, the producer had a chessboard on set. He told me that he had made a documentary on Garry Kasparov for the BBC. I watched the film out of curiosity. He asked Kasparov if he could play against him. Kasparov watched him do a part and said it wouldn't be possible, the producer didn't have the level [Il rit]. Life is surprising, years later, here I am on this series where I play Garry Kasparov! For this role, I learned the rules and practiced on an app with a friend, but I'm not good, my brain is more artistic than logical. I trained with a former English champion who had played against Kasparov and knew him at the time. It was mainly about practicing holding the pieces in my hands, to make it as credible as possible. By repeating the gestures, it became natural. As an actor, I just have to make it seem like… that's how it is whatever the field, you have to give the impression that you know what you're doing.
Is it more complicated to embody a real personality, even during your lifetime?
It remains an interpretation. I definitely didn't want to mimic Garry Kasparov. He has a very specific voice, and I felt like if I tried to imitate him it might sound fake. For the accent, it had to sound right. I was quite nervous, I didn't want to fall into the caricature of the Russian accent. I didn't want it to distract the viewer. But Garry Kasparov had a fairly light accent because he lived a lot in the United States and he tried to have a less pronounced accent. So I worked on a slightly Americanized Russian accent. Then there was also the fact that he doesn't look much like him. I had coloring and perming, and I didn't really recognize myself in the mirror anymore. I watched a lot of documentaries and focused on his way of playing chess. I studied his gestures and postures in great detail. For example, he had a ritual of touching each piece on the board before playing a game. It also helps to be able to study specific aspects of someone.
There are a lot of chess scenes in the series, and each round of this return match is filmed like a little thriller. Was it complicated to bring this game to life on screen?
It was essential, it’s the heart that makes this series beat! Moreover, all the moves we play on screen are identical to those made in the real game by Kasparov and Deep Blue. And when we toured in Hungary, we were coached by a great Hungarian master. He showed us the different strategies and in the evening at the hotel we did our homework in addition to learning our texts. We all had a chess board and we met regularly with my partners to play everywhere. We could do 20 to 40 shots in a scene with different angles. It was really captivating.
Rematch : “It's a real fight“, Christian Cooke evokes the legendary chess game of Garry Kasporov against the IBM computer
Your performance is very intense, you have little dialogue, a lot of emotions come through your eyes, how did you get into this state of mind?
I wanted to offer my interpretation of the character. I didn't want to get lost in Garry Kasparov's extraordinary personality. The idea was not to transform myself into him but I still wanted to be faithful to who he is. I read biographies and books that he wrote himself, I watched I don't know how many videos on YouTube and documentaries. He is a direct and very determined person. A passionate person, devoted to his sport and capable of extreme concentration. There are very few people who have reached his level. It commands respect and admiration. I believe there are only 1200 Grand Masters in the world. Being number 1 for almost 20 years is extraordinary and to reach that level, you have to make sacrifices. He may have a harsh image, but success sometimes requires personal renunciation, and I wanted to show that vulnerability. He was alone in front of the chessboard and in life too. I find that there is a certain nobility in this man.
Surprisingly it’s a very physical role too…
Yes, he was one of the few who trained like an athlete. He did running, wrestling and push-ups. I do a lot of sports too. It is essential in life, whatever your profession. They say “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, it’s very true! What I like about this series is that it draws a parallel between this game of chess and a boxing match. It is a psychological confrontation between two competitors which requires physical effort in reality. It's a real fight, with all the drama that that entails.
Gary Kasparov didn't participate in the project and you didn't get to meet him, but would you like to watch the series with him?
It's true that production chose not to contact him, but I asked myself the question of meeting him. But I had a short amount of time between when I knew I got the role and when filming started, so I didn't get that opportunity. In the end, it could have distracted me or disrupted my interpretation. But he tweeted about the show and he seemed pretty positive. And I think that in the series, we are more on his side, we want him to win.
The series questions the rise of technology and its dangers. How do you view this?
Today, with social networks and artificial intelligence, we feel a bit like we are on the edge of a precipice. It's dizzying. I believe that we are at a moment in our history where we must take stock and ask ourselves the right questions, because it is the future of humanity that is at stake. We must ask ourselves what we really want for future generations. Should we rush into this extreme capitalist society? This is also why this series, which is set in the 1990s, is so relevant today. It poses very current questions. I hope the fiction will encourage people to take a moment to sit down and think about all of this. This series was an exhausting but fascinating experience for me and an incredible acting challenge!
