In her native France Audrey Tautou is about as famous as Angelina Jolie, but the chances are you won’t have heard of her until now. She’s steadily making her way in to Hollywood’s A-List after starring in The Da Vinci Code and her current film Priceless looks set to make her even more of a household name. We caught up with the très sophisticated actress on her recent trip to London, it looks like we may well have a new fave celeb here at MKP!
Your character in Priceless, Irene, is a real seductress…
This character for me was very new, because it was far from the kind, shy and discreet areas that I tend to play. It was a very new image that I can give. It was new to play a woman who plays with her sincerity, and who is a seductress, a manipulator and a liar! I was able to compose a character as opposed to being very natural, so it was very interesting for me. It was great to realise that I could be this kind of real woman!
Did you think Irene is bad girl, manipulating all these men, or is she just taking advantage of male stupidity?
I do see what you mean, but I don’t think she’s playing on older male stupidity, because I don’t think that these men she’s with are stupid. They are very aware of their loneliness, and that’s the reason they have to buy this young woman. I think it’s more the expression of how you can be a slave in modern society, in a different way. She’s not a victim, because she chose to do that, to try and seduce older men and to obtain their money, comfort and the lifestyle she likes. Her motivation is not nasty; she has a true fascination for the places that she’s goes in these relationships. To me, it’s scary where she goes, but I think that she considers herself living a life like a princess in this world. Even if the charming prince isn’t as young, pretty and exciting as she may like!
Is Irene a lucky girl to find someone like Jean?
I think so. Although in her mind, she would have preferred him to be a bit richer! I think she’s lucky to find someone who can fall in love without judging her. At no moment does he judge and criticise. And for her to find someone who can see the real her, and get into the adventure.
Is it true you’re going to play Coco Chanel in a new movie?
That’s true; I will start shooting at the end of the summer. If everything goes to plan, I shall play her, but it’s not a huge biopic about her. It’s a film about her early life, her personality, all her experiences that lead us to see and understand who she will become. It’s an interesting way to look at her. It is not fictional, it is based on her life. The script is finished but I have not had time to digest it all. The director did some research about Coco and she wanted to see what the most interesting period of her life was, and she thought her youth was fascinating, so we’re going to take every element of her young life.
You always take photos of your interviewers. What do you with them?
Right now, I have no objective, but you never do anything for nothing, so one day I will understand this puzzle! The first time I did it, it was because I was meeting so many people and they were all blurring together. So I needed to make all these people not entirely anonymous! And I realised later it was interesting and funny to see all those faces. It makes it more human.
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