Arie Warthalter. “As a child, I was fat and suffered from my image, the evil of others”

She is not on social networks, she almost never appears on red carpets, even more so as the face of a luxury brand for a photo shoot. Arie Warthalter wasn’t even really in the (much) spotlight. Or rather, until February 23, 2024, when he won a César for Best Actor for his accurate and feverish portrayal of Pierre Goldman, a far-left activist who in 1974 The Goldman Trial, by Cedric Khan. Previously, we noticed the 37-year-old Franco-Belgian actor as the father of a young transgender girl. girlBy Lucas Dont, or as a brother in solidarity with a mother accused of abuse There’s nothing to losee, by Delphine Deloget. But Arie Warthalter is a secretive actor who prefers the wide open spaces to a social life.

It is also located in the heart of the Canadian forest Like fire (1), by Quebec Philippe Lesage, in which he plays an Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker with a knack for both flying a seaplane and tracking moose with a bow and arrow on his back. But when she welcomes an old friend and her teenage children to her chalet, she can’t silence her resentment and ego. Between isolation, manipulation and old resentments, Like fire45 days shot in the immensity of Canadian landscapes, paradoxically everything behind closed doors (2h41), is a real thriller. And raises the question of power and dominance relations, which especially attract the actor.

Madame Figaro: What attracted you to the script? Like fire ?
Arie Warthalter: Layers of complexity in character relationships. Then I quickly went to watch the films of Philippe Lesage, which attracted me. And I’m not going to be a hypocrite. going to Quebec for three months worked.

How did the filming go? You have already lived immersed in nature in Canada…
I lived in the Pampas out west in British Columbia, so it’s very different. It was the mountain, I was a little more alone. There, when we shoot, we have a management team, a lot of people, it’s a different experience. But it was a joy, I love it. I had to restrain myself from leaving, sometimes I even went camping here and there.

What did you do when you were alone in the pampas?
I lived in a dressing room, a remote hunting and fishing area where people mostly come in the summer and fall. I was a bit of a craftsman. But that was ten, eleven years ago…

The Blake character you play as Like fire , is an evasive person. Sometimes charming, but also manipulative, even threatening… How did you approach it?
We talk a lot about toxic masculinity. Blake is a good example. He is the kind of person who doesn’t give his feelings away for free, who constantly pushes others to their limits, to see where their limits are. As soon as he finds it, he starts playing with it. But if he pushes, he knows how to navigate and bounce back. That’s why he has this elusive side.

The film is punctuated by three long dinner scenes, shot in sequence, during which tensions rise between the guests. How did they shoot them? How much improvisation was there in the dialogues?
I think it took us two or more days to shoot three days. Philip gave us a lot of freedom, so yes, we improvised a lot. In a scene, there are essential things that we cannot avoid, confrontations, targets around which we revolve. But once you achieve them, you will have a lot of freedom. Even if we get tired after a while, we don’t drink wine at the table, of course, but hyperacidic cranberry juice, to the point of burning the inside of the mouth. The dishes weren’t any good anymore either… But these are game props to use. By the end of Take 23, it was late, I was exhausted. And I started the scene so tired, telling myself that we will see how it will be.

Philip gave us a lot of freedom, so yes, we improvised a lot

You were talking about toxic masculinity towards Blake. Is this a dimension you particularly want to explore in your roles?
No, but I had some who questioned what a man is today, what does it mean to be “masculine”, “feminine”, what is a man who has power or not? I believe that it is inevitable. We cannot solve power relations, and there are many of them in cinema, without addressing it. In today’s world, how can we not question ourselves? Who did I have as a father figure, what are my own shortcomings… This is a huge area of ​​exploration. And in a society that still remains very patriarchal, the opportunity to engage with that through my roles excites me greatly. Then, should we still choose appropriate projects? Reject some because they are not critical enough? Once again, it depends on the subject of the film, who is at the helm of the project. Depending on whether it is a man or a woman, the perspective changes a lot.

Have these questions always worried you, or did they arise when they began to excite the public in recent years?
Not always, it used to be in my late 20’s I’d say. As a child, I suffered from this concept of abundance because I was fat, and I suffered a lot from my image, from the ugliness of others. So I grew up with an awareness of what it means to have or not have power, to be or not to be rejected. Being surrounded by people in the theater, many women meant that realization came faster; they were much more passionate about these topics before the press or the wider public got hold of them. Today it is still different, but it is certain that I have never been very “hairy on my chest”. Maybe I would be if I grew up differently.

What kind of relationship do you have with your character now that you’re an actor and exposed?
This weakens me even more. There are places where it gives confidence. When we congratulate ourselves, we tell ourselves that we are not slipping, it is good, we must not be fake. But outside of the director’s looks, it makes me a little more uncomfortable. Perhaps because I’m not used to gravitating to a certain area of ​​the image, I like to be in my own corner. But this is strange to say, because at the same time cinema is a prism of desire. You ask me this question, I’ll think about it all day.

There are things that remain in the body’s memory

In any case, we wonder what being so exposed does when we suffered from childhood insecurities…
There are things that remain in the body’s memory. Which are… I don’t like the word “traumatic”, but which can be so intense that we then hold them as a normal response and therefore expect some hostility. I speak for myself as a former fat person, but this can concern all walks of life. We expect people to wish you evil. from there we have many possible responses, including toxic masculinity or pounding our fists on the table. Fortunately, I think I don’t react that way. I’m talking to my boyfriend, my lover, playing the blues, whatever.

What impact did your Caesar have on you and your career?
I’m getting more offers, I’m reading a lot of scripts, that’s for sure. The way others treat me has also changed, but not much has changed in my daily life. Except for my friends and my lover, who kindly make fun of me and make jokes. That’s what good friends are. if needed, they bring you right back to earth. I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything, or that I have more pressure. Will having Cesar mean that I have to work differently from now on? Since I am a bit anxious by nature, I ask myself all these questions. I feel like there was a bit shiftbut it may disappear in three months.

You gave a very dedicated speech to the emperors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Has this had any effect on your career?
It was something I had to do. It was inevitable, I was extremely concerned. There were reactions on the net, some cool things were said to me, some were not, but since I’m not there, I didn’t really follow it. I was a little tense while saying it, I told myself that they will cut off my microphone. But no.

In recent months, we have felt that artists are less hesitant to speak out about social or political issues…
Yes, and that’s good, but we have to succeed in our speeches, because politics is something else again. Is this just an expression of personal anger or are we really trying to convey a message, discussion or question? In all these speeches, we should support each other, guide each other. We are in a time when people are not together. being together is easy to say, especially for a part of the population. But in reality, we have to fight in this direction, and it is difficult. So open your mouth, yes. But also listen to what is being said. See and listen.

(1) Like fireBy Philippe Lesage, Canada, 2h41, in theaters July 31.