For each role, I ask myself who is this guy

From Jonathan Cohen to Emmanuelle Bercot, from Denis Podalydès to Valérie Donzelli, Making Of is packed with renowned actors and filmmakers. But Cédric Kahn's film also highlights an actor who continues to surprise us, Stefan Crepon. On the occasion of the release of this feature film, which subtly recounts the behind-the-scenes of the seventh art, we sat down with him to talk about the past, present, and future desires.

How did you get involved in the Making Of project?

Stefan Crepon: I knew Cédric Kahn when I played a small role in his film La Prière, which was my very first film. Four years later, Cédric called me back to ask me to read the script for Making Of.

How did you prepare for this film?

Stefan: There was a reading with Cédric, Souheila Yacoub, and the casting director Antoine Carrard. There weren't many rehearsals before filming: Cédric likes to improvise a lot on the spot, that's what he enjoys. He has a very precise idea of what he wants, and yet he always questions it as soon as we start shooting. He loves that lively and hyper-instinctive thing. By the way, he heard from friends that I was working on my role…

Did he scold you?

Stefan: Not scolded, but he said something like: "Uh, don't work too hard, you're not doing some method acting thing" (laughs).

What's your usual approach to preparing for a role?

Stefan: I try not to come with a blank page. To know who the character is. With every role I take on, I ask myself who this guy is, where he comes from. For Making Of, and this character Joseph who dreams of entering the film industry, I wondered what movies he watches, what music he listens to, what exhibition he would go to. Then I have my "Joseph" playlist on my phone. When I read the script, I think of it as a huge puzzle, and it's up to you to put all the pieces together with the clues you're given. With the script, you have access to 10% of the character, but with the dialogues and certain lines, you can access the remaining 90%.

Wasn't it strange filming Making Of, with the film within the film and you having to make a making of of the film within the film?

Stefan: It was crazy. I was also filming with my little camera. Sometimes there were four cameras filming at the same time. It was important for Cédric to pay attention to the film being made within the film, the film about the workers, it had to be something we almost wanted to see.

How did he manage to handle all of that at once?

Stefan: You might think it's chaotic in his head, but not at all, he always manages to handle it, and everything fits together well.

What's a filming experience where something incredible happened to you and you thought, "What am I doing here"?

Stefan: It was on The Bureau des légendes. We were filming in Moscow, in the subway, which now seems completely crazy to me given the regime in place there. We had no filming authorization, with 50 extras and 20 technicians. Police officers would come into the subway when it arrived at the platform: they would enter the carriage and suddenly everyone would get out. Meanwhile, we set up all our stuff and we had three stations to film and exit from. I don't know how they negotiated with the police, but we managed to make these round trips at three stations in 1.5 hours. In this scene, I had to exit the metro, and the director Éric Rochant wanted me to get out at the very last moment. Unlike in France, there's no sound signal in the Moscow metro. Every time, I got out too early. And at one point, what had to happen happened.

Did you get hit by the door?

Stefan: No, but as I was getting out, the door caught my ankle. I was stuck. And as the metro started moving, the technicians rushed to open the door. It could have been a lot worse. You could lose an ankle, a foot.

When there are sometimes a lot of production resources, is it difficult to manage to be in the emotion, to be in sync with the script?

Stefan: You always keep that childlike fascination. Even when there are so many people around you, you rediscover that feeling you had as a kid, when you played cowboys and Indians. You don't question it as much. I recently filmed on a green screen, I was a bit afraid beforehand, but it comes back very quickly, actually.

And was the Making Of shoot fun?

Stefan: It was all over the place. Many people got sick, for example. Half of the crew had Covid and others had the flu or strep throat. During the first three weeks, we were filming in the factory, in the morning we would arrive, not knowing what we were going to shoot.

Throughout your career, what's the best advice you've received?

Stefan: When I was on The Bureau des légendes, within three days, I received two diametrically opposed pieces of advice. Firstly, it was Mathieu Amalric, who said to me, "We're the two newcomers to the series, are you nervous?" I said yes, and then he replied, "Ah, but you know what, it's good to be nervous, the day you're not nervous anymore, you'll only do crap." Three days later, Mathieu Kassovitz asked me if I was nervous and I said yes. He then said, "Being stressed is crap. You won't be free, you shouldn't be stressed in this profession." I wondered what I should do (laughs). And what I understood from that is that everyone has their own method.

What are your upcoming projects?

Stefan: Simon Bouisson's Drone and then I went straight into À la hauteur by Delphine Muriel Coulin, with Benjamin Voisin and Vincent Lindon. It was great.

Lastly, what's your current favorite song or artist?

Stefan: It would be "Manifeste" by Guizmo. It's an insane track that lasts 9 minutes.

Your current favorite movie?

Stefan: The last film that struck me was a feature by Alan Parker (Midnight Express), and it's called Mississippi Burning, starring Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe. This film is about segregation in the USA. It's a crazy film, it's a masterclass.

And finally, your bedside book?

Stefan: I read a book during a trip, and it's Ô vous, frères humains by Albert Cohen. It's a very beautiful book.

Credits :

Stylism — Marie Cheiakh @siwarcheiakh
Make up — Elodie Barrat @elodiebarrat_makeup
Hair — Julie bennadji @juliebennadji

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