VIDEO. François Civil as D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers

“I have no method, I adapt”, confides François Civil. For the needs of the film, the 33-year-old actor turned into a musketeer during filming. If he wanted to direct his career towards independent films, this proposal was the role not to be refused, perhaps the last occasionaccording to him, to play a young hero.

“You feel like a musketeer”

The incarnation of his character goes through a “set of little moments”: first, by reading the script. “Suddenly, we read the scenario several times, we project ourselves, we imagine, we get inspired, we reread the work”, explains the actor. Then comes the preparation, a crucial step to be ready before shooting. “As I was new to the art of the sword and the horse, it required a lot of preparation. Because Martin Bourboulon’s staging device and his artistic will imply always following the musketeers as closely as possible, in order to create an immersive experience for the spectator”.

Preparing the character, especially in this film, involves a costume, to blend into the character and become one. For François Civil, the choice of materials, silhouettes, weight of clothes that change the attitude means that “you feel like a musketeer”. Resistant to all situations, these costumes allow a real closeness with the wearer: “In the end, it was my same costume that was the day before in the mud, in the rain, on horseback, right in the middle of the fights and the action. So I have a real closeness with my costumes. There is a very personal relationship”.