She played in Ramdam and The cottage. Given the reply to Louis-José Houde. Filmed with Xavier Dolan, Stéphane Lafleur and Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette. A very enviable journey. And now in her already well-stocked CV, Julianne Côté has just added a brand new title.
Posted on August 28
That of screenwriter.
His first project, From Peter to daughter (Tou.tv), in which she also plays the main role, was a success. The audience loved it. Criticism too. His passage on the other side of the fence was also noticed by his colleagues. Rare are the performers who dare to put themselves in danger by writing a film or a TV series. Even less at only 32 years old.
She settles on the outdoor terrace of Station W, in the shade of the old Angus factories, in Montreal. The day before, while filming a cooking show, he was served four opulent meals. So this morning, no croissant or chocolatine. Just a coffee. This side.
I wanted to meet her to find out how her adventure behind the camera had gone. The writing, the filming, the launch. The reception of peers, too. Because the artistic community has not always been accommodating with those who wear several hats. Think of singers turned actors. To actors who have become animators. To animators who have become singers.
“In my case, it went really well,” she rejoices. Her voice is soft. His flow, fast. Like that of Daphnée, which she interprets in From Peter to daughter. His tone, however, is more assertive than that of his character.
The fact of working with friends that I had known on the set of the Cottage, it helped me. It gave me a lot of confidence. It relieved me of a burden that other screenwriters have when they write. When the authors propose a series, they must sell their idea. Me, I had nothing to prove to the production people. They knew my humor, the way I express myself. Writing didn’t stress me out.
Julianne Cote
As a new screenwriter, did she experience impostor syndrome?
” Nope. »
Not even a little ?
” Nope. Short silence. “No, but it bothers me a bit, the categorizations. I don’t understand why, in the industry, it’s sometimes frowned upon [d’avoir plusieurs titres]. If a comedian plays in a film, that doesn’t take anything away from me. I love him, Louis-José Houde. I find it funny. I find it good. If I had a super beautiful voice, I would make an album. »
– Do you have a beautiful voice?
— When I say that I sing badly, people tell me: okay, stop that. I like to sing a lot, except that I wouldn’t make an album. I wouldn’t go on tour. I don’t have that in me. But I never set limits on myself. Maybe it’s generational. I am surrounded by people who do many things. My friend Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse plays in the cinema. She animates. She participates in Revolution. She’s trippy, and she’s good at everything she does.
Subspecialization is still popular, I point out to him. At school, in sports, in the job market, the speech of journalist Malcolm Gladwell, according to which one can become an expert in a field after 10,000 hours of training, is popular.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Julianne Côté had coffee with our columnist Alexandre Pratt on the outdoor terrace of Station W.
That’s okay too. I can understand that we have a vocation in life. That we want to work in a single niche. But it’s not me.
Julianne Cote
His wish ? Pursue two careers at the same time. One actress, one author. “Without the game, I would be missing something. Except that being an actress, she adds, is difficult. “It doesn’t matter the age or gender. There are several layers of issues, such as the castings requested, or the fact of aging on the screen… ”Which is not his case. She easily looks 10 years younger than her age. Most people would welcome that. However, to obtain certain adult roles, it can be a disadvantage.
“I’ve always been too young. I look too young. I have the face I have, I can’t fight this. So now when I show up for an audition, I’m just happy. I tell myself that if I get the role, it will be a nice surprise. Otherwise, I have writing projects that satisfy me. I have what it takes to be happy this year. »
“I don’t want to sound like Fred Pellerin,” she continues. But I kind of feel like a storyteller. I can take any vehicle. Not just the game. It can now go through the writing, too. »
***
When she wrote From Peter to daughter, whose story is largely inspired by her own, Julianne Côté had no political or social agenda. She was not yet aware of her power as a screenwriter. From the influence of his words. From the resonance of the themes she was going to tackle. Homosexuality, for example. The fact that the character is in a relationship with another woman was not a militant act.
When I decided that Daphnée would be a lesbian, I didn’t think [au message]. In my head, I just wanted to shoot with my friend Karelle [Tremblay]. I thought I would be less embarrassed playing a couple with her than with a guy I don’t know.
Julianne Cote
It was the public reaction to his series that made him realize the significance of his writing.
“I received lots of testimonials. Much, much more than when I play a role. People have told me about the relationship with their father. Single mothers have told me that they feel like Pierre, with their children. This is where I took the pulse of the effect I can produce. »
Another central theme of the series is ambition. Daphne misses it terribly. She waits for time to pass, before going to work, in the evening, in a restaurant-bar. This is also a source of conflict with his father.
Julianne Côté does not share this character trait with her character. “I admire people who are full of ambition. I am surrounded by ambitious people. I like this. It whips me. »
“On the other hand, I am not a workaholic. I am very lonely. Especially since I’m writing. I need a lot, a lot, a lot of free time, during which I have nothing to do. Fallow days, between writing days. […] If there was a camera in my house, believe me, it wouldn’t make a good show reality tv [rires]. I may have been afraid, when I was younger, of appearing lazy. Because I knew so much about what I wanted to do later, I didn’t push for long studies. But I’m fine with myself about it. »
And what are its own ambitions for the next few years?
To play. To write. And move people.
“When I watch a film, I have the impression that a kind of luminous breach, that something comes to touch you. That’s the beauty of acting. Cinema. Theater. It is to live, in your day, a moment that you did not expect. I tell myself that if I can make small inroads like these in people’s lives, it would be an honor and a privilege. »
Questionnaire without filter
coffee and me
My relationship with coffee has changed over the past two years. Before, I drank it like a maniac. If we were going to brunch, I could drink seven filter coffees. Except caffeine can cause me to have panic attacks. Today, I try to limit myself to two a day. Ideally decaffeinated.
My favorite place
The Bic. I never get over it.
People I would like to gather around a table, dead or alive
My grandmother, who died during COVID, and my mother [morte il y a 30 ans]. They loved each other awkwardly. I would like the three of us to be here and talk to each other.
A role that I would have liked to play
That of Nicole Kidman in Birthday. It’s really the kind of role I dream of playing. All in power, in rage, as in the scene of the opera.
A series that I would have liked to write
Big bearseason 1. It’s perfection.
Who is Julianne Cote?
- Born on May 7, 1990, in Quebec
- Ella has starred in about twenty television series and ten films, including Ramdam, The chalet, The ring, You sleep Nicole and It smells like cutting.
- Winner, in 2015, of the Geneviève-Bujold prize, awarded to the best hope of Quebec cinema
- From Peter to daughter is his first screenplay for a television series.