December 2001

"Olivier Martinez"

In promotion of Before Night Falls

Originally in Italian

I've finally gotten it all translated! You can see some of the pictures from the article here; I might see if I can scan the rest in myself when I get the time.

Question 1

Let's talk about your life, Olivier Martinez, let's talk about cinema. Your father was a boxer, you came from a family of mechanics, you spent your childhood and adolescence in the suburbs of Paris: it sounds like something out of a movie. How did your upbringing affect your work as an actor?

Obviously my past affects my work, as does the present. In fact, everything does! But even if I'm far away from them physically, I remain very close to the world and to the people I was brought up with. It's important to know where you come from. My father's family left Granada [south of Spain] during the "franchismo" years, first for Algeria, then for Morocco. I was the first in my family to be born in France, Paris to be exact. My mother, 100% French, insisted that we be fully integrated into French society. I was happier to go to the stadium, I love soccer, and the boxing gym than to the movies. The movies that I knew and loved on TV were French and popular -- Marcel Carn�'s movies, Ren� Cl�ment, Jean Renoir. Ammiravo Bourvil, Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, Alain Delon. But I wasn't really a cinephile. Athletes were the ones I looked up to. I had a real passion for jazz and also soul and funk music: Art Blakely, Parliament, George Clinton... when I was around 16 or 17 I spent entire nights at concerts and sometimes, after the show, I'd help put away the equipment. But up until I was 23, when I was admitted to the Conservatory, I had never been to the theatre.

Question 2

A truly unique path. The Conservatoire National Sup�rieur des Arts Dramatiques is, as the name indicates, a very prestigious institution. And you, who came from the suburbs [which is akin to America's inner cities]... again, one would think it was a plot twist right out of a script...

Exactly. I had done my military service [required in France of all men once they reach a certain age] and some odd jobs here and there; then one day I accompanied a friend to a school, the "cours Florent", where he was preparing for the famous entry exam for the Conservatory. I miraculously managed to get in. It was like being reborn. It was really cool. In that moment everything changed: for the first time in my life I was doing something that interested me. At the Conservatory I played the classic roles, Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" and "Richard III", the masters and servants of Moli�re's plays, then Musset's romantic heroes, but I didn't stay there that long because I was lucky enough to be able to start working professionally rather quickly, first in theater and then in cinema. No one ever told me that I had a face made for cinema. In fact, one day, I was called in for a movie, and the casting director told me that the director, a Frenchman, didn't want me because I had "too much presence". Strange, isn't it, to criticize an actor for his strong presence, an essential quality, after all. I insist on the right as an actor to be different, the right to not necessarily have to represent a majority.

Question 3

Very early in your film career, you found yourself acting alongside legendary personalities such as Yves Montand in Jean-Jacques Beneix�s �IP5� and Marcello Mastroianni in Bertrand Blier�s �Un, deux, trois, soleil�. And then you starred alongside Juliette Binoche in Rappeneau�s �Le hussard sur le toit�. These are memorable, important experiences: the script gets �glamorous�...

To start your career in cinema alongside first Montand and then Mastroianni is an exceptional opportunity for a young actor. Meeting these people marks you, obviously, and always serves as a reference for you. Mastroianni seemed to enter into the psychology of the character he was portraying, without ever analyzing him. I don�t think that the expression �getting into the skin of a character� is valid. The only skin is that of the actor. We feel the characters. It comes directly from the subconscious. But for me the actor�s work remains above all something very physical, comparable to that of a boxer or a mechanic.

Question 4

And now, a new twist in the script -- here you are in Hollywood. So what has happened: have you chosen America or are you really a true "nomad of the set"?

I like that expression "nomad of the set": it's true that I've worked all over the globe. Today I'm in Los Angeles, while yesterday I might have been in Madrid or Paris. On the set of "Before Night Falls", a film by Julian Schnabel, a very cultivated man, the environment was rich and evocative, culturally and personally, with actors of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. Also, I had a great time on the set of the last film I shot, "Unfaithful", with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. I loved working with Adrian Lyne, a very open, generous director. As for the future, I would like, probably like many other actors, to have the chance to take on roles that allow me to advance not only professionally but also personally. Acting is not therapy for me: I'm happy with my life. After all, I have a job that interests me and that allows me to support myself. It's odd, but I don't think I was destined to become an actor, even if today it would be hard to imagine doing anything else.