Every day, a personality invites itself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Thursday May 16, 2024: actor and now writer, Jean Reno. He published his first novel, “Emma”, with XO editions.
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Published
Reading time: 8 min
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In 1988, when Luc Besson gave him the role of Enzo Molinari, the other diver of the Big Bluethe name of Jean Reno began to resonate thanks in particular to his very notable participation in the film Subway alongside Isabelle Adjani, Michel Galabru and Richard Bohringer. From Nikitawith his now cult and emblematic role as Victor the “cleaner”, that of Desroches in Da Five Bloods: Blood Brothers from Spike Lee to Godefroy de Montmirail in Visitorshe became one of the pillars of French cinema and a recognized and acclaimed actor internationally.
Thursday May 16, he published his first novel, Emma published by XO, the story of a young woman, masseuse in a thalassotherapy center, whose past remains dark. The day she leaves Brittany to go to Oman to train teams at a wellness center, her life turns into a waking nightmare.
franceinfo: On the menuEmma, there is anxiety, adrenaline, thrills and the birth of a heroine, despite herself. What did Emma come to do in your life? When did this desire to write a novel arise?
Jean Reno : I went to thalassotherapy and my wife had a massage from someone wonderful. She said : “See this young girl!“I told him to leave me alone.”See it !“, she insisted and began a whole work of bubbling, of gestation which lasted years because I am not a writer and I worked a lot. From Covid, things slowed down and I I wanted to. There is this stupid sentence which says: “You have to plant a tree, have a child and write a book“. I said to myself : “Throw yourself into the water!”
When you read this novel, you realize that there is a huge part of you inside. It speaks a lot about what affects you in the condition of women, how women are treated. It’s no coincidence that this is happening in Oman. We feel that there is a huge involvement.
I like romantic things. The novel, for me, is linked to women and I am attentive to the itinerary, to the woman’s journey, since women have allowed me to live. When I arrived in Paris in 1970, I was starving. I arrived with 100 francs in my pocket. I came from Mâcon where I worked at the Savings Bank and I wanted to take theater lessons. The women pulled my head out of the water, showed me, educated me. I had loves in social classes that were not mine and which allowed me to observe and look at women.
“I wanted a romantic book. I wanted a romantic story, a love story, but with danger and with a mutation.”
You write from the first pages: “Our greatest adventure is indeed that of our life“. What does that mean ?
This means that many people around me think that adventure will happen with someone, with a meeting. Or adventure will happen by chance if I miss a train. This is not true. The greatest adventure is that of our life. Even if it takes place on a street. Trust, your life is going to be your adventure and you are going to be very happy.
You also offer an opportunity to face life when it has left us with deadly wounds. Emma oscillates between life and death constantly. For her, there is no mourning, no real absence. And for you?
For a long time, I felt my mother’s presence. But was it her or was it me? I don’t know. Afterwards, she walked away. At the same time, we must let minds go where they need to go. But of course everything that touched you remains.
This work is the heritage of our ancestors that we keep within us, of what has been passed down to us, of the errors that we can make, of what we do with them?
I’m having a conversation with myself about this and with my wife. I am lucky, after a third marriage, to find someone with whom we can talk about mistakes. She tells me : “But you are stubborn!” Or “You are stupid! Do you understand that you are stupid?“ “Stopped ! You are getting on my nerves !“, that’s my sentence. But she’s right.
What does all this mean is that you are a Lover with a capital “A”?
Yes, I like to love otherwise we’re done. If it’s only night, it’s not possible.
I feel very moved when talking about this first novel? Already translated into 13 languages, are there plans to make an adaptation?
No. He lives his life which is an extraordinary adventure. I hope that readers will allow me to continue. If you liked my book, that’s enough for me, it means a lot to me.