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Marine Delterme: I hadn’t done any theater for about twenty years. Coming back now, under these circumstances, is a real joy. First, because it’s a play by Samuel Benchetrit, whose writing I adore, whether in theater or film; he tells stories of strong, rock ‘n’ roll women. Second, because I’m acting with Patrick Bruel, whom I met on Sophie Lellouche’s film (Paris Manhattan), and Stéphane Freiss, whom I admired in Florian Zeller’s play The Son . It’s also a joy to be able to collaborate with Ladislas Chollat, a truly great director, and in one of the most beautiful theaters in Paris, the Théâtre Édouard VII. It’s a unique place today. In a world of falsehood, untruths, and virtuality, it’s perhaps the last space where everything is real, untouched.
It was obvious, and above all a real love at first sight for the play and for the character of Carole.
GVH: What is your first memory of the theatre?
MD: When I was little, my parents often took me to the Comédie-Française. I remember very clearly waiting at the stage door to ask Louis Seigner for an autograph. I was nine years old. These are very strong, almost ghostly memories. But I came to the profession more through film. Theater came later, particularly through my husband and his work as a playwright.
GVH: How did this piece come to you?
MD: Samuel Benchetrit and Ladislas Chollat offered me the role. And it came at a time when I was looking to return to the theater. I had just come back from two years in Los Angeles, where I had missed the theater terribly. So it was a natural fit, and above all, I fell in love with the play and the character of Carole.
GVH: If you had to summarize “Part Two” in one word?
MD: The choice.
GVH: Is it exciting to play a love triangle?
MD: Yes, because there’s real complexity. You might think it’s a simple love triangle, but the play goes much further. There’s laughter, emotion, grief, surrealism… and a real reflection on love and life choices. My character is caught between two completely opposite men, and that creates a constant imbalance. It’s very exhilarating to play. Music also plays a crucial role. In the play, our characters relive teenage parties accompanied by the hits of the era: Françoise Hardy’s “Message personnel,” France Gall’s “La Déclaration d’amour” It’s a journey.
I know what a lasting relationship is, I know the need to reinvent it, to re-choose it, to constantly defend it.
GVH: So, how did you approach Carole?
MD: She’s a woman at a pivotal moment in her life, what we call the second half: she’s experiencing renunciation and regret. She’s been married for forty years, her children have left home, and she’s facing the empty room syndrome. Like many women her age, she’s asking herself: “Do I leave and destroy everything? Do I stay and lose myself? Do I reinvent myself?” She’s a very instinctive, unpredictable woman, and that’s what makes her so fascinating.
GVH: What does she have in common with you?
MD: I know what a lasting relationship is; I know the need to reinvent it, to re-choose it, to constantly defend it. I believe in a deep love that is built over time, through trials, through fidelity to a bond, and not through perpetual wonder.
GVH: You’ve just returned from an American experience with Park Chan-wook ‘s “The Sympathizer.” Is your career following your aspirations?
MD: The key word is desire. After the grief of a long series, I felt a need to reinvent myself. Los Angeles was a rebirth. For the casting of The Sympathizer, I improvised, took risks, and they chose me. And finding myself opposite Robert Downey Jr., my favorite actor in the world, playing such a crazy role with him , was a wonderful gift. I realized I could still surprise myself, inspire desire. For me, as an actress, the older you get, the more you arrive with who you are, with your baggage, your life, your dramas. You’ve touched so many areas of the human soul that you find it easier to press the right buttons.
HB: What would you like to do next?
MD: To be surprised. A well-written role, a director I like, working again with people I’ve liked, Cédric Klapisch and Philippe Le Guay for example.
GVH: A filmmaker and a dream acting partner?
MD: Paul Thomas Anderson and Timothée Chalamet , whom I find extraordinary. In France, I really like Guillaume Canet, Yvan Attal, Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, Maïwenn…
GVH: The last work that moved you?
MD: I listen to a lot of Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey. Lately, the series Adolescence blew me away. Another absolutely powerful emotional experience was Get Back, the miniseries about the Beatles last concert.
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