(Gaspard Ulliel, above. Photo by Nora Schaefer.)By Terry Keefe
While playing a French historical character with the nickname of “le Balafré,” or “the Scarred,” in the new film The Princess of Montpensier, actor Gaspard Ulliel also risked his own famous features, while shooting some of the film’s highly realistic fight scenes. Although Ulliel does, in fact, sport a small scar on his left cheek from an accident with a dog when he was a child, the marks carried by his young warrior character in the film, the Duc de Guise, are considerably more pronounced, which isn’t surprising when you see Ulliel as the Duc in the heated battle scenes of Princess. Directed by legendary filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (interviewed by Alex Simon for our site here), The Princess of Montpensier takes place during the French Wars of Religion of the 1500s, and the director opted not to use many stuntmen, so when Ulliel fights on foot, or on horseback, it is really the young actor performing those scenes.
During one highly memorable sword duel, which proceeds down a staircase and into a courtyard, Ulliel engages with fellow actor Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet (who plays the historical figure of the Prince of Montpensier) in a fight shot by Tavernier in raw, long takes, without cutting away from the moments in which the actors stumble, or miss a thrust. As a result of this fly-on-the-wall approach, the fights in Princess appear genuinely dangerous, and they potentially were, requiring Ulliel to train for two months prior to shooting with martial arts expert Alain Figlarz.
(Ulliel's Duc becomes "le Balafré" during an intense battle.)After acting in television, and also attending the University of Saint-Denis, where he majored in cinema, Ulliel broke into feature film acting with a small part in 2001’s Brotherhood of the Wolf. In 2004, he then attained prominence both internationally, and in the United States, via his leading role opposite Audrey Tautou in the worldwide hit A Very Long Engagement, which earned him the French Cesar Award for Best Newcomer. He went on to play the young Hannibal Lecter in 2007’s Hannibal Rising and co-star with the likes of Jean Reno in Le Premiere Circle, and Isabelle Huppert in Barrage Contre Le Pacifique.
Based on a short 17th century novel by Madame de la Fayette, The Princess of Montpensier centers on a young beauty named Marie de Mézières (played by Mélanie Thierry), who is poised to inherit one of the country’s greatest fortunes. Although she loves Ulliel’s Duc de Guise, Marie is married off to the Prince of Montpensier for financial and political reasons. As the Wars of Religion rage, Marie finds that her affections have become the prize of a much smaller battle, between the Duc de Guise, the Prince, and the Duc d’Anjou (played by Raphael Personnaz), who will one day ascend the throne as King Henry III. Acting as Marie’s confidante and tutor is an older warrior, the Comte de Chabannes (Lambert Wilson), who abandoned the battlefield after killing a pregnant woman, and hopes to teach the young Marie the value of an open and inquisitive mind.
Tavernier manages to imbue Princess with an energy that is often missing in period productions, in which everyone from the performers to the costume designers often seem to be very aware that they’re making a film set in the distant past. By contrast, Princess feels as if the cameras were just sort of dropped into this earlier century and began capturing pieces of it.
(Unrequited: Melanie Thierry, and Ulliel, above.)Last year, Ulliel also became the male face of Chanel, which had the side consequence of giving him the opportunity to work with another legendary filmmaker, Martin Scorsese, who directed Ulliel in the highly stylized, extended commercial for the Bleu de Chanel fragrance.
The Hollywood Interview met with Gaspard last month to discuss Tavernier, Scorsese, and a future career goal which may see him one day join them... in the ranks of the auteurs.
What is Bertrand Tavernier's directing style with actors? Does he give very specific blocking?
Gaspard Ulliel: Never. That’s a big thing. He tends to leave a lot of freedom to the actors. This is one of his priorities, I think, when working with the actors. One thing that really surprised me, in a good way, is that he always wanted to go straight to a take. He would never really rehearse or do a block-through for technical purposes. So then, of course, the actor is more fresh, if I can put it like this, on the first take, and, also, we would be free to move in any sort of way. We would never have really precise, definite marks on the floor, on the ground. And we would never really have to follow precise direction of movement and placement. So then, it’s great, because you don’t feel like you’re enclosed, or a prisoner of the frame. And this was a really interesting way of working, I think.
And then, a great thing I experienced on this film with Bertrand, was he was totally available to all the actors way ahead of the shooting, and he would insist on the fact that he wanted to meet with every actor, even those in small parts of the film, for one-to-one discussion. And this is quite rare. It never really happens with other directors. So we had many meetings, lunches, and discussions, and even readings before the shooting, to just talk about the characters and to create the characters.
