LE LUNDI MAY 22,99

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=130 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <IMG SRC="4d779d20.gif" border=0 width="121" height="210" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> LE LUNDI MAY 22,99</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>   <IMG SRC="4d8eded0.jpg" border=0 width="237" height="237" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">        <IMG SRC="2fa3fee0.jpg" border=0 width="319" height="238" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>RD IN LE LUNDI MAY 22, 1999</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Roy Dupuis is making a comeback to French TV as Michael, the male lead in (La Femme) Nikita, now airing on the TVA network. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, April 14th, Toronto: the weather is fair, the sky is blue . . . and the Lundi team awaits Roy Dupuis, aka Michael, secret agent and mentor to Nikita, the main character in the series filmed in the Queen City. The actors greets us aboard a brand new black chauffered Lincoln, courtesy of the production staff. Our encounter lasted 3 hours and took place in the car, in the makeup room, in Dupuis' trailer and on the set. Dupuis was in a great mood, relaxed and talkative. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Nikita, now in its 3rd season, has made him an international star. The series is broadcast in more than 50 countries, and websites devoted to Dupuis abound. None of this has gone to his head, though. Dupuis - who turned 36 on April 21st - is a disarmingly simple man. He recently came through a personal crisis that transformed him radically. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Roy, how do you relax after work ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: I don't have time for much. When I get to my appartment, I have to learn the lines for the next day. Then I go to sleep, and they pick me up around 5:30 or 6:00 the next morning. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Don't you have an hour or two to yourself ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: When we film, there's a lot of time to relax between scenes. We work 14 to 18 hours a day, 5 days a week, 8 and 1/2 months per year - so we have to take things one day at a time - one scene at a time, even - or you can get discouraged. To make things worse, I'm away from Québec all that time. My private life suffers from that. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Have you gotten used to life in Toronto ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Not really. I only work in this city. All I got used to is commuting between my appartment and the airport. Every friday, I fly back home to spend the week-end in Québec. All I care about, these days, is my house, my land, and traveling. I don't go out anymore. I'm through with nightlife. I've tried all I could try. Now, I prefer staying home, having a good dinner with my best friends. I still go to restaurants, though. In Toronto, I go to small restaurants in chinatown - close to my appartment. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Are you a good cook ? Do you have specialties ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: A bit of everything, Thai, French, American... at least once a year, I make a "méchoui". My house, built on a 54 acre land, is the perfect place for that. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Is your house located on a field, on in the forest ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: In the middle of many fields, surrounded by an old fence made of rock piles. The forest is behind the house. I have 30 acres of woodland, and 24 acres of field. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>[Talks at length about his house and his renovation plans. I don't have the courage to translate all that...] </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: You say you're through with nightlife. Was there a precise moment in your life when you decided to change your lifestyle ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: In 1996, I bought my house, and I signed a 5 year contract to work on Nikita. I changed my lifestyle a year before that. In 1995, I took a sabbatical year. I traveled across Canada and the States on a motorcycle. Then I came back home to get my girlfriend, and we went to France and Italy together. (silence). That year, I realized that we're responsible for our own actions. I guess I knew that already, in a way, but I truly understood the meaning of it that year. Buying my own house reinforced that sentiment. In the city, I was too well known. I am rather shy, and I couldn't get used to feeling constantly observed. Today, in my house, I feel comfortable. I feel free. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Are you still uncomfortable with all the attention you're getting ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Yes, it bothers me. When people stare at you all the time, it can be become very tiresome. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: But you seem much less shy than you used to be. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Yes. I would say that I know what I want, and I know what I don't want. That's very clear, now ! I know what I want, but on a short term. I don't worry too much about the future. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: What is it that you don't want ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Ah, that's a little too personal. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Then, what do you want, on the short term ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Simple things. Working on my house. Theatre. Documentaries. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Where are you from ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Abitibi. My father was a traveling salesman. When I was 10, he was transferred to northern Ontario, where we lived for three years. Then my parents divorced, and I ended up in Laval. (silence). That's probably why it's so important for me to find "roots". I don't want to make a sweeping generalisation, but I think too many people today don't have a sense of "belonging". They don't have "roots". Buying my house has "grounded" me! