1996 Articles

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=120 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <IMG SRC="49973c70.gif" border=0 width="115" height="199" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> 1996 Articles</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>7 JOURS INTERVIEW; 13 JANUARY 1996</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9900CC" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="2482ce10.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="225" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="24a30e40.jpg" border=0 width="304" height="228" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>At age 32, Roy Dupuis appears to have mellowed. His recent break from work has allowed him to take a step back and to make some sensible choices about his life. Since then he has been handling, with a new-found calmness, the everyday demands that become difficult as a result of success. And this stability draws </B></div> <div> <B>its origins from his early childhood. Thanks to the love of his family he has grown into the quietly confident man that he is today. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Paradoxically he is about to turn into a psychopath for a part in Urgence, the new television series written by Fabienne Larouche and Rejean Tremblay for SRC, which begins in January.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Roy, you were originally asked to play one of the leading characters in Urgence, weren’t you? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>That’s right. But I couldn’t accept the offer because of professional commitments I was already contracted to. Besides I have just finished two films. In Venezuela, I played the role of Bonpland, a botanist in Luis Armando Roche’s film Aire Libre < Passage des Hommes Libre >.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This film is now in production. I did the post-synchronisation last week.</B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>I was also in Christian Duguay’s film Screamers; the character I played is rather mysterious, you could say he is chilling. It’s a science-fiction film which takes place light years from now, and it’s due to come out in January. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In Urgence, what character do you play? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>A psychopath called Barrette. He must be a relative of Michel ! (laughs) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What is his story? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I don’t really know… He could be an actor who hasn’t succeeded in landing interesting parts ….who’s flat broke. He’s depressed.  In the episode in which we see him he is in the middle of a trauma.   </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>He could just as easily be a plumber or an electrician who has always been fascinated by the middle ages, who is very knowledgeable about this topic and who, while going through a crisis, escapes into this world. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>During his attack, does he really believe he is living in this period? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Yes, if he wants to. Perhaps he is also trying to believe himself to be in another time because he is angry with the banality of today’s society, the lack of honour, the lack of grandeur. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Is it difficult to play a madman? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Not really …. Everyone can be a little crazy when one wants to.  Everyone has some madness hidden in the closet. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Is this character particularly interesting to play? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Yes, because it allows me to set something up, to release a little more madness. It allows me to let my imagination run a little bit further. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Have you always had a very fertile imagination from childhood? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I have always listened to stories. In fact these stories were often set in the middle ages, stories of knights and mysterious castles. The magic of this period has always fascinated me and still does today. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Not because I think that we are not living in a wonderful age, on the contrary, the age in which we live is in my opinion the most important.  Besides, only the present exists. In a way today we all live a bit like kings. In our homes we have access to many amenities that Louis XIV could not find in all his kingdom. We don’t have as many servants, but we can eat food from the four corners of the earth.   We can drink wines that come from all over. We can have the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Pink Floyd in our living rooms.  </B><B> </B><B>It’s not live certainly, but with laser technology it’s not too far away. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>When you were a child were your parents well off financially? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Let’s say middle class. My father was a commercial traveller; he covered a huge territory in Abitibi selling meat to the village shopkeepers. He had just retired when the company that he worked for asked him to come back. The woman who had taken over his territory had burned herself out after a few months. Just until they found someone to replace him; he’s still working I think. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What is his first name? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Roy. His parents gave him this forename because he was born on the Fête des Rois. Luckily he wasn’t called Epiphany (laughs) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>How would you describe your childhood? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I had a very busy childhood. I was taught to play the cello by the nuns, very intensively five days a week. I did a huge amount of sport; hockey, swimming ….I spent the rest of the time in the woods, playing at being knights or building tree-houses. Where we lived, in Amos, the forest was just out the back ….. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Have you any brothers or sisters? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I have one sister, Roxanne, one year my senior, and a brother, Roderick, who is one year younger than me. That makes Roy, my father, Ryna, my mother, Roxanne, my sister, Roderick, my brother and me, Roy - all forenames beginning with ‘R’ .. by chance …. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What kind of upbringing did you have? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My mother’s love is exceptional! It’s a ‘mummy’s’ love, very expressive and very, very abundant. My father is more authoritarian, but also very giving. My mother is immersed in a musical environment; she teaches piano. My father, his is sport. He wanted me to be a hockey player; he taught me to skate when I was three years old. Also at that age he showed me how to swim. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Paint us a more precise portrait of your parents… </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My mother came from a sociable family. My grandfather Yvanneau and my grandmother Liane were exceptional people. I didn’t know them well because they died when I was seven. But I have heard a lot about them from my mother, and her brothers and sister. My grandparents were very colourful, and very proud even though they weren’t rich. My grandfather was a cook and my grandmother repaired toasters. Not just toasters, but everything that she touched. She could strip down a radio, rebuild it, and it would work. She was a great musician; she played almost every instrument. My mother has always had a lot of nobility and a great pride. As for my father, he came from a rather more deprived environment, a bit harder. But he managed to get himself out. