Jean Dujardin talks about his role in the new Zorro series

He played the secret agent in OSS 117the cowboy in Lucky Lukeonly Zorro was missing from his array of heroes and it is now done. Jean Dujardin came to the set of C to youon December 18, to promote the new series Zorro in which he plays the main character. The series will be broadcast from Monday December 23 on France 2.

A child’s dream

The 52-year-old actor makes no secret of it: playing this character was a childhood dream. “I was a bit obsessive at the time (…) I received the Zorro costume eight times,” he says. Childhood memories on which he expanded further in an interview given to Madame Figaro , last September. “I have very specific memories of my grandparents arriving at Christmas with outfits, and I could guess behind the wrapping paper the Zorro disguise,” he confided at the time. I had to order it every year, I had a nice collection. My three older brothers had moved on to other things, so I was alone in helping people in my garden.”

The sons of Jean Dujardin

Before Jean Dujardin, others donned the cape and brandished the sword in the name of Zorro, like Alain Delon. The latter had also explained that he wanted to embody this character so that his son could say “I am the son of Zorro”. When the presenter of C to you asks Jean Dujardin if his sons also present themselves in this way, the latter responds with humor: “it would be strange all the same…” And for good reason, the actor’s sons are past their age. Born from his marriage to Gaëlle Demars, from whom he divorced in 2003, Jules and Simon are 25 and 24 years old respectively. “I know a lot of actors hide behind it but no, I didn’t do it for my child, I did it for me,” he says of his role as Zorro.

Little is known about Jean Dujardin’s children. If the eldest of the two boys followed in his father’s footsteps, evolving in front of the camera in The Hearts of Men 2 (2006) and the short film The secret lives of young people (2010), by Basile Tronel, his younger brother works more behind the scenes. According to his Linkedin profile, Simon Dujardin studied at the European Institute of Journalism (IEJ) from 2018 to 2021 before retraining in cinema by joining the Higher School of Cinematographic Studies (ESEC), from which he graduated in May 2023. Since then, the young man has worked as a production assistant for Collectif 64, a production company co-directed by Marc, Jean’s brother Dujardin. The company notably produced the series Zorro.

“A second chance”

If Jean Dujardin has just reaffirmed his desire to play for himself and not for his children, he nevertheless confided some regrets about his fatherhood and his desire to do better with his youngest children. The actor has two daughters, Jeanne and Alice, born in 2015 and 2021 from his marriage to Nathalie Péchalat from whom he is now separated. “At 30, we are confident, we want to fight, we try to prove things to ourselves and the children inevitably suffer,” he explained. He nevertheless assured that he had reviewed his priorities. “I have a family,” he continued. I take responsibility for my sons, I take responsibility for my daughters and I am happy to experience fatherhood again and to correct it. It’s like a second chance.”