What if… The roles they didn’t get | Wait your turn

In this new series, actors talk about a role they didn’t get and imagine how this commitment would have changed their career and their lives

Each time she suffers a professional disappointment, Marie Soleil Dion says she “quickly moves on to something else”. Even when it comes to a leading role in Breakups, The countries above And Too much.

In 2015, the actress actually auditioned to play family law lawyer Ariane Beaumont in Breakupsa character that Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin defended for five seasons on ICI Télé.

At the time of the audition, Marie Soleil Dion alternated between improvisation, theater and radio. In television, his curriculum included roles in several comedies and children’s shows, such as The knockout theory And Subito text. But nothing major drama-wise.

His first thought upon receiving the summons to Breakups ? “Maybe this is where my business will take off…”

Becoming the headliner of a flagship Radio-Canada series, produced by Fabienne Larouche (Aetios), would certainly have changed a lot of things for Marie Soleil Dion. Her career would have gone into fifth gear, believes the graduate of the Conservatoire d’art Dramatique de Québec, vintage 2007.

“I would have been considered a serious actress much earlier,” she says, with her usual frankness.

Today, the main interested party believes that she was neither “experienced” enough nor well-known enough to land such a contract. “And Melissa [Désormeaux-Poulin] was better, she adds. I think a girl like her, who already had a lot of experience behind the tie, was a very good choice. »

Solidarity above all

Although she is part of a very competitive environment where many people seek a limited number of positions, Marie Soleil Dion refuses to let negative feelings invade her. Jealousy, anger and bitterness? Very little for her.

“I’ve never been one to believe, ‘Because she has something, that takes something away from me.’ I think it’s really important to be united. Sometimes it’s my turn, then other times it’s your turn. »

Marie Soleil Dion says she applied this principle when Anne-Élisabeth Bossé got the role of Caroline Malterre in The countries abovea role she also coveted.

Marie Soleil Dion never envied Virginie Fortin for Too much, when the latter beat her to the character of Anaïs, the bipolar young sister of Isabelle (Evelyne Brochu). “It wasn’t: ‘Ah, my career! Ah, money!” The challenge tempted me. The idea of ​​playing a bipolar woman excited me. »

Despite the disappointment, Marie Soleil Dion watched the first season of Too much, signed by Marie-Andrée Labbé. What did she get out of it? “I found Virginie very, very good,” she replies without hesitation. I was like, “Wow! I’m really happy that she can demonstrate that she’s not just a comedian, but that she’s also a great actress.” »

“Belittling someone else to elevate myself, I don’t believe in it,” she insists.

A decisive hearing

Unpopular opinion: Marie Soleil Dion loves auditions. Of course, she admits that they are often a source of stress, but never paralyzing stress. The actress loves every step of the process: discovering the script, creating the character, memorizing the lines, hearing from the director, discussions, etc. Whether she gets the role or not, her pleasure remains felt.

One of the fondest audition memories she has dates back to 2007. She was called to Casino, this series by Réjean Tremblay that Radio-Canada removed from the airwaves after two seasons. The character ? She barely remembers it. A troubled young drug addict, she presumes, thinking back to the smoky eyes she’d painted on before arriving at her destination.

Since she played every evening at the summer theater in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Marie Soleil Dion had driven nine hours, round trip to Montreal, with her mother, to pass an audition… which ultimately escaped her notice . But against all odds, the casting director, Marie-Jan Seille, took the time to inform him of the reasons why she was going to reject his application.

In an interview, Marie Soleil Dion describes this meeting as a “game changer” [déterminante]. The following September, she enrolled in the workshops of Danielle Fichaud, a coach renowned interpreter. And less than a month later, she picked up Thank God ! And Vrak life, two television productions. “It made me understand a lot of things, and quickly, things opened up and I started working. »

Everyone has their own way

Best known for Counter offer, Like me and other series in which she exploits her comedic talent, Marie Soleil Dion has distinguished herself in a few dramas in recent years. Of the number, we count The escape And FEM, this Unis TV series in which she plays the mother of a teenager (Lenni-Kim Lalande) who questions her gender identity. This experience delighted the actress.

At the same time, Marie Soleil Dion continues her career as a host. Since last winter, she has been piloting Love is in the meadow on Noovo. The more the years pass, the more she follows her path as she sees fit.

“Yes, I come from the theater world, but I always had this little pop spark. I like the Quebec star system, the games, the quizzes… When I was younger, I admired Marie-Soleil Tougas and Véro [Véronique Cloutier], girls who put their personality forward, who were themselves, who were close to people. This desire to animate has always been with me. The difference is that today, it is much more assumed. »