Benoît Magimel is not idle at the cinema, that’s the least we can say. After See Paris again, Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde and Incredible but true all released this year, the French actor is starring in Pacification: Torment on the Isles by Albert Serra. A feature film particularly appreciated by Release who spoke at length with the 48-year-old actor. The opportunity for the artist to confide without filter but with passion on his job.
Aware of being lucky in this ruthless jungle that is cinema, Benoît Magimel shared a memory to show how everything can change when you are an actor, however talented you may be: “When I started out, I came across an actor in the Caribbean who had been very famous and was working there in a bar. I realized that if all this suddenly stopped, like for him, I was going to live it very badly. So I had to learn to support myself alone, to ensure that my life experiences were stronger than what the cinema gives me.“
Actor who started his career very early by exploding in Life is a long calm river at 13, he managed to maintain himself as a safe bet in French cinema, by daring different genres. Awarded at 26 for The Pianist by Michael Haneke, César for supporting role in Heads up in 2016 then rewarded once again in 2022 for In his lifetime, the actor knew how to last in an environment where one can quickly be forgotten. In his private life, the father of Hannah – whose mother is Juliette Binoche – and of Djinina – whom he had with Nikita Lespinasse -, is in a relationship with Margot Pelletier whom he married in 2018.
Pacification – Torment on the Islands
In this feature film, Benoît Magimel embodies a High Commissioner of the Republic De Roller, representative of the French State, a man of calculation with perfect manners. In official receptions such as shady establishments, he constantly takes the pulse of a local population from which anger can emerge at any time. Especially since a rumor is insistent: we have seen a submarine whose ghostly presence would announce a resumption of French nuclear tests.
In theaters November 9, 2022