Marie-Claude Dussault fulfilled a long-time dream by participating in the game show Jeopardy last winter. After two months of waiting, the Quebecer will be able to break the silence surrounding her passage to the legendary American quiz since it will be broadcast Thursday on NBC.
To mark the occasion, Marie-Claude Dussault decided to bring together family and friends and organize a viewing in a pub in the Mile End district of Montreal. In an interview, the 39-year-old woman admits that she intends to take advantage of the event to see her loved ones, but also to refresh her own memory in relation to the course of the show. “I’ll be honest: I half remember the categories and the questions! I remember a few answers I gave, but it goes by so quickly. I was so in a trance… I have the impression that finally, I will be able to live the part that I played! »
“It was so surreal,” she adds. I was behind the podium, I saw the decor from another angle. »
An advertising translator, Marie-Claude Dussault is now part of a select club: that of French-speaking Quebecers who have earned their place at Jeopardy. (They would be three or four, in total.)
She tried her luck for the first time in 2020. Like 400,000 people each year, she had taken the qualification test on the internet, which includes 50 general culture questions. Once this first round was over, the producers invited her to retake a similar test on Zoom. Then came the remote interview, then the virtual audition, during which, with eight other candidates, she played a “real” part. Because she delivered a compelling performance, her name ended up in a bank of potential contestants for 18 months, but she was never contacted.
She tried again in 2022, went through all the preliminary steps again, and this time, after six months of radio silence, her phone rang.
“The first time they called me and I saw the California state area code 310, with Culver City on the caller ID, I understood right away,” she says. . I was extremely feverish. My boyfriend took out his phone to film the conversation… And I have no desire to see this video! »
“I always wanted to go to Jeopardy believing that it was never really going to happen, she continues. It’s a bit of a dream come true. »
“Very nervous”
Obviously, Marie-Claude Dussault cannot say anything about the outcome of the match she played on February 27, at Sony Pictures studios, in the United States. She can, however, disclose her level of stress at the time of recording the show: high.
I was extremely nervous. I wish I had said no, but I was. It should appear on the screen. When the cameras started rolling, apart from the questions, there was nothing left around. Even my boyfriend who was in the audience.
Marie-Claude Dussault
Apart from an error by host Mayim Bialik, who called her “Marie” at the start of the program before correcting the situation after a commercial break (“It didn’t destabilize me”, specifies the principal concerned), Marie- Claude Dussault claims to have had a “tremendous” adventure, partly thanks to the competitors she rubbed shoulders with.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARIE-CLAUDE DUSSAULT
Marie-Claude Dussault with host Mayim Bialik
“It was really the fun. You spend a day with 10 others nerd, who are your new friends, but who are also your competitors. »
The knowledge put forward
Unlike the players who accompanied her, Marie-Claude Dussault is not a faithful viewer of Jeopardy from “a very young age”. She rather discovered her existence during her twenties, when Alex Trebek hosted her. Since then, she has never missed a game.
“In Quebec, all quizzes have a gimmickshe points out. Jeopardy, it’s just 60 general knowledge questions. There is no twist, no stars. Knowledge is put forward. I like the formula. »
Marie-Claude Dussault had only participated in one game show before Jeopardy : the deceased Paid taxi by Alexandre Barrette, broadcast on V from 2009 to 2018. She would like to experienceNext with Stéphane Bellavance on ICI Télé, but she never applied. Twice a month, she takes part in quiz nights at Colonel Moutarde, a cocktail bar in Plateau-Mont-Royal. This is also where we sketched his portrait on Tuesday.
“I’ve always been someone who is interested in everything and I have a good memory. It has always been useful to me. »
NBC presents Jeopardy Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. Marie-Claude Dussault will be a competitor on Thursday’s show.