She was discovered at a very young age in Yves Angelo’s Les Âmes grises, alongside Jean-Pierre Marielle, Jacques Villeret and Marina Hands, and five years later in Dominik Moll’s Le Moine, alongside Vincent Cassel. Since then, actress Joséphine Japy has made a succession of films, alternating between historical and fictional characters, auteur cinema and comedy. 

We saw her grow and blossom in Mélanie Laurent’s film Respire, in which she plays Charlie, a reserved teenager plunged into a toxic friendship. The actress will be appearing alongside Laurent Lafitte in Tapie, a new series directed by Tristan Séguéla and Olivier Demangel, in which she plays Dominique Tapie, the wife of the overambitious businessman. An interpretation full of nuance played with strength and aplomb by a surprisingly bluff Laurent Lafitte.

Interview.

8:10 p.m.

Hotel Les Bains – Paris

Acumen’s editorial team loves to find out what triggers your artistic career. You began your career at a very young age, with your first film at the age of 10. Was becoming an actress a little girl’s dream, or did chance force your destiny?

I took acting lessons as a child, but it was more of a hobby, a way of having fun in a different way… Then, one day, after a performance at the end of the year, I distinctly remember feeling a great emptiness inside me, an instant lack; I was really sad, and I think it was at that moment that something clicked. 

Then, later on, it was an encounter that turned up my desire to become an actress on its head. I was casting for the role of a child in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film Un long dimanche de fiançailles. The director came up to me and, standing at my height, said: «Joséphine, can I talk to you like an adult? Today, it won’t be you, but one day, we’ll meet again…». That sentence made me want to hang on, believe and keep going. Those words had a real resonance, and I might not be here, in front of you, if Jean-Pierre Jeunet hadn’t taken the time to say that to me that day.

You’ve played a wide range of roles in a variety of films, from drama to comedy to auteur films… If someone wasn’t familiar with your filmography, which film would you like them to discover first? Why or why not? 

I’m thinking of Respire by Mélanie Laurent: when I read the script, I immediately felt a real attachment to the character. And then, this shoot was so special, with few facilities, a small crew, and an intimacy that enveloped us and protected us too. I didn’t cheat at all on this shoot, I just let go because I felt confident, surrounded by kindness. It was a wonderful experience for me.

The general public will discover you in the Tapie series, soon to be released on Netflix. This biographical drama reveals thirty years of a businessman’s life, between moments of glory and dizzying falls. For people of my generation, the name Tapie was familiar: whether you were on the left or the right, Tapie always animated discussions and aroused interest among businessmen, politicians and young people from the suburbs. For you, only 29 years old, what was «Tapie»?

I was born two years after his conviction in the Valencienne-OM match affair. So for people of my generation, our media memories of Bernard Tapie are more linked to the justice system and the darker moments of his life. And yet, I had the image (and still do) of a man of boundless ambition who made all his dreams come true. He was a man who inspired whole generations to create their own companies, to become entrepreneurs, to take risks. And this desire has endured and continues to this day… It’s incredible!

In this new series, you play Dominique Tapie, Bernard Tapie’s wife. Is playing a real-life character more complex and difficult than playing a totally fictional one? 

Yes, definitely! For me, there’s a double pressure: firstly, to interpret perfectly the role I have been offered, to be in line with the director’s expectations, but also to have the gaze of the person you’re playing and that of her entourage, her family, her friends… You know you’re going to be dissected, in a way, which I completely understand.

For Florent-Emilio Siri’s film Cloclo, I played the character of France Gall, a true icon of French chanson, and I remember being very anxious when the film came out. I never heard back from France Gall about my performance, but a few years later, I ran into her son at a preview. He came up to me to say hello and simply said, with great tenderness in his voice: «Thank you for playing my mum like that.» It overwhelmed me and made me so happy! In a way, I felt I had succeeded.

Precisely how does the process of creating an existing character work – in this case, for you, the role of Dominique Tapie?

Little is known about Dominique Tapie, yet we all know that she played an important role in her husband’s business dealings. From the outset, Tristan Séguéla wanted to emphasise this strong, close-knit love story. It was the common thread running through his series.

For my part, before each shoot, I like to take the time to research, to see lots of things, video archives, interviews, images, articles… and especially photographs. I find that you can learn a lot about a person by looking at the details of a photograph: a posture, a hand gesture, a smile; and then, the environment, the places where these images were taken: a living room, an office, outdoors, indoors… And suddenly, a photograph grabs you, resonates with you, and it’s like a signal, the starting point for making the character. In this case, the trigger was a photograph from 1993, taken in Marseille: it shows Dominique Tapie playing the piano, radiant and smiling… I can’t really explain why, but this image was the beginning of the process of creating my character.

