Parlez-vous Poesy? Clém anglaise
From her impeccably plummy tones in the recent BBC adaptation of Birdsong, you might be surprised to learn that the actress Clémence Poésy is French born and bred. But the impossibly cool actress’s Anglo leanings go way beyond the accent, as Jane Gordon discovers
'I had a grungy period and looked like a tramp for a very long time -– my mum really hated it! I destroyed her entire 70s wardrobe by putting studs into everything'
Clémence Poésy, 29, is one of the new breed of French actresses, along with Marion Cotillard, Audrey Tautou and Eva Green, taking over Hollywood. With roles in Harry Potter, In Bruges and 127 Hours, the star of the recent BBC dramatisation of Birdsong can convince in almost any language – as well as French and English, she also speaks Spanish and Italian. Effortlessly chic, she talks to YOU about her love of London, her new role as the face of fashion brand G-Star Raw (which she models here) and why she won’t be voting for Sarkozy in April’s French presidential elections.
How are you able to speak English without an accent?
My parents [Clémence’s mother is a teacher and her father is the actor and writer Etienne Guichard] sent my sister Maëlle and me to an alternative school near Paris called
La Source, which was pretty much bilingual. A lot of our lessons were in English so we learned it naturally and fluently.
You had your big break in 2005 as French exchange student Fleur Delacour in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Were La Source and Hogwarts in any way similar?
Alas, magic was not part of the curriculum!
When you joined the Potter cast, Emma Watson was a gawky 15-year-old. Did you give her any style pointers?
Oh God, I would never give Emma any kind of advice – she doesn’t need any! She is great, very strong. When I played Fleur in the final two films five years later, she, Daniel and Rupert had become wonderful adults – it was extraordinary to see. Emma is a national treasure, and they are all so smart. Growing up in that situation could have affected them badly but they managed to stay so focused and so humble, which amazes me.
It has been reported that you were unhappy at school – were you bullied?
I had a tiny moment – maybe two years – when I wasn’t very happy. A lot of people go through those stages. I think it is important to pass on the message to young people who are going through a difficult time with friends that it will pass.
Who are your style icons?
I don’t like the idea of fashion icons, but I love the 1960s and 70s so I always say Mick Jagger. Any of those guys – the Rollling Stones, the Beatles, especially George Harrison, but I can’t really grow a beard! There are so many people from that time that I admire – Marianne Faithfull, Patti Smith, Anita Pallenberg and Jane Birkin, of course – but I don’t want to limit them to being fashion icons because they are so much more than that. It’s their freedom that appeals to me; they are so inspiring.
You have become the new face of fashion label G-Star Raw. They have said they believe you embody their ideal of ‘raw elegance’; is it a perfect match?
I love the simplicity and strength of the label. There is something very timeless and rock ’n’ roll about their pieces. I love their little denim jackets – they’re fitted but have a little bit of stretch – and the jeans too. I love wearing G-Star Raw dresses with opaque tights and brogues.
Your style is natural and effortless – do you have a stylist?
I don’t because I think it’s good to trust what you feel and if it doesn’t work, who cares? I constantly make fashion mistakes but I think it’s good to take risks.
‘I can do classic English and classic American… Michael Caine made a lot of fun of my mockney accent so I daren’t go there yet!’
Have you ever looked back at a picture and cringed?
Constantly! I had a grungy period and looked like a tramp for a very long time -– my mum really hated it! I destroyed her entire 70s wardrobe by putting studs into everything – I thought I was really cool. But it’s good to experiment – I even had dreadlocks at one point.
Dreadlocks? Your hair now is very much a part of your look – do you ever have bad hair days?
Of course, but I try to keep it simple. Actresses are so spoilt – we have someone who does our hair for us on set, so we don’t know how to do it ourselves in real life. I know how to wash my hair and brush my teeth, but that’s about it!
The list of male actors you have starred alongside – Colin Farrell in In Bruges, Eddie Redmayne in Birdsong, Jim Sturgess in Heartless and James Franco in 127 Hours – is impressive. Who was your favourite?
