The character of the wise woman of the “Bronzés” made him known, but was his burden for a long time. The actor explained it in “C to you”.
Par Marc Fourny
© THOMAS SAMSON / POOL / AFP
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Ithe roles that stick to your skin… This is the case of Jean-Claude Dusse, played by Michel Blanc in The Bronzed, this loser and nerdy bachelor who accumulates rakes with girls – we remember the memorable scene, stuck on a chairlift singing “When will you see me again, wonderful country”… A character who suddenly made him famous among French, but which he had a lot of trouble getting rid of, especially in the eyes of the profession, which has long cataloged him in the comic repertoire trooper. To the point of having difficulty pursuing a career, as he told on the set of It’s up to youstruggling to promote his latest film, The Small Victories.
“All the people who make auteur cinema have employed me before The Bronzed in small roles. From tanned, nothing more, no more news”, remembered with regret the actor, who saw himself answering: “Ah well no, we will say that it is Jean-Claude Dusse…. “A sidelining from which he suffered, especially in the early 1980s. Michel Blanc then chained comedies, always with Patrice Leconte (Come to my house I live with a friend, My wife’s name is come back, Move along, there’s nothing to see), and even tries his hand at directing by turning Walk in the shade in 1984.
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But everything changes when Bertrand Blier offers him the headliner, alongside Depardieu and Miou-Miou, in Evening dress, in 1986, a role of composition which earned him the prize for male interpretation at Cannes. “After that film, the directors said to themselves: maybe he’s an actor… That’s what my butcher told me, by the way. The evening I came back from Cannes, he said to me: Well, finally, you are an actor… ”He then chained dramatic roles (Mr Hire, Uranus) that he would never have been able to win without “the stamp of the Cannes Prize”, as he himself admits. An eclectic career that will be crowned by a César for best supporting role in 2012 for State Exercise.
No “Bronzes” 4
But Blanc is not quite done with his role as Dusse. With his comrades from Le Splendid, he agrees to shoot a third version of tanned in 2006, Friends for life. “It’s the worst thing I’ve done,” he admitted bluntly on the set of It’s up to you, despite selling 10 million at the box office. And it will not be necessary to count on him for a fourth opus. “I realized while playing The Bronzed 3 that it was complicated for me, he confided in an interview with the media Reviewer. It’s become easier to play in other comedies rather than playing Dusse again…” And to conclude: “I think we’ve come to the end. Three is a nice number. And then it was funny to see the Bronzés young and old. Now, if it’s to see them at the hospice, I’m not sure that’s relevant…”
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