Exclusive Interview: Vincent Cassel of Mesrine

Blu-ray.com recently sat down with Vincent Cassel, the star of the upcoming film 'Mesrine: Killer Instinct', which will be released in UK theaters on August 7th. The film tells the story of gangster Jacques Mesrine, one of France's most notorious criminals. Almost 30 years after his death, the tale of hold ups, prison breaks, and kidnappings is reenacted via the the Cesar Award-winning team of writer/director Jean-Francois Richet and the actor we are interviewing today, Vincent Cassel.

Blu-ray.com Please tell us who is Jacques Mesrine?

Vincent Cassel: Jacques Mesrine is a very famous gangster in France who died in 1979, shot down by the police in the middle of the street. His body was displayed on TV as a statement from the government. He was one of the first gangsters to use the media for his own sake. In that sense he became like a rock star in France. In 1979, the year he died, he was the favourite celebrity of the French people. I think he really tried to find a lot of excuses for his actions, but I think he really wanted to be a gangster since his childhood.



BD: He was a very complex and nasty character, why was it appealing for you to play Jacques Mesrine?

VC: Well the fact that it wasn't that clear, that he was ambiguous, full of paradoxes and antagonism. I never wanted to judge the character ever but we wanted to do it with Jean-Francois Richet and Gerard Depardieu in a way which showed all the different aspects of his character, letting the audience judge him if they wanted to. He is a bad guy, but not as bad as we read in the media. He left behind him this image of being a Robin Hood-style figure, but he wasn't because he never gave anything back to the poor. He was a showman. He really controlled the media for his own sake, creating a persona, the only positive thing about this is that he had the courage to live up to the persona he created.

BD: Could you identify why he was so popular with the masses, with the French people?

VC: Well first of all, not all French people like Mesrine, some people are really scared of him and they are freaked out just by the sound of his voice, but in the poor section of French society, he was the one figure that made fun of the government, threatening them. He had the courage to do all this and he was ready to pay the price for it. I think that's why the projects in the suburbs are still so much in love with the image of Jacques Mesrine today.

BD: It's obviously a very French story so for the international market it has been described as a French Scarface or Goodfellas for example do you agree that there are similarities with those films?

VC: Well all three films are telling the story of gangsters, Mesrine really existed, all the facts in the movie are not created by some writer, they really happened. I think even though you may not have heard about the character just to know that it was real gives you another perspective on the movies.

BD: And mentioning Robert De Niro, another similarity is that in order to portray Mesrine you had to put on 20 Kilos, you had to change your physical appearance. How did that change you as a person?

VC: Well I think that it is always a dream for an actor to go through a drastic transformation like that, the only problem is that you have to find the right movie to do that in otherwise it's ridiculous. This was definitely the film for me. You are talking about Robert De Niro but you could also talk about Eric Bana in Chopper, or Tom Hardy in Bronson, I mean it's one way of acting. I'm always very impressed when I see somebody do that and do it properly, it was something I really wanted to do. But now I know it's really bad for you physically, I don't think I will do it again.

BD: This performance won you a Cesar in France, a French Oscar, do you know yet what impact this has had on your career or do you feel that there is something changing in your career as a result of the Cesar?

VC: No I don't think anything will change as a result of the Cesar, but I think things have changed because I am getting older and I know a little more about what I like and what I don't like. You know, the more you grow the more you master your thing – especially if it's really personal - acting is very personal for me and I started 20 years ago so you know I grow as I get older, I'm like a French wine hopefully.

BD: This is a 70s story but do you see a contemporary resonance to it? At the time there was a right-winged government, we have one now. At the time, Mesrine was campaigning against high security prisons, we still have problems in prisons today. Do you think there is an anti-establishment resonance that is relevant for today?

VC: I'm sure you can find similarities, echoes from the past with what is happening today but at the same time it's not on purpose, honestly. It's not like the movie is trying to criticize the system today in France, this is not the purpose of the movie at all.



BD: If we go back to the film you spent nine months shooting the two films, travelling all around the world with a huge cast, with people coming in and out for short periods of time, what was it like for you to be Mesrine for nine months and what was the day-to-day routine?

VC: Well, I have always looked at this whole adventure as good luck really, I never thought to complain about anything. Many times I came back home to my hotel room and I would get on my computer and Jean-Francois Richet the director and myself would debrief online. I remember on many occasions we were talking about the scenes we'd shot that day and what we were supposed to do the next day but so many times at the end we'd have to remind ourselves the luck we had making this movie. Because it is true, when you are an actor and you make movies with a strong subject matter and you have the money to shoot it the way you want to with an incredible cast in different countries you know its luck, I think. I consider myself as being really lucky with this project and I'm trying not to forget about it.

BD: Gerard Depardieu is in MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT, he is a generational actor and you are one too. Is there a feeling of passing the baton between the two actors. What was it like to work with him?

VC: Well first of all I'm not sure that Gerard Depardieu wants to give his baton to anybody and I think he is totally right because he still has a lot of things to do. I hope I will work with him again. He is an actor that I really admire. Years ago they asked me if I would like to interview somebody, for me it was Gerard Depardieu, straight away, no contest because Gerard Depardieu is an actor of his generation, and I think that's what I am too, particularly in his earlier roles, maybe more so than the present. I feel that I have been trying to do the same in my era, on certain levels I can identify myself with him.

BD: As an actor, it took 7 years to make the films and you had to be focused on this. How difficult is it as an actor to choose a role? Sometimes it doesn't work out, the film is not as good as you expected it to be, what makes you decide to take on board a certain role?

VC: It's not logical at all. I think you have to trust yourself, to hear your inner voice. By the second page in the script you should really know whether you should make a movie or not – I really believe that. If it's your career then you better think because you have to calculate everything, you have to follow your guts. You should remember what you thought at first because usually this is the best advice.