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In what way? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>He always worked hard. He worked in the mines, then he loaded trucks. In the end he got a job as a commercial traveller. He had come far. He was, apparently, an excellent hockey player. He was approached by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it didn’t come off. A mystery …. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Did you have a very traumatic adolescence? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Me? No! My adolescence was spent here. We moved house to Sainte-Rose when I was fourteen. And I really didn’t go through a traumatic adolescence. If I did, I didn’t notice it happening! (laughs). I had a lot of fun. I let my hair grow; it was a crazy time. I played guitar and did gigs with a group; we played Genesis and Harmonium. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>At secondary school I did some acting. It was at this time that I played in The Imaginary Invalid and met a girl who was taking an audition for the National Theatre School which I didn’t even know existed. As a result of this series of coincidences I became an actor. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Have you, like your father, had to fight to succeed? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>No, I haven’t really had to put up a fight. At the National School I met very interesting people. I became ‘cultured’ as one says! (laughs) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What did you live on while you were studying? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I got loans and scholarships, and in the summer I worked. I did all sorts of little jobs, but mostly I painted apartments, lots of apartments, all the same! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>At this time, were you very close to your sister and brother? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Certainly yes. There were four of us in a 4½< apartment with 4 rooms  + bath >; my sister, my brother, my mother, me and the three cats (laughs). One day my sister left, and we found ourselves three …in a 3½, still with the three cats and my mother’s pupils who came by.   There were always a lot of people in the house (laughs). I have always had a good relationship with my sister and brother. My sister Roxanne </B></div> <div> <B>was like a ‘big sister’, as though she were five years older than me.  Girls are more mature than boys …. My brother and I were like twins.  We are very like each other, to the point where people would confuse us. We did almost everything together. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What do they do today? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My sister brings up her three children, and my brother works for Canadair. He is very involved in sports. At present he coaches a hockey team. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>How does your family view your career? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My mother is still very uneasy, but she is also very proud.   To know what the others think you’ll have to ask them. I think they are also very proud. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What is your best family memory? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Christmas holidays. In general we always had the most fantastic holidays. My mother also organised unbelievable birthday parties for us, with treasure hunts, sketches and lots of pals. We also had a chalet and all the relatives would come to stay. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What were the best times you had with your mother? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My mother and I were, at the time, night-owls ….. My best moments with her? That was watching films till 3 in the morning while everyone was asleep. I remember watching Wuthering Heights with her. And I also remember the horror films during which she was always trying to scare me. (laughs) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And your father? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>One of my best memories was when we went fishing together; we had this relaxed sort of father-son relationship when he taught me all sorts of stuff. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Do you still keep close to your family? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Oh yes! When I’m in town I always try to go to see them. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>How would you describe your family in a few words? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>They’re a great melting-pot of generosity, quite passionate people too.   They’re a bit like an Italian family, gesticulating and talking loudly.   It’s very lively; you don’t get bored. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Do you think that your composure comes from this background? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Obviously. The composure but the insecurities too. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What insecurities? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Everyone has fears. I used to say that our fears helped us to go forward, but I was wrong. It’s rather that combating and understanding these fears help us move forward. Everyone is a bit afraid of becoming nothing, afraid of death (that’s why we invent gods and the after-life), of being mediocre, useless, not irreplaceable. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>You seem to have much more self-assurance than in the past.   What do you think? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Yes. I took a break this year. I travelled - on my own. I crossed Canada and the United States by bike. I rediscovered myself, alone in the deserts. That allowed me to take my bearings, to understand a little better what I wanted. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What do you want? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To be proud of myself, with all that that entails. Proud of everything that I do, everything I give. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To arrive at this position, have you had to change things about yourself? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I’ve taken stock of what I have, the things that I want to keep, the others that I don’t want. These are the choices that have to be made;   to be responsible for yourself, not to choose the easy way. And the things I’m laying aside, that’s personal … for the moment! (laughs) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Happy? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Not completely, but becoming more and more deeply content.  My pleasures are getting simpler and clearer, I hope. They’re multiplying too. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And your love-life? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>That’s going very well …..</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>  <IMG SRC="49730260.gif" border=0 width="304" height="38" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B><IMG SRC="49730260.gif" border=0 width="304" height="38" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#9900FF" FACE="times" ><B>ELLE QUEBEC FEBRUARY 1996      </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#9900FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>                          </B></FONT><B>                       </B><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Elle Québec February 1996 "><U><B><IMG SRC="17b403e0.gif" border=0 width="64" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>    </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>