Winter 2022. Jean-Philippe Perras receives an audition proposal by email. Generally, he and his agent are used to discussing the role he is being presented with before he dives into reading the texts. Ironically, not this time. It was alone in front of his computer that the actor assessed the project that was submitted to him. A series called The emperor.
From the outset, the title excited him. But his enthusiasm deflated a few lines later.
“I said: “Ah, really, that doesn’t tempt me! Not immediately.” With what we had just experienced… We were still in something, in my personal life. It didn’t tempt me anymore. I gave ! », Relates Jean-Philippe Perras in an interview.
The media storm resulting from past actions of his partner, Maripier Morin, was just beginning to fade. But it was precisely his lover who told him: “Go ahead. Will see. » Six minutes of discussion with author Michelle Allen and director Adam Kosh later, the actor was reassured, convinced, and he agreed to bring to life this monster, the aggressor Christian Savard, in Noovo’s fiction.
“I wanted to understand and be at peace with the why of this series. I didn’t want to look like the guy who just wants to fuck girls. We talked about nuances and humanity. To understand how we can get there, we have to understand him, man! »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Jean-Philippe Perras
Kindness
The narcissism of his character, his need for possession, his denial of reality, Jean-Philippe Perras did not leaf through thousands of pages or watch hours of documentaries to absorb it. He did not interact with convicted ex-aggressors, nor was he “inspired” by a fallen personality in particular to construct the charismatic and devious character of his Christian.
Instead, he worked to free himself from all judgment in order to feel empathy for the man he played… so that we, the spectators, could hate him even more.
What interests me is understanding humanity through the character. Otherwise, it becomes a monuncle parody.
Jean-Philippe Perras, about his character Christian Savard
“If I had only listened to my first feelings in front of Christian, there would have been no series. I would have said to myself that this guy is a piece of shit, and that would have been the end of it. But what makes him a pile of shit? It’s because he has ambition, an inordinate ego, a need for control. He’s an extremely bright guy socially. All things that I am capable of feeling, that we all experience, at different levels. I had to look for them in myself and put the broil ring in place! If Jean-Philippe’s ambition is 3.5 out of 10, Christian’s is 12 out of 10! »
It took a lot of kindness, explains our interlocutor, to respectfully render these scenes – almost all of them – emotionally charged. The performer admits to having specially anticipated certain revealing confrontation segments with Jean L’Italien, who plays Lionel, Christian’s father.
“We can’t shoot scenes mechanically. Because we all carry trauma, directly or indirectly. No one came in with their big boots claiming to know what a sexual assaulter is. There was a lot of humility in all that. »
As for the reconstruction of the attack on Rosie (Léa Roy), shown with great skill in the darkness on the screen, which we will see on television this Wednesday, Jean-Philippe Perras describes the recording as a choreography carefully calculated.
“We worked with an intimacy coordinator and a stuntman. That’s not Tom Cruise falling off a building, but that was a stunt. Every move was timed to the second. »
Never let go
That some viewers hate him with passion delights Jean-Philippe Perras. “This is proof that it works! »
Jean L’Italien said to me: “My guy, you know that it’s the role of a lifetime, right?” I know some actors refused to audition for the role…
Jean-Philippe Perras
“The story being told is more important than just my career. It doesn’t scare me. I trust the world. But there will definitely be a before and after this show, in my life! So far, it’s THE show of my career, for many reasons. A character with this much meat around the bone is rare. »
For the conclusion – definitive, the author Michelle Allen has confirmed – of The emperorJean-Philippe Perras promises a “rolling fire” until the last second.
“Christian will never give up!” He can go down on one knee, maybe two, but he will never give up. However, the series highlights the strength, the power, the resilience of women… And the victims will never give up either! »
Series The emperor airs on Noovo on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. The last episode will be presented on February 28. The series is available in full on Crave, and you can also catch up on episodes already broadcast from both seasons on Noovo.ca, until February 25.