Elsa Zylberstein "Television, is like ready-to-wear, and cinema like haute-couture."
She has style, likes fashion, loves cinema. The actress with green eyes betrays cinema and plays on TV. On
Meeting in a living-room of a hotel close to Champs-Elysées. Elsa Zylberstein arrives 45 minutes late. Breathless, confused and blushing. She takes off her Courrèges coat to show her thin silhouette. That day, the elegant thirty-years-old actress looks cool with her pair of jeans and All Star trainers. After her cappuccino, she answers Enjoy.
You are playing with Robert Hossein, Bruno Todeschini, and Grégori Derangère in "Petits meurtres en famille" on France
They are the most interesting characters to play ! Play someone smooth is so boring ! What seduced me in this TV soap was the writing quality of the scenario. The murder of the patriarch (Robert Hossein) will allow everyone to reveal himself. Masks are falling off. In the 4 episodes, we can see the characters evolving, family members and household domestics. At the beginning, Edith seems cold and superficial. But she finds back her puppy love and takes back the control of her life.
You have shot this short serie at the
I can confirm: this place is dark and gloomy. It helped us going straight into the story though. Sometimes I felt very depressed in there.
There are several horseriding scenes. Did you know how to ride a horse?
No, I had to learn. My teacher shared her horse passion with me. She gave me confidence. But she'd still going faster than me.
You become rare on television. Is it to you a minor compared to theatre or cinema?
A TV shootinggoes a lot faster, and gives less meaning to details. There is a little desecration of the actor. Which does not really fit to me. I like to have time to go inside my character. Television is like ready-to-wear, and cinema like haute-couture. Nevertheless, there are beautiful productions for the small screen. "Petits meurtres en famille" proves it.
Through your carreer, you have been working with movie directors very differents. été dirigée par des metteurs en scène très différents. Is eclecticism your key?
Yes, it is quite exciting to change universe! I am lucky to be a chameleon! I can easily change my face, going from registers to others. Maurice Pialat has revealed me with Van Gogh. It was a huge privilege to start under his direction. Then came Gérard Corbiau (Farinelli ), Martine Dugowson (Mina Tannenbaum ), Raoul Ruiz (Ce jour-là). I often choose my films according to the director. If tomorrow André Téchiné calls me, I run!
You are currently in « le Concile de Pierre » by Guillaume Nicloux, from the thriller of Jean-Christophe Grangé...
Oh, it is participation, an appetizer. The essential of my scenes were with Monica Bellucci. I play her flatmate, someone weird, who hides her game.
What will be your next movies?
In January, I will be starting a social chronicle about speed-dating, with Bruno Putzulu and Jacques Bonnaffé. Then I will continue with « Il y a longtemps que je t'aime » from the writer Philippe Claudel. I twill be his first movie. I will be playing with Nicole Garcia. The story is about two sisters who have 25 years old difference, and who had lost each other.
You share your life with the theatre author Nicolas Bedos, the son of Guy Bedos, the humorist. Do you have any projects together?
Yes, he has written a scenario for me, a marvellous comedy: “Amoureuse.” He is looking for producers and is thinking about making the film himself. He has also signed for a new play. But I'm not sure I will be playing in.
When did the desire of being an actress appear?
Since I was 12, I was doing classical dance. I was very good. At 17, I thought about taking drawing lessons. One day, my father, a physician, told me: "Are you sure you want to go into arts? Sometimes you talk about being an actress... "The envy of cinema was kind of vague, and I was very shy. My father had met Charlotte Rampling by accident in a plane. She advised him to send me to the Cours Florent. And then it seemed so extraordinary. The morning I was in free lessons, and in the afternoon in English classes at uni. I have been working very hard for 3 years.
You said you were shy. Isn't it paradoxical to play comedy then?
There is always this part of me which stays in the dark. It might be the part of reserve, of mystery that I keep and which makes me an actress. I have been a quiet and serious child, who was hiding her feelings. My parents have been really protective. I am having my teenage crisis since the age of 25. Now, I am more eccentric and less scared to live.
Are you interested in fashion?
In fact, I fin dit part of the acting job. Fashion, it's almost like going inside a role. If I wear a mini skirt with boots, I would feel very different from now, wearing jeans and sneakers.
Who are the designers you like?
Yves Saint-Laurent, Chanel, Prada, Lanvin.
Are you a fashion-victim?
Not at all. I try to find my own personal style. I pick, I recycle, I mix... Wearing a total look, there is nothing worse. It looks like a Christmas Tree! I like the classical chic. A black sweater or a white shirt, a black skirt, boots. I am very "black and white" in winter. I go for colour in summer.
It seems you have over 200 pairs of shoes...
I love heels. In my car, I always have 2 pairsto change during the day, just in case. On heels, I feel stronger facing a man.
What was your last crazy purchase?
I bought myself the other day in
Do you like shopping?
Of course I do. When I'm feeling blue, I buy a Sabbia Rosa silk tucker or a white Chloé shirt. The more I'm desperate, the higher will be the price! Shopping is my miracle drug against low spirits !
Emmanuel Ducasse
This article was in ENJOY n°3