I have been very lucky so it’s impossible to pick. But if I were to choose an actor [who’ll achieve] greatness, it would probably be Eddie – he is wonderful. Not because he is young and elegant and beautiful, but because he is one of the few actors who could play a character like Stephen in Birdsong, from a young man falling in love at 20 to a haunted man of 35 who has been through a war. When we filmed the scene where my character Isabelle and Stephen meet up years later, it was extraordinary. Eddie walked into the room and it was as if the war had come in with him, his eyes had the haunted look of someone who had been through something dreadful. It is an amazing performance because he does so much without words; he is going to be so big.
Semi-naked scenes from a film you made as a naive 18-year-old have haunted you – and the internet – ever since, and prompted you to say you would never do ‘anything like that again’. What made you change your mind for Birdsong?
It’s not true that I refuse to do nudity since that experience. It’s just that I felt I had to stand up and say something about the way in which young actresses can be influenced to do scenes they might not be comfortable with. It is different for me now because I choose my projects carefully. It would have been very wrong if there hadn’t been any nudity in Birdsong, because the relationship between my character and Eddie’s was all about sex. I am fine with that as I’m much more at ease with my body now than I was at 18.
So will we be seeing even more of you in the future?
If nudity is intrinsic to the part, I have no problem. But I do insist that those scenes aren’t used for publicity purposes, because if you don’t have a clause like that in your contract, if there is a little bit of nipple showing somewhere in the film it will always be in the trailer because that is what sells.
Have you ever been romantically involved with a co-star?
I never discuss romances…
Were you close to your younger sister Maëlle when you were growing up?
Family is very important to me. It was my mum’s idea to have my sister and I just two years apart so we would always have someone to play with. We had a thing about the Little House on the Prairie and used to cross America on our bed, which we pretended was a wagon. Our childhood games were all about making up stories – and our mum was right, it was the most precious thing to have my sister close to me when I was growing up.
Is there any competition between you now that Maëlle is also an actress?
My sister is a brilliant actress – luminous – and also a talented theatre director. It was odd – she spent New Year’s Eve with me and a group of my friends who have all known her since she was small but hadn’t seen her for a while, and they said, ‘Look at what she has turned into.’ She takes my breath away. I saw the first play she directed and I was truly in awe.
You were once described as a cross between Jeanne Moreau and Catherine Deneuve – do you see any similarities?
I was only described like that because we’re all French and they are the only names – apart from Brigitte Bardot – that people know! It’s very nice – I only wish it were true.
‘There are so many people I admire – Marianne Faithfull, Patti Smith, Anita Pallenberg, Jane Birkin. It’s their freedom that appeals to me’
You still work in French film and theatre, but Hollywood is beckoning. Which do you prefer?
I love the way that in the US and England there is a huge variety of regional accents used to differentiate between characters. In France there is really only one accent for acting. I was made aware quite early in my career that working on an accent, and making it better and being able to switch between accents, was always going to be a plus.
So can you do cockney?
I am not quite there yet! I can do classic English and classic American, and I have been trying cockney since working with Michael Caine on Mr Morgan’s Last Love. He made a lot of fun of my mockney accent so I daren’t go there yet!
Clémence with Eddie Redmayne in Birdsong, left, and with Henry Lloyd Hughes in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
You grew up in Paris but now spend a lot of time in London. Which is your favourite?
It’s impossible to choose – which is great, because I get to live in both. I used to have a flat in Dalston [Northeast London] but I am between flats at the moment. I adore London.
How do you feel about President Sarkozy?
I’m political in my own way. I don’t belong to any party, but I grew up leaning a little more towards the left than Sarkozy. So, no, I won’t be voting for him in the presidential elections.
You once said that it was important not to be limited to one thing in life – what are your remaining ambitions?
I love to draw and I love music [she plays guitar and sang on last year’s debut album by Arctic Monkeys associate Miles Kane]. I am working on a few writing projects – I have just finished writing and illustrating two children’s stories, so I will see what I can do with them. I am also starting 5 x 15 in Paris after discovering it in London, where it was begun by Eleanor O’Keeffe. One evening a month five people talk for 15 minutes each about a subject that they are passionate about – it is like an old-fashioned soirée. Everything is so formal in France, so I hope to bring a little bit of the English informal sharing I’ve learnt over to Paris.
