He’d give me directions like, “Buy a hamburger and cry. But what specifically really changed inside of me? I don’t really know. Given that the project was shot chronologically, how did your own personal journey mirror that of the character’s. Because we shot chronologically, he wanted us to not really know each other at the outset. We are different and complimentary.ĭid Abdellatif have you two hang out prior to shooting? She’s instinctive and cerebral - she has her own mystery. If it didn’t work, we’d just work together. We didn’t want to force the relationship. When I met her she was already famous in France, and we immediately became more than friends. No! Just one screen test to see what our faces look like together. I’m guessing he had you chemistry test with Léa. It was long because you expect a response every day. So how long did this casting process take? It sounds like there were a lot of steps. I didn’t think I had it, and then one day he called me up to tell me, “It’s you.” So we met for a few coffees over months and months. Like in interviews he takes his time to make sure he chooses the right words. I thought it was going terribly but I discovered after that he’s always like that. We remained in silence just watching in each other. He didn’t speak, he just watched and observed me. I’m not comfortable with telling a director how badly I want to work with them. He was sitting there and it was so strange.
I passed the casting, they gave me the comic book, and then one day Abdellatif wanted to meet me for coffee. In France all the actresses he works with go on to great things. I mean I knew Abdellatif does justice to his actresses. When you first signed on for the role did you ever envision the film going on a journey like this? So it’s been great just discovering everything. It’s been my first time in Toronto, my first time in Telluride, my first tip to LA. I think you learn something watching the movie. It’s been great witnessing all the different reactions to the film. “Blue is the Warmest Color” doesn’t mark your first film, but it does mark your highest profile project to date. READ MORE: Indiewire’s Review of “Blue is the Warmest Color”Įxarchopoulos, outfitted in a designer dress and Nike sneakers, sat down with Indiewire in Toronto to discuss her breakout role, giving all of herself to the performance, how she got the part, and her recent remarks made to The Daily Beast where she and Seydoux spoke ill of their director.