Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu: between Sylvie, art and humanity
As Sylvie Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu became an international star at the age of sixty. Yanez's daughter talks about her Roman childhood, relationship with parents and collaboration with Marilyn Fitoussi, costumer for “Emily in Paris”.
Text by GUIA ROSSI
Photography MARCO D'AMICO
Styling SARA PAOLUCCI
The younger generation adores her and maybe a little afraid of her. Major fashion brands seek her attention. World success came to her on the threshold of sixty years in the role of unstoppable Sylvie Grato, but before Sylvie Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu was Agathe Coltes, a police commander in Brittany, Catherine Barneville in “Dix pour cent”, the wife of a cynical agent of artists Matthias Barneville, and in 1988 - mistress Lisa in “Dostoevsky - Besy” (“Les possédés”) Polish master Andrzej Wajda. Her debut earned her a César Award as “Most Promising Actress” in 1985's Trois hommes et un couffin.
L'OFFICIEL: In the latest episode of “Emily in Paris,” Sylvie tries to convince someone to become an Agence Grateau client by saying, “I'll do anything to work with people I care about, because when you care, it's love, not work.” Does that apply to you as well?
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu: Absolutely. It's an emotion that affects everyone when there's passion and respect for what you do. It stops being a job and becomes just a pleasure. And Sylvie, in my opinion, is not that far from that. On the contrary, she is a person who has always defended beautiful things, luxury. For her, the mass market is not interesting because you can't put love there. She loves quality, no wonder she says that. I recognize myself in this as an actress. Actors, when they make choices that make them happy, “fly” even though the projects are difficult and tedious.
LO: Macron and Gualtieri's argument about “Emily in Paris” between France and Italy made me smile, but it also made me think. Why might an entertainment product be of interest to the powers that be?
FLB: Frankly, this political reaction didn't appeal to me. To talk about “Emily in Paris” as a trophy to be won seems rather inappropriate at a time when the world is going through such difficult phases. We're actors and we're not here to feed power, that's not our role. Maybe it's just my feeling, but I felt used. And to that power I have nothing to say and nothing to give.
LO: But everyone looks at it and projects their own interests onto it.
FLB: If I think about how a product like “Emily in Paris” is a space where everyone does their product placement, I can't and don't want to play Sylvie. I play her purely because I see her as a character, a person to whom I'm trying to give a humanity - my own, which Sylvie might have if she existed. The last thing I'm interested in is how “Emily in Paris” is used outside of that framework.
LO: Let's talk some more about Rome. Do you like it as much today as you used to?
FLB: Of course, I always like it. There are connections with it that are not lost, childhood memories, huge and beautiful. Moving to Paris after Rome, especially as a child, is a bit of a shock. Rome is much more beautiful to grow up in, Paris is tougher. I have a great nostalgia for the capital and the Romans, as a child I played and walked in Trastevere, in Gianicolo Park, in Villa Doria Pamphili Park; I was often in Monteverde, as in the center, in Piazza Navona. It was not the Rome of today; everything was simpler. Today it has lost that romantic aspect, has become more chaotic and always full of tourists. Nevertheless, it remains a very beautiful city.
LO: Are there any other places in Italy that you are attached to?
FLB: As a child I was in Tuscany a lot, I lived near Radda in Chianti, which is not what it used to be, of course I went to Chetona (in the province of Siena) where my dad lived. We had a house in Sardinia and I also love Sicily, been to Naples, Puglia and Calabria. There are so many places in Italy that I love. I could say all of them!
"With Marilyn Fitoussi, the costume designer, we have a unity of intention and vision. Even if we see each other between shoots, we know we think alike."
LO: Which place in the world do you really consider home?
FLB: Rome, obviously, more than Paris or Brazil, a country where I've traveled a lot and which I fell madly in love with because Brazilians are beautiful and immediately make you feel welcome
LO: Back to Sylvie: how the aesthetic evolution of the character over four seasons was born with costume designer Marilyn Fitoussi?
FLB: Fitoussi is practically the mistress on this project, she does almost everything she wants to do because Darren Star (the show's director) understood perfectly the value of her work Maybe less so in the beginning, but now she has almost complete freedom of action Early on in the making of the series, we instinctively worked on the idea of “dressing” Sylvie in late 90s/2000s style with things from Helmut Lang and Rick Owens An old-fashioned style all in black that reminded me of the women I knew as a child in Yohji Yamamoto, an idea we didn't follow through on because Americans have a hard time understanding it Then we started to open up Sylvie's closet for another one as well There is a silent exchange of communicating vessels between her and Emily, where one is in turn exposed to the colorful and extravagant influences of the other Through Emily, Sylvie “sees” colors, sees other things Emily has an intelligence that Sylvie knows how to use in a good way and perhaps in a bad way as well In this last season, I say this openly, “I don't like selling lube as cream” - that is, adapting to a certain excess of American marketing This season, however, I thought the character of Sylvie should be simpler in her aesthetic, to shift the focus from her outfits to the personality itself and her soul So I asked the costumer to tone it down a bit I don't know what direction we'll go in season 5, but I do know that every time I meet Fitoussi, it's a unity of intention and vision We have more or less the same ideas, and even if we see each other between shoots with a certain time gap, we both know we were thinking about the same thing.
