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As part of the 14th Festival
of world films, Alliance Vivafilm organised a massive event in the Cours Mont-Royal with
the theme <<illegible word?>> for the cinema. If there were not
as many artistes as was expected, some of them nevertheless made a very noticeable
entrance. The arrival of Roy Dupuis on the arm of actress Céline Bonnier and her friend
Sylvie Lachance produced, in fact, the warmest applause. The names of these two actors
have been linked since they played the parents of the Dionne quins in the television
series of the same name, to be broadcast from the 26th October by Société
Radio-Canada. Since then there has been a very special attachment between them. Roy, this year you’ve been away from Quebec for a long time. Where have you been? I was in Venezuela for two and a half months. Why? Making a film called Aire Libre << released as Passage des Hommes Libre >> What’s it about? The film tells the story of the first real scientific voyage to the Americas. It’s the story of two scientists: Humboldt and Bonpland. Humboldt was a chemist, physicist and astronomer, whereas Bonpland was a doctor and botanist. Which character did you play? Bonpland, the Frenchman. Humboldt was German. Who directed it? Luis Armando Roche. Didn’t you make another film this year? Yes. I did a film called Screamers. It’s a Canadian-American co-production directed by Christian Duguay in which I play a character who is, shall we say, a little odd. Odd, in what way? In that he’s a guy devoid of emotions. It’s a science-fiction film which takes place in the year two thousand and something on a mining planet where there is a war. This guy is odd because he is immune to the feelings one has in the face of pain and death, he has seen so much of it. For you who are so sensitive, isn’t it difficult to
play a character so detached from his feelings? On that principal, which character has given you most difficulty? There’s not one in particular. Each film has its difficulties. I can’t say that one character was more difficult than another. What is surprising is that after playing a character you think that you will never find another as complete, as convincing to play, but eventually you realise that the next character is just as complete, albeit more ordinary or more mysterious. Are you sorry to have buried the character of Michel Gagné in Scoop? No, not really, I’ve moved on to another character, another story. Why did you not accept the part in Urgence, the new series by Fabienne Larouche and Réjean Tremblay? I couldn’t. Moreover I don’t do much television any more. Not because I don’t like it, but other jobs appeared first. Also, as it’s been six years since I had a holiday, this year I took one. What did you do in your holidays? You wanted to find yourself again? And what is your way? What was the best time of your holidays? The mountains. The desert that I saw. The people that I met in the cafés in the square. The time spent telling little stories about life, about nothing. Just being well. Was it enjoyable being a completely unknown foreigner? Yes. Let’s say to meet people who don’t know you gives you a different perspective on yourself. But I never lose sight of myself. It’s not as terrible as that… (laughs). However, I really like to come back. Not because I’m well-known here, but quite simply because I feel good in Quebec. Do you feel that as a result of your success, your relationships with others are artificial? Certainly, always a little. I believe that it’s more complicated for everyone because the element of surprise is no longer there. People have preconceptions about me. In this respect, do you think you are misunderstood? Not really. But that always depends on whom I meet…. As you have to be away more and more often because of your commitments, is it difficult for you to maintain friendships? No, because it’s one thing I have learned in the long run. In the turmoil it’s sometimes difficult. If my friends are not within reach, or if I’m not there for them, it’s because of my work, my schedules or my travels. Is there a little place for love in this pulsating lifestyle? Yes …. (an answer lit up by a magnificent smile). The love life is going well. Yes, very well, through all this. What plans do you have? A trip to the mountains during which I would like to climb above the 5,000m mark. I would like to go to Peru or Nepal. I haven’t decided yet. I would also like to go down the Saguenay << a tributary of the St Lawrence R. >>, but underwater, scuba diving. ROY DUPUIS’ ADVICE For your holidays :
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