by Helen Barlow
Niney won the best actor Cesar for 2014’s Yves Saint Laurent and was nominated for 2017’s Frantz directed by Francois Ozon and 2022’s Black Box. He also starred in this year’s French Film Festival opening film, Masquerade, alongside Isabelle Adjani, Francois Cluzet and Marine Vacth, directed by Nicolas Bedos (La Belle Epoque).
Masquerade closed last year’s Cannes Film Festival, with Niney becoming something of a Cannes darling, as he also stars in one of this year’s most anticipated films, Michel Gondry’s The Book of Solutions [below], which screens in Directors’ Fortnight this year. It marks Gondry’s first feature since his 2015 road trip comedy, Microbe & Gasoline, which, like The Book of Solutions, was in his native French. When we spoke, Niney was about to film The Book of Solutions, which follows a filmmaker battling inner demons that are stifling his creativity.
“It’s very crazy, very creative, just like Michel,” Niney says. “I think it will be completely unexpected. We don’t really know what we’re going to shoot yet, but we have a script. I love this character and find him really exciting.”
Niney is a fan of Gondry’s movies. “I’m crazy about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind and then I love all the clips that he’s made. Michel is a real cinephile and there are few who invent original, interesting worlds like he does.”
Niney likes to get behind the camera too. He directed a short film, 2013’s The Audition and co-created and co-wrote the television series Casting(s), in which he appeared, as did his Australian wife, Natasha Andrews. Andrews had a leading role in the sci-fi series Missions and is also a photographer and art director. They met in acting classes in 2008 and last year co-directed a short film for Dior’s perfume Bois d’Argent.
In Masquerade, Niney plays Adrien, a dancer who, following an injury, uses his charm and good looks to seduce older women. He ends up living together with ageing actress and fading star Martha (Isabelle Adjani), in her palatial French Riviera mansion, but falls for sexy fellow con artist Margot (Marine Vacth), who draws him in to help her fleece property mogul Simon (Francois Cluzet). The outcome is far from what we might imagine.
What do you think about characters who lie in films?
“I like them a lot. I was very impressed by Plein Soleil and The Talented Mr. Ripley [both adaptations of Patricia Highsmith novels]. I think that lying characters are often interesting in cinema because their duplicity hides something, saying the opposite of what they do, doing the opposite of what they say.”
Are you a good liar?
“No, I’m not a great liar in my own life. Actually, I’m a bad liar. I can be quickly panicked by a lie. But in the film, Adrien is someone who lies to survive. He’s going to follow Margot in the orchestration of a scam.”
What did you like in the character?
“It was new for me to play the dark side, a rather tormented character who wants to escape from reality, to escape from his life and his disillusions, his disappointments, his regrets through alcohol, drugs, smoking. He’s not proud of what he’s doing.”
How and why did you come to work again with Nicolas Bedos?
“I read the script and said yes to working with Nicolas. I especially like Mr. and Mrs. Adelman and La Belle Epoque. We have the same sense of humour and we have a lot of things in common. So, that is a very good ground to begin to work. It means that we save time. There is a little less ego. He gives his actors freedom, as we all work differently, so we all feel involved. It gives you confidence.”
Was it a dream of yours to work with Isabelle Adjani?
“Yes, it was a great dream for me. Of course, I grew up with her films and plays and she was at the Comedie-Francaise like me. She is passionate about theatre like me, she loves words like me. I see her as a role model. She has had a magnificent, prolific career and I aspire to have a career like hers. Nicolas considered various actresses and I pushed for her to be cast because I wanted to act with her.”
Had you met her before?
“We crossed paths a few years ago and she was very nice and generous. Since then, she has sent me messages regarding films of mine she’s seen, and I’ve kept and treasured those messages.”
How did you approach the dancing in the film?
“I worked for four months with a choreographer in order to be credible. I loved doing it. I love to learn new things for movies and that motivates me.”
In the film, Martha says she doesn’t know where she comes from and that’s why she became an actress. Is there a resonance for you?
“No, I know where I come from but that’s also why I became an actor. I was lucky enough to be in a rather creative environment and wasn’t too freaked out by the idea either. I did it because I didn’t know how to do anything else.”
So why do you love the job?
“I find it fascinating to tell stories and to hear them, and I’ve always been fascinated by the power of stories.”
Do you have dreams for the future?
“I’m starting to produce and I’d like to direct a feature film one day. I’d also like to act in an action movie doing my own stunts like (Jean-Paul) Belmondo, like Tom Cruise. I’d like to do that at least once in my life. I love everything physical; I love challenges.”
You speak good English and even speak a bit of English in Masquerade. Do you want to work in English?
“Why not? If there is a good story and a beautiful role in a beautiful film, yes of course. I don’t want to do very small roles in English. I did a bit of that a few years ago and it made me feel like I was starting over again at 0 or even less, at minus 4, because there are so many actors who are extremely talented.”