It was a bit crazy [laughs]. And a bit tiring. We worked for hours and hours. We’d work for 4-5 hours in a row and 3-4 times a week, and we kept doing this for a month and a half. I actually wish we had more time. The film was on standby for a while, because we had to wait for more money, with some budget issues, and then, all of a sudden, we had the money. So, they had to shoot it as quick as they could.
Bertrand told us from the very beginning that he wouldn’t use any stunt or body doubles, both for the fights, and for the horse riding. It was totally new for me, so I had to learn to train with the horses, too.
Were there any injuries during the shooting?
No, I wasn’t really injured or wounded, but in the duel in the courtyard, with the Prince, his knife went into my mouth (indicates the side of his mouth) and cut me a little. The blades were not sharp, so it was okay! [laughs]
(Lambert Wilson and Ulliel, above.)When you see period films, it tends to often be with older actors. Here, you have all these younger actors. That gives a lot of energy and a modern feeling. At the same time, usually 'period film' means really precise filming with [dolly] tracks, and it’s stiff at some point. But here, he wanted to film this more like a documentary, in a way. He would be in the middle of the set with handheld shots and action, and this was another modern feeling to add to the film.
Then, I think another way the film can be a bit modern is in all the themes that are explored in this story. Many of those strong themes have great resonances with today's world. Like the condition of the woman, or the forced marriage, or the religious war. And also, love, and the passion... all those feelings never change. That's universal. That's why I think this film can be quite modern, in a way, and really work on young audiences.
(Gaspard Ulliel, above. Photography by Nora Schaefer.)It was amazing. Of course, it was a bit short, and at some point, it was a bit frustrating... because I could have kept doing this for a month [laughs]. I remember when the Chanel people phoned me and said, “We’re thinking of having Martin Scorsese direct the ad," and I couldn’t believe it. I was so thrilled and excited about it. I remember waking up in my hotel room in New York City every day to go work with one of the biggest and greatest filmmakers we have today. It was like a dream.
(Scorsese, and Ulliel, above.)
Then, when the launch of the fragrance really kicked in with all of the publicity, what was that experience like for you?
This is a bit odd. When I signed for this, and was shooting the ad and doing the photo shoot, I knew there would be billboards and posters in the street, but not as much as they did. I mean, in France, it was everywhere, and I was a bit frightened in the beginning. You walk in the street and you see yourself everywhere. (He indicates his closely-cropped hairstyle, which is a significant change from the longer locks he sported previously.) Maybe that’s why I cut my hair [laughs].
But in the end, you just get used to it and you can walk past those posters and you don’t really see them anymore. You know, it’s part of the game. You know when you sign, in the beginning, that you have to prepare for this.
I understand that you were training to be a filmmaker, when you started to break as an actor. Is filmmaking something you wish to pursue again? As an actor, you're also a filmmaker, but -
Well, not really, but in some cases... I think as an actor, that’s the best way to work with a director. As an actor, we can bring lots of ideas and create, in a way, some part of the film with the director, but on the other hand, you’re sort of a slave to the director, in a way, you’re just one part of his own story and his own world.
And, you know, I would love to be able to express myself through my own film, and my own cinema, and even my own script. I would love to write the script. This was something I was really into, obviously, when I was 19 or 20, because I went to film school, and at that time, I wanted to become a director. But at the same time, I kept working as an actor and I started to get more and more offers as an actor, and I just thought that it would be so silly not to give it a try as an actor, after receiving those great offers. That’s why I decided to stop film school.
Sometimes, I regret and miss those moments where I was discovering such amazing filmmakers from different countries. But also, at that time, I thought it would be really interesting to experience real shooting, and sets, and to watch different filmmakers at work, and that’s another way to learn about directing.
Today, I’m really fulfilled with my job, with acting... it’s fascinating and it absorbs me completely. I’m really happy with it. Directing is still in my mind and I still would love to work as a director. But the more and more I work, the more and more I can see how difficult it is to direct a film, and to drive the whole crew. I don’t think I feel confident enough to go for it maybe today. And also, as you build notoriety as an actor, you can feel more and more pressure about the idea of becoming a director, because, obviously, you know your film will be more anticipated, and maybe more criticized, and you have to be sure to have the right project.
The Princess of Montpensier premieres theatrically in the United States on April 15th, and will be available everywhere via Sundance Select’s Video-On-Demand program starting on April 22nd.
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