“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always hated Christmas! “It is the knotted throat that Michel Côté remembered Monday morning the first line of the film CRAZY
A sentence whose memory hurt him particularly, in light of the news of the departure of his friend Jean-Marc Vallée, who died on December 25. “He was an extremely generous, extremely sensitive being, who loved life, who loved his two sons unconditionally. An incomparable talent ”, confided the one who collaborated for the first time with the director on the set of Blacklist (1995), before finding it on that of CRAZY (2005), film of the international revelation for Vallée.
It is especially for Michel Côté that the filmmaker had thought of this role of father to which it was impossible not to attach oneself, but who refused to accept the homosexuality of his son. “I had the role so much in my veins that I had the impression of not playing, but Jean-Marc kept telling me all the time: ‘Don’t change anything, it’s great, you’ll see what it will turn out to be. . It is a film that I have felt right down to the depths of my soul. ”
PHOTO ROBERT MAILLOUX, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Michel Côté during the shooting of the film CRAZY
There are directors on a set who say to the actors: “Everything is fine. I’ll let you know when it’s not good. »Whereas Jean-Marc also told us when it was good. He would tell us: “It’s wonderful, keep it up. He surrounded us with love.
Michel Côté, about his friend Jean-Marc Vallée
Despite Jean-Marc Vallée’s flourishing international career, the two men have always remained close. In 2020, the director attended with his two sons the tribute that Ciné Quebec paid to Michel Côté, in Saint-Hyacinthe. “We saw each other a few times a year, even though he was very busy. We ate together, he told me his Hollywood anecdotes, we talked about our families. I think he loved me like a big brother. I made him laugh. He liked to laugh a lot. And I feel like I’m losing a little brother. [Il ravale un sanglot.] I am really sorry. ”