“My father this hero”. A film which does not rejuvenate us but which saw a young actress steeped in talent emerge. Marie Gillain was only 16 when she played Gérard Depardieu’s daughter in this feature film released in 1991 and directed by Gérard Lauzier. Almost 30 years later, the actress, now 47, has a busy filmography. With roles including “The Hunchback” with Daniel Auteuil, or “All our desires” with Vincent Lindon.
Asked by our colleagues from the lifestyle magazine MAXMarie Gillain returned to this role alongside Gérard Depardieu, which had a real impact on her life, but also on her family. “I think they didn’t really have a choice because they felt there was something so strong in me”, indicates the actress when our colleagues ask her if her parents had some apprehensions when she landed in Paris at the age of 16. But the latter were quickly reassured.
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A difficult role with Gérard Depardieu, but of which Marie Gillain has excellent memories
Indeed, as explained by Marie Gillain“It’s not the same story to tell yourself that your daughter has been chosen to play a leading role in a film with Gérard Depardieu, in Mauritius, than to play in “L’amant” for which I had spent the casting”. And even if she thinks she made the right choice, she still recognizes that this role has been “a huge upheaval in [sa] family life”. “We had to manage it all together. It inevitably broke part of my family, it was like a tsunami. And it makes sense”she confided.
Subsequently, the 47-year-old actress also spoke of the reaction of her classmates to her return to college. Reactions that are sometimes difficult to take: “After doing “My father, this hero”, when I went back to college in Belgium, everyone looked at me like a fairground animal”. Fortunately, she was able to count on “a group of friends who were a bit marginal”, who allowed her to get through this period without incident and digest her budding notoriety.
RF