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Mélanie Laurent • Actress

Shooting Star 2007 – France

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At 23, Mélanie Laurent was thrust into the spotlight last autumn for her lead role in Philippe Lioret’s Don’t Worry, I’m Fine [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(see news). Yet, the young Parisian has already featured in over a dozen films (see news), by such directors as Michel Blanc Jacques Audiard, Rodolphe Marconi, Rachid Bouchareb, Belgium’s Oliver Van Hoofstad and Italy’s Alessandro Capone. Cineuropa spoke with the actress in a brief interview.

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What have been the main highlights in your career, which began at the age of 15?
Mélanie Laurent: First, meeting Gérard Depardieu. A friend of mine brought me to the Asterix and Obelix set, where Depardieu spotted me from a distance and asked me if I wanted to star in a film before signing me up for The Bridge. Rodolphe Marconi then offered me an important role in This Is My Body, in which I had my first love-and-tears scenes. Then, strangely, my rather low-key appearance in Jacques Audiard’s The Beat That My Heart Skipped [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
revealed a side of me that I never thought I had. I previously had easier roles, those of a debut actress, and this film turned me into a tough girl. Don’t Worry, I’m Fine was a major highlight, as I was the star in a film that was a hit with audiences.

What are your plans for 2007 ?
The next films I’ll be in are Paris by Cédric Klapisch (see news) whose shooting ends in March, Alfred Lot’s La Chambre des morts (see article) starting next month, Jean-Paul Salomé’s Les Femmes de l'ombre in the spring (see news) and Cédric Anger’s Le Tueur.

What do you think of your nomination as Shooting Star?
I’ve been acting for ten years and I’m getting to know the profession well now. I’ve had my share of deception, as well as a fair share of exposure. I’ve been very careful which films I chose, preferring not to accept offers that didn’t suit me. In fact, I prepared myself for what’s happening now. I’m doing this job in order to play the most interesting roles and to meet the greatest directors. But I’ve also directed three shorts myself and written a play for theatre that I would like to direct.

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