Rust and Bone is in French, but it has a universal appeal, partially
because a lot of people think of SeaWorld and orcas as an American
phenomenon. In the movie, there are beautiful, almost balletic scenes of
you interacting with these giant animals. Was the training difficult?
I’m not very comfortable with the idea of animals in captivity, so when
I heard about Rust and Bone, I thought I couldn’t be a part of it
because the character was an orca trainer. I was really uneasy the first
day of training. For me, the orcas were not like animals. In a horrible
way, they seemed like men’s toys—trucks in a bathtub. But they’re not
scary. And if you feed them, they do whatever you want.
Did you like Stephanie, the character you were playing?
I could never give life to a character I don’t love. I’ve read scripts
in which I hated the character and didn’t do the movie. With an evil
character, you have to understand the origin of the evil. It’s exciting
when there is something unknown—if I want to meet that person, that’s a
good sign.
Rust and Bone has many explicit sex scenes. What is harder for you to
do—a death scene like you did in La Vie en Rose or a sex scene?
Definitely a sex scene. I hate sex scenes. The body is so important in
this movie, but I hate being naked onscreen. It’s very weird to imagine
how a person would have sex. It cannot be your way. Otherwise, it would
be super uncomfortable and overly intimate. Everyone has a way to have
sex, so a character does too. I mean, kissing is very powerful. You feel
something, you know? It’s really intense to kiss as another person.
But French women are supposed to be okay with all matters sexual!
Well, yes, but…[Laughs.]
Changing subjects…do they know who Batman is in France?
Oh, yeah, he’s very popular. Not all superheroes are, but Batman is. He
is human, so you can relate to him. The French like that. I loved the TV
series. I was totally crazy about Catwoman. She was so witty and fun.
If you had a superpower, which would you pick?
I would love to fly. I don’t think I would like being invisible. If I
could enter any room where they are making political decisions, I think
I would kill myself. It would be too painful to see how people rule the
world.
You saw people who rule the film industry at the Oscars. How was that
night for you?
It was amazing. In France, we have a lot of actors, but you never get a
chance to share your experiences. In America, you show the movie, and
you talk about it with actors who know what it’s like to open your
heart, soul, and mind to another person and let them in. I especially
feel very close to other actresses.