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Could you say you lived a "thirtysomething" crisis? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Yes. One thing for sure, there was no adolescence crisis for me. I think I put it off until my thirties ! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: So, were you an angel in your teens? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: No, but things were good then. I was in my teens when I discovered Montréal, and the pleasures and freedom of urban life. Until I was 11, I grew up in Abitibi. And at age 14, I arrived to the big city! It was extraordinary! It may seem ridiculous, but the thing that impressed me the most was the fact that with 20 cents, you could commute from one end of the city to the other. The bus and the subway were so cool! I used Montréal's transport system to discover the city. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: So Montréal became a big toy for you? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Yes. I played with it until there was nothing else for me to discover! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: And the world appeared so much bigger than in Abitibi... </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Exactly. This was a new form of freedom. In a small town, everybody knows each other. You have to be careful sometimes about the things you do. That's not a bad thing, mind you. But in a big city, the people you meet on the street disappear behind you and you likely never see them again. You can do anything, say anything, you can play, you can lie, you can tell the truth. That's a form of freedom. But I lost that freedom when I became famous after "Emily". Today, I go back to the country, to find that same freedom. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: All in all, do you think you've always been a smalltown boy? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: When I was a kid, my favorite activity was building treehouses. So yes, I guess I am coming back to my old passions! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: You say you're shy. Do you get along better with trees than with people? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: (silence). Am I really shy? Well, I am shy in front of a stranger who knows me in advance because I'm an actor. It may not be timidity as much as... annoyance. It's frustrating not to be able to meet new people that know nothing about me. The encounters are always biased. (silence). Since "Emily" made me famous, I haven't made new real friends. I kept my old friends from the days before. Sure, I make new friends at work, but they are not many. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Are you faithful to your friends? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: (silence). I think I'm honest. I have to follow my conscience, otherwise I feel very uncomfortable. Even when I'm in Toronto, my friends know that they can call me up on the phone whenever they want. That's clear. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Was your personal crisis caused by an excess of freedom ? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: (silence). I don't really know. I loved the time I spent in Montréal. I experimented a lot. Anything mysterious, anything underground, I would have to try. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Anything out of the ordinary... </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: All the things you can't see. All the things you can't name. That can be dangerous, but I always trusted myself. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: You always felt strong enough to avoid losing yourself in all that? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Yes. But at some point, I woke up, I made choices, and I met the right people. I changed my lifestyle. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Who are the "right" people? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Girlfriends. Friends. People in the business. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Did you get to the point where you told yourself "there must be more to life than this"? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: I wanted to move on. For a while, I was very attracted to the underground. I was a rebel, of sorts. (silence). I still am, but I live it differently. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Retreating to the country can be seen as a revolutionnary statement... </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Maybe. Mostly, I just think life is about today. Period. Whatever comes next is not important. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: Has anything else changed in your life? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: It's funny, but I always thought I would die at age 33. Must have something to do with catholicism... anyway, that's sorta what happened. Part of me died at age 33. Sometimes, when I realize I'm not a teenager anymore, it hurts. I stil have flashbacks of all the crazy things I did when I was a kid! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>LL: One final question. How's your relationship with your family? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>RD: Good. We haven't seen much since I started Nikita, but I feel closer to them than ever before. I understood the importance of family. That's why my house is so important to me. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>When Nikita ceases production (but that may be far in the future), Roy wants to get back to making movies, and try making documentaries. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But for the moment, Roy simply looks forward to june 15 - the end of season 3. Because he can't wait to finish his front porch ! </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>         <IMG SRC="4cd0c130.gif" border=0 width="524" height="19" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9900FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>                      Le Poing J   May 25, 1999            </B></FONT>             <A HREF="id91.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LE POING J MAY 25, 99"><U><IMG SRC="1d178340.jpg" border=0 width="120" height="52" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>