“The transgression? Interpreting a normal woman»- Corriere.it

“It’s the first time I’ve played the part of a normal woman. It is a simple story in which many can relate. I make films with one goal: to touch the hearts of the audience. Being able to do it with a woman like Sandra di A beautiful morning by Mia Hansen-Løve was a new and exciting experience». Léa Seydoux knows well that she is at the antipodes of the normal adjective: scion of the aristocracy of French cinema (and also of a noble family), at 36 she is destined to inherit the scepter of queen, conquered with the sound of extreme roles, from Adele ‘s life (Palma d’Or in 2013) up to Caprice by Crimes of the future with which David Cronenberg returns to the competition in Cannes, who with his partner Saul Tense (Viggo Mortensen) removes human organs grown thanks to a machine as actions of performing art. No wonder the single mother of A beautiful morninggrappling with her father’s degenerative disease and with an everyday life that does not give discounts – passed to the Quinzaine and acquired for Italy by Teodora – proves to be an unprecedented experience for her.

Normality, in his case, turns out to be a transgression.

“I’m not normal, I know. It’s not the job I do, nor my life. They are out of the ordinary, so Mia’s film is worth a lot. It also happens to me, as a spectator, that a film reaches my heart. Cinema has made me who I am. Plus, it helps me live.”

The film has an autobiographical value for the director, already author of “Bergman Island”, she wrote it after her father’s death.

«It contains many true and contradictory emotions: sadness and pain but also some tender aspects and a new openness to life. And Mia tells it with a force that touched me personally, I felt close to her. When we have direct experience of death, strange as it may seem, we are even more driven towards life”.

Mia Hansen-Løve explained that she was struck by her simplicity, while Cronenberg said that she is kind but in a fierce way. It is recognized?

“I’m an actress. I have several nuances to show. What matters to me is to feel that there is truth in the character. I’ve never played a superhero but I feel I can be believable in that role as well.”

How did you work with Cronenberg?

“I can tell that David is a funny and intelligent man. We had so much fun”.

Do you find it different being directed by a woman or a man?

«Yes, with a director I usually find myself playing an alter ego of the author. While in the case of directors they are the representation of the other, of the opposite, their visual fantasy of a woman. I’m fine with that, they’re different points of view.”

She will star in the remake of “Emmanuelle” (classic of erotic cinema with Sylvia Kristel), directed by Awdrey Diwan, Golden Lion 2021. What should we expect?

“I look forward to embarking with you on this exploration of the female nature. What will be? The portrait of a contemporary woman. What I love most on sets is collaborating, writing the film together with directors and directors. I bring my ideas. I love collaborating, I don’t like authority. As an actor you are a co-author».

Do you also think so for Kechiche’s “The Life of Adele”? Almost twenty years have passed since that Palme d’Or and the controversies that followed.

“I think the jury understood that it was the result of a collective effort between performers and director and that it was a well-deserved award”.

How do you react if one of your films fails to convince the critics?

“It happened for My wife’s story by Ildikó Enyedi. For me it’s one of the most beautiful I’ve done, but he didn’t convince everyone even though when he came out in Paris I received many messages. One by Catherine Deneuve: never happened before. Like a Palme d’Or.”