Raphael Personaz. “When it started working for me, I sometimes made mistakes because of bulimia”

There are phenomenal actors who break through in dazzling fashion, sometimes at the risk of exploding in flight or not going the distance. Others settle quietly and permanently, anchoring their careers on a solid foundation of work, talent, ethics and perseverance. Raphael Personas is of this caliber that has attracted authors as diverse as Bertrand Tavernier, Roshdi Zem, Catherine Corsini, François Ozon and today Anne Fontaine.

“I like characters who don’t show everything”

After the unsuccessful attempt of the previous film – Gemma Boweryreleased in 2014. the director gave him a leading role. the actor plays Maurice Ravel. Bolero (1), a biography about the creation of the first international hit in history (famous Bolero, therefore) and the portrait of an artist of contrasts, physically as tough as musically sensual. “Ravel sacrificed everything for his music, including his love, his sexuality, his own body. He reserved his vibrations, impulses of life for his work. I like characters who don’t show everything, who don’t necessarily speak their mind. I’ve never embodied such detachment or played a role that required such technical training.”

“We had to erase the ‘pretty boy’ side of him.”

Despite his foundations as a pianist and his years as a trumpeter in a college orchestra, Raphael Personaz took piano lessons for a year and he never stopped after that, taking four months of piano lessons with an orchestra. To make Ravel’s dryness his own, he also lost ten kilograms at Anne Fontaine’s request; “It was necessary to erase the “pretty boy” side of Raphael, to slim him down, so that his face became more painful, hardened. . I did not want to fight against its beauty, but to complicate it, because Ravel, despite his graceful side, is in an intensely fragile state when he creates; Bolero. Moreover, he was an educated man, and I did not find it easy to embody such a stylized character in anyone, except Raphael.

Ravel was an educated man, and in no one but Raphael have I found it easy to embody such a stylized figure.

Anne Fontaine

The fruit of a Parisian actor’s family and intellectual heritage, born to a decorator-designer father and a mother who translated Greek poetry. A love of words, travel and creativity are part of her DNA. After the nose monologue Cyrano in college, he no longer imagines any other future than living on stage. Smart and hardworking, he studied at XX Conservatory^e district Kino reached random meetings and castings. For ten years he played small roles.

Although he doubts it, a decisive meeting with Bertrand Tavernier seals his fate; Duke of Anjou in 2011 The Princess of Montpensierhe became the hope of French cinema and lived a blessed period at the age of 30-35, continuing to act. Three worlds (2011)New friend (2014)The SK1 case (2013)In the forests of Siberia (2016)… Tavernier, who also called him Quai d’OrsayReleased in 2013, it praised her “presence, elegance, irony and wit”. Daniel Otto, who directed him Marius And Fanny in the same year praises “his lack of arrogance and great human qualities”.

“New Alain Delon”.

Her beauty is often revealed in praise. “In cinema, it can sometimes be crippling: it captivates and alienates. But in Raphael’s case, he confronts delicacy, vulnerability, aliveness, determination and humor,” explains Anne Fontaine. However, in his early days, the blue-eyed actor was called “the new Alain Delaux,” a comparison that flatters him as much as it chills him.

“There are stereotypes that need to be destroyed. we sometimes tend to associate physical appearance with social background, profession, temperament… However, all combinations are possible. Moreover, French cinema likes “mouth”, which I don’t. I’m counting on the age that I’ll hate it all a bit, – he jokes and adds: – Ten years ago, when I was thinking about my career, Benoit Magimel told me: a young lead or novice so that other types of roles come your way.”

French cinema loves a “mouth”, which I don’t

Raphael Personage

When movie offers become less interesting, his agent advises him to go to the theater “to play again and again and not be spoiled by bad movies”. He listens, asks the right questions. “When it started working for me, I sometimes made mistakes because of my bulimia. I don’t regret it, because I touched many worlds, learned things, met interesting people. But I went a bit too far. I had to refocus.” His ego is in its rightful place. like his idols Michel Piccoli or Daniel Otto, he prefers the mastery of the profession to worldliness, restraint. showgood words for social networks.

On the boards

On the stage, he reached a milestone and gathered momentum. In the first Scenes from married lifeNext to Lætitia Casta, then inside You will not have my hate, a stage adaptation of a text written by Antoine Leiris following the disappearance of his wife during the Bataclan attacks. Remarkable in its dignity and intensity in this single on stage, which he wore for more than two years, the actor won the Molière Award in 2018. His talent and honesty are rewarded. the image of the leading young man disappears, much less with him. the role of dance director in the series opera, and back today Bolero.

“I believe that Raphael revealed something about his potential in this role of Ravel, another relationship with his appearance, with the world and with himself,” explains Anne Fontaine. He has many great possibilities that expand with maturity and with what he experiences intimately.” This summer, the 42-year-old actor became a father for the first time. “Focusing your attention on someone other than yourself allows you to better understand your own doubts and worries. Today, also with my experience, I bear greater responsibility for my qualities and my shortcomings. Bolero is the film I hoped would finally allow me to dream.”

(1) BoleroBy Anne Fontaine, with Raphael Personaz, Doria Tillier, Emmanuelle Devos, Jeanne Balibar… Released on March 6, 2024.