Translated by Bethszabee Garner

In the cult series, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu plays Sylvie Grateau, a snobbish marketing director who is sometimes mean but very endearing. As an ambassador of Parisian elegance, Sylvie has rubbed off on Philippine, who at 60, has become a fashion icon with a huge Instagram following.

Yves Derai: How are you experiencing “Sylvie-mania”?

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu: Actually, very calmly. I didn't expect such enthusiasm at all, but with time, I'm beginning to understand why people are so attached to her. All her contradictions make her an interesting character. But in reality, if I'm taking it in stride, it's because when I'm not promoting something like I am right now, I'm in the country, disconnected from all the hustle and bustle. And then, at 60, you don't experience things the same way you did at 30.

Yves Derai: Don't you sometimes feel that people, especially fans, confuse Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu and Sylvie Grateau?

P.L.B.: Of course, but that's normal. It's also true for Lily Collins and Emily Cooper and many other actors who have played strong characters. Acting is about exaggerating something about yourself. If I have 5% of Sylvie Grateau in me, it has to become 50% to play her well.

Yves Derai: How are you like Sylvie in real life, and how are you different?

P.L.B.: Like her, I have great confidence coupled with great vulnerability. On the other hand, I'm not as abrupt. She throws barbs with ease, whereas I like to joke around, but not with the same intensity. She's also very snobbish, which isn't me at all. And her love life is very chaotic, which isn't like me either.

Yves Derai: Thanks to this role, you've become a fashion icon in France. Did you expect that?

P.L.B.: Not at all. I should point out that I don't have that relationship with fashion, I just have fun with it. When I put on an outfit, what matters to me is that it says something about me, not the buzz on social media.

Yves Derai: You must get offers from brands, right?

P.L.B.: Not particularly. I'm close to certain fashion houses, such as Yves Saint Laurent, but that's all.

Yves Derai: Your mother worked at Dior for several years. You grew up in that environment...

P.L.B.: Yes. I also lived in Italy, where fashion is very important to people. I've always had a taste for beauty. But in my everyday life, I wear jeans and T-shirts.

Yves Derai: Is fashion a form of art?

P.L.B.: Of course! When you follow the great fashion designers, you realize that they all have a vision of the world, a view of society, of women... I'm not talking about fast fashion, but about the great fashion labels whose designs you can wear ten or twenty years after they were created.

Yves Derai: Are you sensitive to the craftsmanship, the materials, everything that goes on behind the scenes in the workshops?

P.L.B.: Yes, I have enormous respect for that. My mother took me to workshops from a very young age.

Yves Derai: How do you keep your distance when such success comes your way?

P.L.B.: As I was saying, I go to Normandy to plant cabbages. I talk to real people, farmers who go fishing on the weekend. It's always been important for me to recharge my batteries like that.

Yves Derai: Looking back on your career over the last thirty years, you have often been associated with success: Trois Hommes et un couffin, 9 mois, Dix pour cent, Emily in Paris...  Is it chance or wise choices on your part?

P.L.B.: It's intuition, I think. But you don't always have a choice. You need to work when you're an actress

Yves Derai: The role of Sylvie Grateau in Emily wasn't written for you at first.

P.L.B.: No, indeed, the character was younger. But the casting director insisted on letting me read the script. I immediately felt that I knew this Sylvie Grateau, having been in that environment for a long time. I did a reading, which was sent to the director, Darren Star. He liked it, because for two months they developed the character so that I could play her. And then they called me back.

Yves Derai: Have you ever had to fight for a role?

P.L.B.: No. I'm not the type to sleep on a director's doormat; I think it kills the desire a little. On the other hand, yes, I have tried to make a director understand that I wanted to work with him. But delicately.

Yves Derai: This relationship between directors and actresses has given rise to a number of famous movie couples. Will this chemistry still exist after MeToo?

P.L.B.: I hope so. It will depend on the protagonists. If men are all afraid of being accused and women all consider themselves victims after a brush against the arm, then yes, it will become impossible. This is also a problem for the real victims of sexual assault, who deserve our full attention. I regret this change in male-female relationships because there is nothing more beautiful than seduction, than the sublime thrill you feel when someone you like walks into a room. It's still more beautiful than a Tinder date.

Yves Derai: Behind the apparent lightheartedness of a series like Emily in Paris, certain messages come through, particularly across your character Sylvie. Is that important to you?

P.L.B.: Yes, very much so. This series, which is like candy, casually tells the story of an era, with its conflicts and paradoxes. Darren is very good at that. In Emily, the women are very lonely. They have choices to make in a society that is changing enormously—we just talked about that. Complicated choices: should I prioritize my career over my private life?

Yves Derai: Sylvie is a 60-year-old woman who is attractive, daring, sometimes authoritarian. Do you like playing that kind of character?

P.L.B.: Yes. For a long time, women had to keep quiet, but today they can reinvent themselves at any age. I have an energy inside me that I will carry with me until my last breath, just like my father, who jumped out of a plane with a parachute until he was 86. For me, that's what life is all about.

Yves Derai: Since Emily in Paris, have you been offered more repetitive roles like Sylvie?

P.L.B.: At first, that was the case, especially in France, where actors are pigeonholed. But recently, I was approached in Brazil for a very different film in which I play a woman who is all love and light. Interesting things come from abroad, where they appreciate casting against type.

Yves Derai: What would be your dream role against type?

P.L.B.: We can't see our own unconscious, as Jung said. When you're an actress, it's the directors who know how to discern it. That's what I'm waiting for, for a director to grasp the elusive in me. I let people dream.

Photo: Nawel Odin

Production: Thomas Heisser

Artistic Director: Sylvain Galy

Styling: Clément Lomellini

Hair: Rudy Marmet

Makeup: Fred Marin

Assistant Stylist: Ciro Marangi

With the participation of Guerlain

Article written by Yves Derai to be found in issue n°9 of OniriQ Magazine.