LO: Moving on to real life, what is never lacking in your everyday aesthetic? Do you have a fetish item that you don't part with?
FLB: Very simple - jeans, shirt and jacket and I'm good to go Maybe add a sweater when it's cold and I don't have any fetishes But I do have a very strong passion for sunglasses I adore them, saw them on my mom and found them insanely interesting even then I have these memories of myself as a child of 7-8 years old wearing my mom's sunglasses That passion has stayed with me ever since To it I owe a deep immersion in the world of fashion, I would say almost total and permanent I had to distance myself from it as a reaction, but over time I realized that this world has taught me a great deal.
LO: How important is art in your life, how do you develop creativity?
FLB: Beauty and truth are important to me. And artists are part of them, along with music, which I love very much. Now I'm discovering young artists, for example I've become fascinated by the art of Jules Miglio. A guy of 24 years old who grew up in Nîmes in the south of France in the Mediterranean mix of arts between Camargue and Spain, Algeria and Corsica. I feed my creativity by listening to music, almost without distinction of genre: classical, Brazilian, Italian, American. And of course there is literature, theater, which I adore, and cinema, which I watch not because I am an actress, but above all as a spectator. There is the beauty of nature, a heritage that comes from my mother. Naturally, there is a fascination with the beauty of people, not because they are perfect, but because they radiate a certain light, I perceive their heart or enthusiasm that manifests and captures me. All of this is art to me because it nourishes the soul.
LO: Speaking of nature, the works of your daughter Tais, an artist, come to mind, there is something magical about them. What is your relationship with her compared to the one you had with your mother?
FLB: The relationship with my daughter is close and intimate, very different from the one I had with my mom. She had a crazier life, those were the years where it was easy to get lost in the crazy pace with Dad, surrounded by all this success. With Tais (Bean, from director Richard Bean) I was a very different mom, more present, the kind of mom who goes to school pick up, brings home and cooks meals. The relationship with my mother was still rich, even though she wasn't a normal mom - I mean not the kind of mom who makes you pasta every day - but she gave me a lot, just as she passed on the special baggage of Tais. I think of the open and sensitive view of art and beauty that I see in my daughter today. I have to say that there has been a pretty direct transmission between the two of them, which makes me happy and grateful.
"After Emily, I'd love to do something more intimate and simple, which can also be funny, but not in the more traditional sense of comedy."
LO: What has to be in a script to convince you to take it on?
FLB: It has to be well written, with an interesting story, rich characters, with deep layers that don't need to be simplified. I love it when there's drama, tragedy, complicated things that need to be said. Even if it sounds strange, when I read about Sylvie, I immediately felt there was material to go deep, to better understand the motivation behind why she became a wounded woman. I need the characters to have that kind of soulfulness, and I need to see an opportunity to put some “meat” into them.
LO: What would you like to work on next?
FLB: I've been working for a long time and I've done a lot of stuff that obviously people can't remember. But now, after Emily, I'd like to do something more intimate and simple that can also be funny, but not in the traditional sense of comedy. I'm open to all good suggestions, trying to grab what life offers me. I believe that for us actors, there is an angel that delivers the roles we have to play at the moment we are in dire need of them. Projects that allow us to see and understand certain things about ourselves as human beings through the role we have to play. The acting angel always knows what we need, and it's very strange. Sometimes we want what we don't have. Instead, the clues we need come instead, but not the clues we were hoping for.
LO: Do you believe in artificial intelligence?
FLB: No. I'm pro-human, pro-craft, pro-heart and soul. We already use artificial intelligence every day, for example Google Maps. But beyond that I don't want to explore, I feel uncomfortable enough with that kind of presence. We all have to try to be careful and stay vigilant so that we don't get swallowed up. I recently read a script written by ChatGPT, and found it appalling in how formally perfect it was, but without any pulse or humanity. I immediately heard it, and it repulsed me. Who are you, what are you? Let's stay human!
Hair: Fulvia Tellone @ Simone Belli agency
Make up: Fred Marin @ Call My Agent
Manicure: Asalaya Pazzaglia @ Simone Belli agency;
Production: Giorgia Masala @ Studio d Creative
Photo assistants: Francesco Gallo e Cecilia Moriggi
Stylist assistants: Maria Bruni, Luigia Tora e Giorgia Grifone
Location: Accademia Costume & Moda, Roma