Then there’s the whole evolution of your character’s personality, her character, the place she takes over the episodes, with multiple nuances: an admiring woman, in love, strong and fragile at the same time, conquering… 

How did you work on all these facets and this evolution of Dominique Tapie’s character?

What was complicated was working on a character over such a long period of time. At the start of the series, Dominique is 19, and in the final episodes, she’s 45. So there was a lot of work to be done, both on the physical side and on her character. From a technical point of view, the shooting took place in two stages: a first stage of three episodes, then, after a month’s break, a second stage of four more episodes. Laurent had to gain weight between these two shooting periods.

I had never experienced a series shoot before. What was really crazy was that the preparation period was quite intense for Tristan Séguéla, Olivier Demangel, Laurent Lafitte and myself, and the shooting days were so dense… And then, at one point, Laurent became Bernard Tapie and I became Dominique Tapie, and every gesture, every posture, naturally became that of my character. I didn’t have to think about it. At the start of the shoot, they had prepared me, choose my outfits, accessories, jewellery… then, after a while, I would arrive in my dressing room in the morning and I didn’t need to be in costume any more, I would get ready on my own, I would choose this outfit and that accessory on my own, it was like an automatism. In fact, when I think about it, it’s a bit dizzying… And so, quite naturally, when my character had to evolve, take on strength of character, tenacity, a certain more conquering charisma, the evolution happened super-fluidly. I didn’t have to force things. I have to say, too, that what helped was that Laurent and I clicked right away, and we quickly became an obvious couple.

Playing in a series was a first for you. As you mentioned, it meant longer shooting periods. How do you manage the post-shooting phases? What are your other interests outside film? 

After every shoot, I find myself emotionally drained, feeling totally drained. For me, it’s essential to experience a lot of things outside the cinema to fill this void and gather material to build my next roles. And I find this material in drawing, for example – I draw a lot – and also in cooking – I love cooking!

In fact, for me, cooking is a bit like cinema: you prepare your recipe in your corner, like your role, and then you come and present the dish, let people taste it, and wait for the feedback, hoping it’s positive. I also watch a lot of films…

Which films have touched you deeply? 

Lately, I would say Justine Triet’s Anatomie d’une chute. The press is unanimous, and it’s so justified! The film is a shock. And a little less recently, Christophe Honoré’s Le Lycéen really moved me.

What about actors or actresses who particularly touch you? 

I can’t fail to mention Jean-Pierre Marielle, because I still have magical memories of my cinematic experience with him. I am also an absolute fan of Meryl Streep, both as an actress and as a woman. Then there’s Romy Schneider who, in my opinion, forms one of the most beautiful couples in cinema with Michel Piccoli.

And among the new generation?

I would mention Paul Kircher, who bowled me over in the aforementioned Le Lycéen, and whom I can’t wait to discover in Le Règne animal. And Anthony Bajon, a real talent to watch. 

Acumen magazine spotlights young emerging talents in the fields of design, architecture, art and photography… Would you like to introduce us to a particular talent?

The artist-photographer Lucile Boiron (@lucileboiron), for her dual-reading photographs. Very interesting.
And artist Claire Tabouret (@clairetabouret), whose paintings I adore. 

And finally, what are your upcoming projects? File Edit View Insert Format Tools Table Paragraph + Add field tag

Ma Mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan by Ken Scott
Adaptation of the novel by Roland Perez
With Leïla Bekhti and Jonathan Cohen 

Mata by Rachel Lang 
With Eye Haïdara

Thank you, dear Joséphine, it was a real pleasure. 

Mélissa Burckel

Photo : François Berthier 
Assistant : Benoit Roby 
Artistic Direction : Mélissa Burckel
D.A. Assistant : Flora Di Carlo 
Stylisme : Audrey Jehanno  
Make up : Aya Fujita (Agent Karine Raffalli : Calisteagency)
Hair stylist : Julie Bennadji (Agent Florent Farinelli)
Agency Contact : Julia Bossard 
Production : Sarah Moreau 
Video : Marie Dirassouyan 

Tapie series produced by Tristan Séguéla and Olivier Demangel
Cast: Laurent Lafitte, Joséphine Japy, Camille Chamoux and Fabrice Luchini
Broadcast from September 13 on Netflix

netflix.com