Romain Duris Exclusive Interview

Discovered while waiting in a queue by Cédric Klapisch’s casting director, Romain Duris (an art student and musician at the time) was soon playing the lead role of the director’s cult success Le Péril jeune (1994). For somebody with no desire to become an actor, Duris found himself working with one of the most popular filmmakers in France and their collaboration has lasted over 6 films, including Pot Luck (L’Auberge espanole, 2002) and Paris (2008). Working with the likes of Olivier Dahan, Christophe Honoré and Tony Gatlif has placed him in a prime position on the cinematic scene between auteur and popular, where he attains both commercial and critical success. Two of his recent releases, both well received in the UK, testify to his versatility, from his award-winning turn as a small-time gangster in The Beat that my Heart Skipped (2004) to the incarnation of France’s literary giant in the period drama Molière (2007). Romain Duris exclusively talks to CinéMoi about his established yet burgeoning career to date (including the forthcoming Persécution directed by Patrice Chéreau) with wonderful insight, anecdotes and humour. He reveals his acting influences from both France and the US, and with his rate of quality output, Duris himself is set to become one of the great French actors, leaving a string of disciples and imitators in his wake.